2000 Impala. Less than 50,000 miles. Rack and pinion needs replacing. Checking with other owners appears this is a common problem. No help from dealership. Appears GMC continued to use a known defective unit for years. Will not fix under warranty.
My fingers developed curvatures and twisted knuckles. I developed lower back pain. Shoulder pain. Neck pain. Carpal tunnel. Sciatic pain. Required physical therapy because I could not lift my arm above shoulder height. The stiff "high effort" steering was resulting in my body generating forces to overcome the resistance of the steering system which were resulting in shock loads to my skeletal system joints and bones. Other drivers of the stiff steering Chevrolet Impala, Saturn's, Pontiac Grand Am, pick up trucks all experience the same deformities with hand/finger functional losses. Updated 05/27/10.
The contact owns a 2000 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the front end of her vehicle vibrates severely. The tie rod ends, rack, transmission mounts, tires, intermediate shaft, and both axles have been replaced, but the vibration still persists. On March 6, 2009, the contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic and paid $600 to have the vehicle repaired. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer informed her to take the vehicle to another dealer for diagnostic testing, which would cost $88. The failure mileage was 125,000.
The steering intermittently locks or is difficult to turn beyond a certain angle. It occurs most often when making a left turn. Working the wheel back and forth usually loosens. Several times I took it to mechanics, but they were unable to reproduce the problem.
Intermediate shaft sticks and makes clunking sounds while driving. Tsb suggested lubrication kit, that fix was not successful. Replaced shaft, new shaft has developed same problem. The design appears flawed and possibly dangerous to have a steering component binding. To my knowledge there is no permanent fix for this and a new intermediate shaft with the same design is not a permanent solution.
I am the original owner of a 2000 Chevy Impala with 85,000 miles. Intermediate steering shaft fails every 20-25,000 miles. It has been replaced three times already, and is failing again. Dealer admits it is a design flaw that affects all 2000-2005 design Impala's. you know it is failing when you feel clunking and looseness in the steering at low speeds when cornering. I have talked with many other Impala owners, and they have identical problems. Costs $250 every time this part must be replaced. This is a significant safety concern when a critical steering component repeatedly fails.
: the contact stated while pulling out of the driveway on normal road conditions at 5 mph, the steering column locked and could not be pulled to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who were currently examining the vehicle. No repairs were made.
: the contact stated while turning at various speeds, the steering column made a grinding noise and the steering wheel shook. The dealership determined the steering shaft needed to be replaced. The consumer declined to have the steering shaft replaced. Updated 08/25/06.
Ltr re defective steering systems in numerous automobiles especially the 2000 Chevrolet Impala causes carpal tunnel, hands and finger deformalties.
Hard to steer. Clunking, popping noise coming from front end. Last year steering shaft replaced (intermediate steering shaft, 12/21/04). Then in January problem started. Feels like power steering comes and goes.
I started hearing a "clunking" in the front end. I can also feel "jerking" in steering. It is especially dominant when I am going slower and using brakes, I seem to be able to feel and hear it better when slightly turning to the right. I can also be stopped and just taking off to make a turn and can hear the clunking. I am scared that something is going to fall off someday and I will have no steering. Had it look at and mechanic thought it was a broken tie rod end he found on right side, that was repaired 2/7/05.. but clunking and jerkiness is still there.
The consumer was having a problem with the intermediate steering shaft. The consumer received a recall notice on the manifold. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and had the fuel system checked and was charged $124.85. Provide further details.
Ltr re defective steering system in numerous automobiles especially the 2000 Chevy Impala which caused hand and finger deformalties to the consumer. The consumer purchased a 2000 vehicle and stated that he watched his fingers become bent and twisted as a result of steering. The consumer stated that side view mirror height obstructs the view of the on-coming traffic.
Steering wheel and front wheel drive effort. The consumer has had and on going problem with the steering of the vehicle. Meetings with the representatives of GM has already taken place, but the steering system has not been repaired. The consumer was discouraged and wants further investigations. The consumer had severe pains in his and fingers and hands from trying to steer the vehicle.
On July 4, 2003 my 2000 Chevrolet Impala was lubed at the Chevrolet dealership because of steering issues. The car would vibrate, pop, and jerk when accelerating, slowing down or making turns and steering becomes very tight and difficult to turn. It took 3 separate visits to the dealership before they discovered what they thought was the source of the problem. I have several children and I am greatly concerned about our safety. I do not know what else to do because this seems to be a recurring problem with many 2000 Impala. I did a lot of reseach and found other complaints on your site due to the same issue, as well as complaints on www.impalahq.com. I've also read issues where some police departments are using this same model and they have reported accidents due to steering lost, which seems to be related to the intermediate steering shaft issues. The last steering shaft lube was 11 months ago and cost me $140. Looks like I will have to have this service done every 10-12 months to keep this car from loosing steering. I can not put a price on the safety of my children, but I can inform other and hope Chevy will find a solution to this problem quickly.
While driving at 15 to 20 mph vehicle intermittently stalled. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer but they can't locate the source of the problem. In addition, knocking and jerking in steering wheel when turning, and it was found that intermediate shaft created noise. Intermediate shaft was replaced under warranty.
There are 2 problems with the car I bought: 1. we have experienced a problem with the paint on the bumpers--it peels off. 2. the steering shaft on this car was popping and the steering wheel had play at about 30,000 miles and they replaced the shaft and told me there shouldn't be another problem. Now the car has about 90,000 miles and when it had 70,000 it started the same steering problems it had before. Does it take injuries or failed steering to get someone to look at this as a problem with this make and model"??" I gave up arguing about #1 even though the paint isn't the way it should be. Number 2 is a problem that should be addressed before someone gets hurt, when the dealer had to pay before I should not have to pay now!!!
2000 Chevrolet Impala intermediate steering shaft failure. Defective steering part that Chevrolet refuses to acknowledge and fix. Replaced part in 2001, replaced part in 2002, filled part with grease in 2003. This part is defective and should be redesigned and provided to all customers that purchased these vehicles at no cost to the consumer.
My 2000 Impala has a clunking noise when making left hand turns. Dealer put in a new steering shaft but the problem returned after another 12,000 miles on the car. It is an intermittent clunking and seems to be a permanent unrepairable defect in the car.


