Cenovus profit falls on weak oil and gas prices

(Reuters) - Canadian independent oil producer Cenovus Energy Inc's second-quarter profit fell 40 percent on weaker prices for oil and natural gas.

Net earnings fell to C$396 million, or 52 Canadian cents per share, from C$655 million, or 86 Canadian cents per share.

Cenovus has a rapidly expanding Canadian oil sands operation, co-owned with ConocoPhillips, and a 50 percent share in two U.S. refineries operated by Phillips 66.

Operating earnings, which exclude most one-time and unusual items, fell to C$283 million, or 37 Canadian cents, from C$395 million, or 52 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Cenovus's cash flow, a key indicator of its ability to pay for new projects, fell about 2 percent to C$925 million, or C$1.22 per share, from C$939 million, or C$1.24 per share, a year earlier.

Total oil production rose 28 percent to 155,566 barrels per day, whereas natural gas production fell 9 percent to 596 million cubic feet per day.

Production from the company's Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands projects rose 38 percent to 80,317 barrels per day.

Weaker prices for both oil and natural gas were somewhat offset by the increase in oil production, the company said in a statement.

In the April-June quarter, U.S. crude oil prices fell 9 percent from the year-ago period to average $93 per barrel.

In the same period, natural gas prices fell 46 percent from a year earlier to average $2.4 per million British thermal units.

Cenovus shares closed at C$32.10 on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Shounak Dasgupta in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cenovus-profit-falls-weak-oil-gas-prices-105642377--finance.html

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Important Things to Consider While Negotiating With Gyms!

2:00 PM By Article Directory

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Keeping you body healthy, fit and well toned needs regular exercising and also intake of a balanced diet. Exercising can be done at home, but if you want to get the best results, working out at a gym would be a better choice. Gyms offer an environment that motivates you to get into various forms of workouts and exercising under close supervision. That will definitely show positive results on your mental and physical health. Today's gyms offer the best equipments, well trained and certified trainers, dieticians etc. so you can achieve your desired goals efficiently and effectively.
 
Every gym has its own terms and conditions, therefore to get the best offers on a gym membership requires careful research on various membership offers. Before you get down to negotiating on rates, it is important to check out on various factors.
 
Gym Type
 
There are different kinds of gyms so you have to look into what it is that you what to achieve by going to a gym. Do you want to enroll into a specialized gym, where you have a separate training instructor for yourself and a training course that is specially designed to help you meet your fitness goals else do you want to enroll into a regular gym where you are trained along with others. Those looking for a completely new approach to fitness training should consider enrolling into something like Yoga Studio.
 
Compare Gym Rates, Check Discounts and Other Offers Carefully
 
Plan ahead and see what you can spend and establish a budget for yourself and then compare gym rates. Some gyms have discount offers during the off season, while some give special offers to attract people. Look into the gym rates for various programs and check what their competitors are offering. Usually gyms offer membership discounts at the time of the New Year and some of the offers can be really lucrative like a couple of months of free membership, availability of free gym gear, or a two year membership available at the price of one. The best way to gain information on discount offers is to sign up for the gym's newsletter and have a close watch. Most gyms have their own websites, where they will put up information on monthly contracts and almost zero-enrollment fees.
 
Negotiate Skillfully
 
Once you have chosen a particular gym, you have to negotiate with them. Make an offer that is below you budget. Most often staff will state that they cannot change rates because of the gym policy on membership dues, but if the gym is a small gym or has started recently, they will be ready to consider. In case of larger gyms, you have to skillfully convince the staff that you expect a discount on enrollment. Specify competitor rates, but most often gyms are aware of what their competitors are doing, but it is a good approach to get a reduction.
 
In addition to bargaining on the membership rates, you should think about negotiating on trainer's fees. Usually trainer's fee is negotiable and it is not unusual to see free personal trainer sessions offered for those who become new members. When you decide to continue with the trainer's services, negotiate a rate that comes within your budget. Trainers are usually flexible and usually accept member rates.
 
What you need to understand about gyms in general is that they will always show out that their rates are non-negotiable, but the thing is that you can bargain with them and bring down the rates. The competition is high and every gym has to meet its monthly targets to keep it going. Usually gyms employ a staff of commission-based sales team with whom you can negotiate and they will be flexible, if you skillfully make your point on rate reduction.
 
As someone who is going to be using gym facilities on a regular basis, you should get your money's worth, so if you find a gym with rates that are satisfying to you, check out others.
 
Check Your Company's Employee Offer for Gyms
 
It's not uncommon for companies to have deals with local gyms by which their employees get a discount offer or rates that are highly slashed down to a third of the original rates or even free membership. So, if you are employed at a company, it would do well to check out on this with the staff at the HR department.
 
