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(RTTNews.com) - Hopes of additional easing the traders have built against the backdrop of softening economic environment may be put to test, as the D-day has arrived. Reflecting the nervousness of traders ahead of the decision, the U.S. index futures point to a slightly higher opening on Wednesday. The Fed's post-meeting policy statement, updated economic forecasts and press briefing of Chairman Ben Bernanke are expected to be the focal points of the day, as the global economy waddles through muddled waters.

A warning issued by Procter & Gamble (PG) and lackluster guidance announced by tech companies Adobe Systems (ADBE) and Jabil Circuit (JBL) may create some uneasiness about the corporate profit outlook ahead of the second quarter reporting season. The currency market is also searching for direction, with trading muted ahead of the Fed decision. Crude oil is consolidating after yesterday's rally.

As of 6:18 am ET, the Dow futures are up 3 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are adding 4.75 points, while the S&P 500 futures are down marginally.

U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, thanks to hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce stimulatory support in the wake of weakening global economic fundamentals.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy-setting arm of the Federal Reserve is due to release the post-meeting policy statement at 12:30 am ET followed by the release of the FOMC forecasts at 2 pm ET. Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press briefing at 2:15 pm ET.

The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum inventory report for the week ended June 15th at 10:30 am ET. A report released by the American Petroleum Institute showed that crude oil stockpiles fell by 550,000 barrels to 385.1 million barrels in the week ended June 15th. While distillate inventories fell by 269,000 barrels, gasoline inventories increased by 1.07 million barrels.

In corporate news, Procter & Gamble lowered its June quarter guidance, citing slower than expected market growth rates and market softness in developed regions along with unfavorable currency translation effects.

Jabil Circuit reported third quarter core earnings that were in line, while its revenues were shy of estimates. For the fourth quarter, the company expects core earnings of 54-66 cents per share on net revenues of $4.1 billion to $4.35 billion. The guidance was soft.

Adobe Systems' second quarter results exceeded estimates. The company guided third quarter non-GAAP earnings to 56-61 cents per share and revenues to $1.075 billion to $1.125 billion. The guidance was soft. The company also narrowed its full year revenue growth guidance to 6-7 percent from 6-8 percent and non-GAAP earnings guidance to $2.40-$2.46 per share from $2.38-$2.48 per share.

La-Z-Boy's (LZB) fourth quarter earnings rose to 37 cents per share, including 19 cents per share in anti-dumping duties, compared to 19 cents per share in the year-ago period, which included a 5 cents per share impairment charge. Sales fell 3.4 percent to $327.39 million, below the consensus expectations.

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Wall Street Waits On Word From Fed

Jun 19, 2012

In January this year, EyeforTravel featured an article titled Why 2012 is going to be The Year of SoLoMo. The three initiatives of SoLoMo (social, local, and mobile), are key components of the new always connected travel consumers behaviour.

Social is about sharing our travel experiences, mobile speaks to our always on-the-go nature and is supported by the technological advancements in smartphones - and local relates to our need for information from our immediate environment.

The convergence of these three initiatives provides a new sweet spot for travel brands to engage customers on the move. The location-aware capabilities of smartphones enable brands to streamline search results as well as target the customer with highly relevant local offers.

The integration with social media provides an ideal opportunity to encourage on-site guest experience sharing. A great example of this is that of Fiesta Hotel GroupssUshuaia Beach Hotel Ibiza featured in a recent EyeforTravel article.

EyeforTravels Social Media & Mobile Strategies for Travel 2012 conference in San Francisco earlier this year in March saw an insightful presentation by Lise Struwing, Director, Web Strategy for luxury hotel group Loews Hotels. Struwing teamed up with Margaret Mastrogiacomo, Manager, New Media & Creative Strategy atHeBS to demonstrate how they took an integrated approach to SoLoMo designed for maximum return on investment.

The video presentation can be viewed here.

Originally posted here:
Mobile and Technology

A recent poster in New York's gayborhoods tells the tale: "MORE GRINDR=FEWER GAY BARS." This brief cri de coeurspread, appropriately enough, via social media and on blogs like Joe. My. God.cited hookup sites and rapidly proliferating mobile apps like Grindr for killing New York's gay nightlife.

It's hard to believe that a mere 10 years ago, up to 2,000 men were dancing into Sunday morning at the Roxy; in the '80s, 3,000 members were packing the Saint for 18-hour marathons. Today, the city's only dedicated gay dance club, XL, has an official capacity of 750, which along with a few smaller dancefloors in bars like the Ritz and Splash, is the only game in town. Meanwhile, Manhunt, the granddaddy of hookup sites, boasts 200,000 active users in the city. With more than 400,000 local log-ins a week, New York makes up 10 percent of Manhunt's user base.

Santiago Felipe

Still dressing for club success

Even John Blair, the veteran promoter behind Hell's Kitchen's XL, admits, "Even if you could build a club like the Saint, you couldn't get that many people. Back then, that's all their social life was. People don't need to go to bars to hook up."