Frances was born on June 2, 1934 and passed away on Sunday, April 7, 2019. Frances was a resident of Arkansas at the time of passing.
Janet M. Batts, 55, Fremont, died 03-15-2019. Arrangements: Seymour Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Inc, GOLDSBORO.


The U18s travelled to Woodville Oval on Saturday to meet the undefeated Eagles and came away with a draw and new found self belief and confidence.
The game was played at high speed, with both teams enjoying periods of momentum. Our lads came out breathing fire and took the game right up to the Eagles kicking five goals to one up to quarter time to enjoy a 28-point lead.
The roles reversed in the second quarter as the Eagles responded with five goals of their own while keeping us to just one behind. We headed into halftime eight points behind.
The third quarter was an arm wrestle with both teams playing some very good footy. Ultimately the Eagles extended their margin to 12 points at the last break.
The last quarter was the best quarter of footy our boys have played all year. Even with the Eagles kicking with the breeze our guys refused to lie down.
Kicking four goals, two behinds to the Eagles two goals, two behinds and coming from behind on the scoreboard very late in the game showed great character and spirit to fight it out to the end.
Being our last minor round game for the season and playing off for top spot the players and coaches were very excited by the challenge of taking on the Eagles on Saturday afternoon.
Despite kicking with a slight breeze in the first quarter, we got off to a slow start. The Eagles ball use was much cleaner then ours and they managed to head into quarter time with a three goal lead.
For the next three quarters we dominated possession and controlled the game, but once again we made some really poor decisions going into our forward line and the Eagles rebounded everything that came their way.
Throughout the day we lacked any real composure and probably played our worst game of the season. Eventually we lsot by three goals.
Best afield for us was Tate Coleman, with some strong contributions from Hayden Sampson, Jonty Manuel, Sam Whitbread, Joel Beeche and Luke Bogle.
Although the result was very disappointing we now have a chance to respond this Thursday night against Glenelg at Football park, with the winner going through to the Grand Final.