Do No Opt For Long-Term Membership or Advance Membership Fee Payments
 
Usually there is a lot of enticement from the sales agent to sign up for a long-term contract. Unless, you see yourself serious usually a long-term membership fully, opting for a month-to-month membership agreement is the right option. You can cancel the contract whenever you want and there is no need to pay any penalty. Sales agent may also suggest that you pay for a year in advance, but this is something that you should avoid because in case the gym suddenly closes or you have to move away, the paid money would be wasted as you will not be using the gym's facilities.
 
In case you are not planning to utilize the gym facility for throughout the week, ask the gym for a limited weekly access plan, because this will work out cheaper. Many people work out only three or four days a week, so cutting out payments for days that you would not be using the gym helps to save money.
 
Find Out On All Applicable Fees
 
The fees that you have to pay to the gym at the end of every membership period, should not come as a surprise to you, with hidden costs added, so much so that what you see on the bill is far above what you are expected to pay. This is where you need to be alert and check out what you are really in for by checking up with the sales agent on all payment related information. If you find certain fee demand to be too high or unacceptable, mention this at once to the sale agent. They might show you a program in which you do not have to make certain types of fee payments and enjoy just the kind of facilities that you really need for your workout sessions.

Nowadays, no matter where you live, gym memberships can be out of budget. But that doesn't mean you can't get a suitable gym at your budget or even for free provided you know the tricks of negotiating with gyms [http://www.wizardtrainer.com/important-things-consider-while-negotiating-gyms]. Want to learn more? Visit: www.wizardtrainer.com [http://www.wizardtrainer.com] to get heavy discounts or even free memberships!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rakesh_Sharma_Jack

Source: http://business-negotiation.blogspot.com/2012/07/important-things-to-consider-while.html

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Colorado whitewater design firms float London Olympic venue

Two whitewater engineering firms from Glenwood Springs and Lyons designed and developed the $48 million Lee Valley Whitewater Centre, where next month the world's best paddlers will compete in the London Games.

Glenwood Springs' Whitewater Park International designed the first-of-its-kind, self-contained venue with two channels, a 1,000-foot Olympic-caliber racing channel and a less-steep 525-foot training channel.

The company designed the Penrith Whitewater Stadium for the Sydney Games in 2000 - forging a new model for stand-alone whitewater parks far from actual whitewater. And the London park is equally progressive, learning from the whitewater challenges in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing parks.

"It was built on lessons learned," said Bob Campbell, managing director of Whitewater Parks International, noting how Lee Valley's consistent flows and a separate training channel are harvesting universal accolades from both athletes and organizers. "Athens and Beijing were both creative endeavors but a little too much of that 'Let's go bigger and let's go better than ever before' mentality.' That doesn't always work."

Both the Athens and Beijing courses have fallen largely dormant since their Olympic debuts. The goal for the London park was to build something that could be used for decades to come, by not only high-caliber paddlers but kids in rafts and recreational users.

"Sustainability was a key driver," Campbell said. "London said they didn't want any of the previous problems, so we did something tried and true. We built on our previous successes.That didn't keep us from allowing some innovations - because there are many - but we don't need something wild just by being different. We can be different and smart."

More than 130,000 rafters have already descended the park since it opened in December 2010, 18 months before its Olympic debut. Four months after opening the International Canoe Federation tapped the venue as host of the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships.

Even before the brightest lights shine on the park, it is considered a legacy venue.

It's not just Campbell's contemporary design ? finished on time and on budget ? that is culling cheers from paddlers and Olympic organizers. Lyons-based S2O Design employed their innovative RapidBlocs ? proprietary, adjustable plastic blocks that can channel moving water to precise specifications ? at Lee Valley and the system already has swept the whitewater park industry.

"Everyone loves it and it's led to a bunch of new projects for us," said S2O engineer and three-time Olympic slalom kayaker Scott Shipley, who has installed his modular RapidBlocs in seven channels in England, the Czech Republic and the U.S. in the last two years. "It's become the new paradigm for park design."

Before the Athens Games, park designers were adjusting features up to the final week before the Olympics. Shipley, who built a scale model of the park in a Boulder warehouse in 2010 to tweak the hydrology of the park, took a couple weeks to adjust a mere 11 of his 1,350 RapidBlocs at Lee Valley to secure ICF approval.

Athletes already are raving about the London park.

"It's challenging in a way that makes athletes want to be better," said Team USA slalom kayaker Caroline Queen. "It's consistent, which is hard to do in a whitewater course, especially an artificial one. A lot of artificial courses tend to be steep drops into pools and this is more of a gradual decline and that presents a unique challenge. I think that will add a new dimension to the races that is lacking in the bigger courses."

Scott Shipley's one-of-a-kind RapidBlocs are not just popular among whitewater course designers, who are embracing the ability to change features with a few minutes wrenching. For freestyle kayakers who have been vying for Olympic inclusion, RapidBlocs could become their biggest ally.

"Those guys really want to get into the Olympics and this can make that happen because you can add the features for free in a couple hours," said Shipley, an engineer and world champion slalom kayaker with more than few trophies in freestyle kayaking.