On those rare occasions where they actually meet someone face to face, guys wait until they're home to seal the deal. "It's not part of the culture where, if you meet someone, it's even socially acceptable," notes Stephen Pevner, who, as head of the Saint At Large, produces one of the city's few remaining major big-room dance events, the annual Black Party. "They say, 'I'll see you on Manhunt.'" Hey, why go out at all when you can order in?

The reasons for what everyone agrees is a noticeable contraction in club life go way beyond the digital revolution into even more fundamental changes. Younger gay men might be more concerned about meeting Mr. Right to marry and start families than the perpetual search for Mr. Right Now. Even the ones still on the prowl have less expendable income after paying for a rabbit warren of a room in a shared apartment in a funky neighborhood far away from Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, or the East Village. Who wants to be cooked at 4 a.m. while anticipating a long wait for a subway train and a longer walk from the station?

Besides, gay men don't define themselves by the clubs they frequent anymore. Nor do they have to. In the years after Stonewall, clubs like the Firehouse and 12 West represented safe spaces in a hostile world where we could flirt, make out, and hook up (usually on site). With gay men coming out earlier and being comfortable hanging out with straight friends, even Blair and his partner in life and work, Beto Sutter, disagree about whether an unspoken, discriminatory door policy still works. "At the Roxy, people complained about too many girls," Sutter says, adding, "eight girls for every guy! Now they want diversity on Saturday night."

Jake Resnicow, promoter of one of the few new franchise events in town, Matinee, which began on Ibiza, agrees: "Matinee has demonstrated that the boys appreciate a mixed crowd."

Blair, however, maintains that "the gay community wants to be around people like themselves. "If you have too many straights, there are complaints, a lot of complaints. If anything, gay men are segregating themselves into smaller groups." The bears have their club nights, like Joe Fiore's Rockbear and Blowoff, held periodically at the High Line in West Chelsea; the skinny young guys (a/k/a/ the twinks), the single-named HK bars (Barracuda, Therapy, Industry, et al.); the musclemen, the semi-regular Alegria parties. Even older gay men have their own dances, such as Sunday Teas at XL.

Continue reading here:
Nightlife Suffers as Gay Men Move Online

PUBLISHED: 18:22 EST, 18 June 2012 | UPDATED: 03:10 EST, 19 June 2012

Waiter Albert Sola claims King Juan Carlos of Spain is his father, and met his mother during a trip to Barcelona in the 1950s

A Spanish waiter and a Belgian housewife have joined forces in an attempt to prove they are the illegitimate children of the King of Spain.

Albert Sola, 55, has already had DNA tests done which show there is a 91 per probability he is the half-brother of a woman whose mother pointed at Juan Carlos on the television and told her: 'Hes your dad.'

Belgian Ingrid Sartiau met Albert for the first time 10 days ago in a hotel in north east Spain after contacting him over the Internet.

The pair are now said to be considering legal action to force Juan Carlos to accept they were born to mistresses and recognise them as his children.

Dad-of-two Albert, who used to run a successful metal firm in Mexico, has already sent several faxes addressed Dear Father to the 17th century La Zarzuela palace near Madrid where the King lives with his long-suffering wife Sofia and their family.

He said: 'Im convinced Im King Juan Carlos son. Ingrid and I are going to send a fax to La Zarzuela to inform them of the results of the DNA tests and see where we go from there.'

Albert, who lives and works in a small village outside Girona, was adopted as a child and grew up in Ibiza before moving to Barcelona.

He claims the Spanish King, said to have bedded more than 1,500 women in a Don Juan-style romantic career, met his birth mum during a trip to the Catalan capital in the fifties from a military academy in Zaragoza where he was studying.

The rest is here:
Juan Carlos: Spanish waiter and Belgian housewife claim King of Spain is their father

By Rick Kelsey Newsbeat reporter in Ibiza

The British government's representative in Ibiza says the downturn in the Spanish economy is creating problems for young UK tourists visiting the island.

Paul Abrey, who is the British Consul for the Balearic Islands, says that although visitor numbers haven't dropped there's more crime and hospitals can ask for cash upfront for medical treatment.

It comes after Spanish banks were given 80 billion in emergency loans by the eurozone.

This has put more pressure on the Spanish government who have had to borrow heavily and make cuts to deal with the effects of the collapse.

Almost three quarters of a million visitors come over to the White Isle, as Ibiza is known, every year.

It's quieter but then this is an expensive place to come. The clubs charge around 50 euros to get in and drinks aren't cheap

Many of them are young and want to experience the nightlife in places like San Antonio and Playa d'en Bossa.

Paul Abrey said: "There are reduced services, fewer police around and a bit more crime in the resorts which are all consequences of a country that is struggling."

Walking around the West End area of San Antonio, many of the bar workers say there are fewer people around for the time of year.

Excerpt from:
British tourists 'sleeping rough'