text:
package gl8080.slidedown.util.observer;

import gl8080.slidedown.util.observer.Observer;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

public class EventAnnouncer {
    private static final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(EventAnnouncer.class);
    private final Map<Event, Set<Observer>> observerStore = new HashMap<>();

    public void addObserver(Event event, Observer... observers) {
        if (event == null || observers == null) throw new NullPointerException();
        if (observers.length == 0) throw new IllegalArgumentException("observers is empty");

        logger.trace("addObserver({}, {})", event, observers);

        this.observerStore.putIfAbsent(event, new HashSet<>());

        this.observerStore.compute(event, (key, store) -> {
            store.addAll(Arrays.asList(observers));
            return store;
        });
    }

    public void fire(Event event) {
        logger.trace("fire({})", event);
        if (this.observerStore.containsKey(event)) {
            logger.trace("containsKey({})", event);
            this.observerStore.get(event).forEach(observer -> observer.update());
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Dynamically update UILabel text based on compression Is it possible to create a UILabel subclass that automatically updates its text based on whether it has enough space or not?  Similar to the way the label can add ellipses.
I would like to create two properties preferredText and alternateText and have the label select automatically between the two based on the amount of space it has available.  So, I could do something like preferredText = @"Count text: 1024"; alternateText = @"1024";.
I've looked at intrinsicContentSize of course, but I think that should always return a value based on preferredText.  I also looked at overriding systemLayoutSizeFittingSize and systemLayoutSizeFittingSize:... but these methods are never called during autolayout.  I also tried overriding layoutSubviews, but at that point the system has already decided how big it wants the label to be.  Changing the text there can result in an infinite loop.
Ideally I would like a generalized solution that I could apply to other view types as well.  For example, a custom uibutton might choose a different image if there is not sufficient space.