Winter Olympics organizers last year included skiers in halfpipe competition for the 2014 Winter Games after the success of snowboarders in the halfpipe and the ability to use the same venue for both disciplines. It's not a reach for freestyle kayakers to argue the same point. With a few hours adjustment, the Lee Valley whitewater slalom course can easily host the world's best freestyle paddlers. In fact a freestyle demonstration with five kayakers, including Tennessee's Dane Jackson, is scheduled during the London Games at Lee Valley.

"It would take us an hour or two to change that after a couple days of design and it cost nothing," Shipley said.

Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasontblevins

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21141408/colorado-whitewater-design-firms-float-london-olympic-venue?source=rss

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US Osprey aircraft arrive in Japan amid protests

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-osprey-aircraft-arrive-japan-amid-protests-014637964.html

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Scranton workers get full pay, for now

By Hilary Russ, Reuters

City workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, whose pay was slashed to minimum wage when the city was low on cash, will get full pay this week, but how much they get in the future is as uncertain as the city's ability to fill its coffers.

In the latest twist of a fiscal saga that has grabbed attention around the world, Scranton officials said on Wednesday that the city was able to make its full payroll of $1.1 million. Checks to nearly 400 employees are due to go out on Friday.

Whether Scranton pays full or lower salaries will depend on how much revenue the city collects, Scranton's business administrator Ryan McGowan said.

"We're hoping the necessary revenue is coming in two weeks that will allow us to meet a payroll" and other obligations, he said in a telephone interview.

Scranton Mayor Christopher Doherty's decision to cut pay to $7.25 an hour on July 6 put the spotlight on the Pennsylvania city of 76,000. Scranton's city leaders cannot agree on how to plug a $16.5 million budget hole for fiscal year 2012, which ends on December 31.

They are also at odds over a longer-term fiscal recovery plan, which is required by the state because Scranton has been operating under state supervision for financially distressed municipalities since 1992.

The state is paying for a mediator and has offered an additional $2.25 million in no-interest loans and grants, but Scranton cannot claim the money unless Doherty and city council members agree on a recovery plan by August 1 and implement it within the following two weeks.

Bills mount
City council members rejected a budget proposal by Doherty to raise property tax rates by 78 percent over the next three years. They favor $16.5 million in borrowing to fund operations but have yet to secure lenders.

The city has struggled to pay its bills. After making payroll of about $315,000 on July 6 at the reduced rate of $7.25, Scranton had $5,000 left in the bank.

John Judge, president of the local firefighters union, said the higher salaries would provide some relief, but he noted that workers had not received money cut from the previous pay period and were facing uncertainty over future paychecks.

"It's definitely going to be a help for the guys, but it needs to be straightened out for good," he said.

When they received word that Doherty would cut wages, Scranton's public employees' unions sued in local court. A judge ordered Doherty not to cut their pay, but he did anyway, arguing that he did not have the money for full wages.

Doherty, whose pay was also temporarily cut to minimum wage, is due in court next Tuesday for a hearing on whether he could be held in civil contempt. The unions also filed two federal lawsuits after the salary reductions.

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Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/24/12924619-scranton-pa-workers-will-get-paid-in-full-for-now?lite

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Authorities: 11 dead after truck crashes in Texas

GOLIAD, Texas?? At least 11 people died Sunday and another 12 were injured after a pickup truck loaded with passengers left the highway and crashed into trees in rural South Texas, authorities said.

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State troopers and Goliad County sheriff's investigators were investigating what prompted the single-vehicle crash and did not immediately know the names and ages of the victims. Gerald Bryant, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told The Associated Press they were various ages and that he personally saw two young children among the dead at the scene.

"This is the most people I've seen in any passenger vehicle, and I've been an officer for 38 years," Bryant said, referring to the chaotic scene.

The white 2000 Ford F-250 pickup was heading north on U.S. 59 on Sunday evening when it traveled off the right side of the highway near the unincorporated community of Berclair in Goliad County and struck two large trees, Bryant said. The 23 people were loaded inside both the truck's cab and bed.

Six of those who died were still inside the truck when emergency crews arrived to find the mangled vehicle, Bryant said.

He said several of the surviving victims had life-threatening injuries. He did not have their official conditions but described them as "very serious." The injured were taken to various hospitals in San Antonio, Victoria and Corpus Christi. Berclair is about 100 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Border Patrol will assist with the investigation.

"It's unknown whether or not (the victims) were illegal, but it's possible," Bryant told the AP.

Crash investigators stayed at the scene into the late hours Sunday to assess the crash, which halted traffic on U.S. 59.

"It's been very chaotic here, and it's very traumatic," Bryant told the San Antonio-Express News earlier from the scene. "It's only first responders out here, and it's very solemn."

A Goliad County sheriff's dispatcher deferred comment to a department spokesperson, who did not immediately return a message left by the AP.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48280751/ns/us_news/

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Listen to the Colo. Theater Shooting Unfold as Police Radio - Blogs

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Source: http://toniandgary.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/listen-to-the-colo-theater-shooting-unfold-as-police-radio-communications-released/

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