A: You would need to look at the preferred text and the size of the label, and then look at the required size for the text (easily done using boundingRectWithSize...) and see whether it will fit. Depending what you learn, you would then assign the preferred text or the alternate text.
(It would be better, however, to allow the label to resize itself depending on its text, which is what it wants to do automatically anyway. Or you could take advantage of the fact that a label is happy to shrink its font size if that's what it takes to make the text fit.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Login | For Educators
Learn the Past. Understand the Present.
The Timescale
Episode 7 Field Guide: Walking through Whale Evolution
Whales are spectacularly specialized mammals that seem perfectly adapted to their marine habitat. Plenty of other mammals have gone back to the water, but whales take it to a whole new level. No back legs, weird ear bones, nose on top of the head. What could the land-based ancestor of whales have possibly looked like? Is there a fossil record of walking whales? In this episode we discover whales belong with the hoofed animals and their closest relatives, according to molecular comparisons, are hippos! But hippos and extinct fossil whales don't look very much alike. How did paleontologists, like our guest Dr. Marueen O'Leary, figure out the origins of whales? And what do we know about the origins of hippos? As always when we start digging into the fossil record the answers to these questions lead to even questions than we started with!
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. If you like what you hear, or if you don't, leave a review! We really are looking for feedback on what we're trying to do here. If you would rather stream the episode through your browser or download the audio without going through an RSS feed or iTunes, click here!
Click below to expand the Field Guide to see images of the earliest fossil whales and a tree showing where whales fit in the mammalian family tree!
It would be easy to start this blog post with a gag about this being "a whale of a tale," but we're not going to do that…
Whales are strange animals. For centuries whalers and fisherman knew there was a difference between the "great fish" with horizontal tails and lungs, and the other, smaller fish with vertical tails and gills, but it wasn't until the 19th century when scientists first started studying the remains of fossil whales that they started the search for the closest living and extinct relatives of Cetacea (the group that includes all living whales) among living and extinct mammals.
Scientists over the last two hundred years have posed and tested tons of hypotheses (they are whales, nothing is going to be small). Each new idea adds a little more to the bigger story of these gigantic mammals. Thankfully, we have an expert, Dr. Maureen O'Leary, to guide us through the hypotheses that have been proposed, shot down and supported through two centuries of work.
Dr. Maureen O'Leary is an associate professor of Anatomy at Stony Brook
Dr. Maureen O'Leary, associate professor of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University
University. Dr. O'Leary started her career studying the anatomy of ancient mammals, charting the relationships of those mammals using similarities in their bones. Using cutting-edge techniques, Dr. O'Leary is now able to combine information from bones and fossils with evolutionary information contained in organic molecules like DNA. She's excavated fossils in the American west and in North Africa. She currently leads a massive project called the Mammalia Tree of Life which is a collaboration among dozens of scientists to sort out the relationships among ALL mammal groups. We'll be talking to Dr. O'Leary about the Tree of Life project in a few weeks. First, we wanted to pick her brain on whale evolution since this is a special area of interest for her and the story of whales can be fit into the larger story of mammal evolution.
Modern whales care divided into two lineages: the toothed Odontocetes (killer whales, dolphins, sperm whales, beluga whales etc.) and Mysticetes or baleen whales (blue whales, humpbacked whales, fin whales etc.)
But where did these modern animals, with their noses on the tops of their heads, large brains, large bodies, and absent back legs come from? Without watching whales evolve firsthand, we can never know every single detail, but scientists, like Dr. O'Leary continue to snap togehter more and more pieces in this gigantic puzzle. In the podcast episode we talk a lot about the big anatomical changes that whales needed to undergo to become successful marine mammals. In this Field Guide we wanted to give you the story of scientists building on each other's ideas to arrive at our current whale-origin hypothesis. This tale can be broken down into three main steps:
Step 1 – Discover Fossil Whales!
The story begins with the recognition of the first fossils of ancient whales (Archaeoceti or "Ancient Whales" in Greek). In the early 1830s Richard Harlan, an American anatomist working in Philadelphia was sent the vertebrae of a giant marine animal from Louisiana. Harlan published articles on the enormous fossils as they continued to arrive from the Deep South including more giant backbone chunks and jaws fragments with enormous, sharp teeth. Harlan immediately drew comparisons with the giant sea-going reptiles that were being discovered in Europe like the fish-bodied ichthyosaurs and the long-necked plesiosaurs. He named the animal Basilosaurus, Greek for "King Lizard."
Harlan brought the Gulf Coast fossils to Sir Richard Owen, a British anatomist who ran the Natural History Museum in London. Owen was an opponent of Charles Darwin and all evolutionary theory. He also coined the term "dinosaur" for the large reptiles that were being found in England and Continental Europe. The cantankerous Owen really knew his animal anatomy, though, and he recognized Basilosaurus as a mammal based on the multiple roots on the teeth and the anatomy of the jaw. He noticed there were many features of the skull that placed Basilosaurus with the modern whales. Even if he didn't think there was an evolutionary explanation for the strange animal, Owen's conclusion that Basilosaurus was a kind of whale was further supported by the discovery of more compete fossils of the sinuous beast.
Step 2 – Connect whales to their closest relatives
The terrifying teeth of Basilosaurus and other early whales discovered throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries suggested a connection to some kind of deadly mammalian carnivore, perhaps dogs or bears. Modern pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses) are close relatives of bears. Maybe whales were really marine adapted seals! But the more anatomists scrutinized the anatomy of whales and the anatomy of carnivores, the less likely this seemed.
The evolutionary biologist Leigh Van Valen tied the sharp teeth of fossil whales to a fossil group called Mesonychia. Mesonychids were bizarre mammals that lived soon after the extinction of the dinosaurs, combining the cutting teeth of carnivores with the hoofed feet of the artiodactyls. Needless to say, they looked really, really weird…
The largest mesonychid is called Andrewsarchus. Known only from its massive cranium, it may have been the largest carnivorous mammal to live on land. It was big but was it the cousin of the whales?
Step 3 – Connecting hippos and whales
Discoveries of complete fossil whale legs in the 1990s showed that the oldest whales had the very same ankle structures as the oldest artiodactyls. All tetrapods (land animals) have an astragalus, the bone that acts as a hinge between your lower leg and your foot, but only artiodactyls have a "double pulley" astragalus. Mesonychids don't have a double pulley, but the oldest whales ever discovered were preserved with their hind legs intact and they had the double pulley, a feature that linked whales to sheep, cows, camels, and deer!
Also in the 1990s, biologists began to use molecules to provide a brand new window into the relationships of organisms. Scientists can only study the DNA, proteins, and other molecules in living or very-recently dead animals, because fossils don't preserve the living tissues that house genetic information (so no Jurassic Park for a while). Still, the molecules of living animals can be compared to one another using massive computers. The more similar the molecules, the more likely two animals are related. Sometimes the molecules can reveal connections that have gone unsuspected by zoologists and paleontologists because there are still gaps in the fossil record.
When molecular research turned to whales, molecular biologists discovered a strange relationship: whales' molecules had more in common with hippopotamus molecules than any other living mammal! Paleontologists and anatomists figured out that whales and the artiodactyls were close relatives based on the ankle bones, but no one guessed that whales were close to any particular group of hoofed mammals, let alone the herbivorous, snub-nosed hippos! Look at the image of the Walking Whales above. Compare that to a hippo below. What would the common ancestor of these two animals looked like?
But the evidence for the hippo-whale connection continues to pile up. We've come a long way from Harlan and his "King Lizard." But the hippo hypothesis leaves us with a multitude of questions! Like, what do the earliest hippos look like? Were they semi-aquatic like they are today? Did they have sharp teeth link the earliest whales or were they herbivores? Can the fossil record help solve the mystery? Unfortunately, we don't have any of the oldest hippos!
It's a strange place to end the story, but the fact is we need fossil hippos to tell the whole story of the origin of whales. Will a paleontologist dig up that ancient hippo tomorrow? Next summer? Will you be the one to find it?
For further information on whale evolution check out:
Whales: Giants of the Deep at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City – If you're in the New York area, check out this spectacular exhibit at the American Museum. You can crawl through a life-sized model of a blue whale's heart, see reproductions of the earliest-known fossil whales, and even the skull of Andrewsarchus! The exhibit also explores the relationship between people and whales through time. If you're not in New York, keep an eye out for this exhibit to visit your town. It was created in New Zealand and has already been to Chicago.
At the Water's Edge by Carl Zimmer (1999) – Zimmer starts by describing the complicated story of early tetrapod evolution as fish learned to walk, then he describes the return to the water with the story of early whales.
Return to the Sea: The Live and Evolutionary Times of Marine mammals by Annelisa Berta – Polar bears, seals, otters, manatees, and whales all made it back to the water and Berta describes what is known about each lineage's return to an aquatic lifestyle.
An Introduction to Marine Mammal Biology and Conservation by E.C.M. Parsons – A discussion of the behavior and biology of modern marine mammals.
Filed under: Cenozoic, Cetacea, Eocene, Field Guide, Hippopotamus, Locomotion, Mammals, Systematics, anatomy, evolution, hippo, whale
Subscribe to the Past Time Podcast on iTunes
Dig Us On Twitter
Tweets by @PastTimePaleo
Contact Us | About the Show

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


(a) Any person who, during the commission of a carjacking and in order to facilitate the commission of the carjacking, kidnaps another person who is not a principal in the commission of the carjacking shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole.
(b) This section shall only apply if the movement of the victim is beyond that merely incidental to the commission of the carjacking, the victim is moved a substantial distance from the vicinity of the carjacking, and the movement of the victim increases the risk harm to the victim over and above that necessarily present in the crime of carjacking itself.
(c) In all cases in which probation is granted, the court shall except in unusual cases where the interests of justice would best be served by a lesser penalty, require as a condition of the probation that the person be confined in the county jail for 12 months. If the court grants probation without requiring the defendant to be confined in the county jail for 12 months, it shall specify its reason or reasons for imposing a lesser penalty.
What are the elements of kidnapping in commission of carjacking?
1. Defendant kidnapped a person other than a principal in the commission of a carjacking.
2. The movement of Victim occurred during the commission of a carjacking.
3. The movement of Victim was without the victim's consent.
4. The defendant moved the victim with the specific intent to facilitate the commission of the carjacking and acted with that specific intent when the movement of the victim commenced.
5. The victim was moved fro a substantial distance from the vicinity of the carjacking.


Published: August 19, 2014 12:00 am Updated: Aug. 19, 2014 8:42 a.m.
BAGHDAD — Skirmishes broke out Tuesday between Iraqi security forces and militants on the outskirts of Tikrit, a local official and a resident said, a day after the Iraqi and Kurdish troops backed by U.S. airstrikes dislodged Islamic militants from a strategic dam in the country's north.
The clashes began on the southwestern outskirts of the militant-held city of Tikrit, located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of the capital, when a military convoy was travelling along the main highway that links Baghdad with the northern provinces, they said.
Sunni extremists from Islamic State group have occupied Tikrit and the northern city of Mosul since early June, as well as large parts of the country's north and west. The militant onslaught has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011.
Iraqi army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said Tuesday that a "slow and gradual" push to retake areas around Tikrit is underway, an effort he described as "biting back the land." Al-Moussawi said security forces dismantled more than 40 bombs in the area.
"There are still a lot of challenges and difficulties ahead of us," he said in a live briefing aired on state TV. "The war needs time, but we are determined to annihilate the Islamic State (group) and to liberate all the areas they occupy — even if we suffer heavy causalities, because we have no other choice."
On Monday, Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured Iraq's Mosul Dam less than two weeks after it was seized by the militants. The dam is the largest in Iraq and a vital power and water resource for the country.
The gains made by the militants brought U.S. forces back into the conflict for the first time since they withdrew in 2011. America's renewed involvement on the battle field was a reflection of the growing international concern over the Sunni extremist group. Washington began carrying out dozens of airstrikes on Aug. 8.
Hours after retaking the dam, U.S. President Barack Obama called the development a "major step forward" in the battle against the group.
"We've got a national security interest in making sure our people are protected and in making sure that a savage group that seems willing to slaughter people for no rhyme or reason other than they have not kowtowed — that a group like that is contained, because ultimately it can pose a threat to us," Obama told reporters.
Al-Moussawi on Tuesday hailed the "big success and achievement" of security forces, reiterating that the dam "is now under security forces' full control."
Also Tuesday, Iraq's designate-Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued a statement praising security forces as "heroes" for confronting "the terrorist gangs." He also called on security forces to ensure "precise targeting" so not to hit the civilians.


MATT Wallace called Bryson DeChambeau a "worthy champion" after he won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic by seven shots – but vowed to try to catch him the next time they do battle.
Wallace, who hails from Moor Park Golf Club, in Hertfordshire, finished alone in second after mixing six birdies with two bogeys in his final-round 68 but never came close to applying real pressure on the American.
And the Englishman – who won three times in a year 2018 – is keen to make amends when he next goes head-to-head with the hottest player on the US PGA Tour right now after his fifth win in less than a year, including his first overseas this weekend.
"I wanted to give it a go," said Wallace. "I really wanted to put some pressure on Bryson.
"He was obviously scoring well. Credit to him, he's played great from what I hear and he's a worthy champion this week.
"It's great to have him here. But I'll try and get him next time.
"The round was really good in parts, really shabby in parts. Not good enough to put any pressure on, but just about good enough to get second.
"I've got to take the positives from that early on in the season to get the juices flowing like that. And to play with Ernie (Els).
"I mean, I didn't see myself having 165 yards in for my third on the last to try and get it done, but yeah, I'll learn from that.
"I'll put better swings on it next time. Overall, I'm happy. I actually drove it amazingly apart from that last tee shot, really.
DeChambeau's maiden European Tour title came courtesy of closing 64 to win the 30th anniversary edition of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The World No. 5 had set himself the target of securing his first professional overseas win at Emirates Golf Club ahead of the event.
And the duly delivered, carding an eagle, seven birdies and a single bogey on the fourth day to finish the week on 24-under par and set a new tournament record.
Last year's champion Li Haotong, who played alongside DeChambeau in the final round, had held the previous record after producing a winning score of 23-under 12 months ago.
But the Chinese star was caught up in controversy in the first ruling of the new season based on the R&A's rule changes, which came into effect at the start of January.
Li's caddy briefly stood on the line of his player's putt as he took his stance, but the quick player released the trigger before he had moved out of the way as stipulated in the rule change.
And the European Tour's referees were left with no choice but to impose a two-shot penalty, dropping the defending champion down to a share of 12th place, having stood tied for third before he left the 18th green.
Englishmen Paul Waring and Ian Poulter, and Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Alvaro Quiros ended up sharing the third place prize money on 16-under.
DeChambeau, who made his Ryder Cup debut for the United States in Paris – where Europe inflicted a record defeat on the Americans – came into the final round with a one-shot advantage over nearest challenger Li.
Another birdie from close range followed at the long third but despite creating more chances on the front nine, he had to settle for six more pars to reach the turn in 32.
The 25-year-old extended his lead further as he began the more scorable back nine, holing his 10-foot eagle putt at the long 10th before picking up a birdie at the 11th to move to 22-under and open up a six-shot lead.
He dropped his only shot of the day at the 12th but bounced back with a birdie from eight feet at the long 13th.
DeChambeau then holed a six-foot birdie putt at the 14th and after coming agonisingly close to picking up further shots at the 15th and 16th, he rolled in from six-feet at the penultimate hole for his seventh birdie of the day.
DeChambeau, who parred the last, was delighted with his final-round performance.
He said: "I was happy with my game. I executed a lot of great shots.
"It was obviously a lot of fun to be able to finally hoist an international trophy, I'm so happy about that.
"I was trying to shoot 25-under and missed it by one, but I'm happy with the results for sure.


text:
12th birthday Bitcoin edition: What has it accomplished so far?
Bitcoin's birthday bash has begun with the coin reaching a new all-time high at $34,800. This new all-time high has been a result of a year-long struggle of Bitcoin after grappling with the impact of COVID-19.
The year 2020 had been filled with challenges for cryptocurrencies has emerged stronger from the adversities and paved the way for a parallel financial world. Bitcoin had been the flag bearer of cryptos and as the global market struggled after the March 2020 crash, Bitcoin rallied along with the monetary metal – gold.
It managed to recover from the lows of $3.8k to $10k within 55-days. Meanwhile, preparing for its third halving scheduled in May, the market expected a massive bullish outcome from the event, however, the largest crypto continued to consolidate until late July.
It noted a spurt in its value until August, but come September, the market witnessed a correction, and the price once again fell below $10k. The coin recovered and consolidated above $10k, which was seen to be the newly formed support for BTC. All this while it grabbed the attention of the institutions as they added the asset in their portfolio.
Thus, began the bull run since October 2020. The value has since appreciated by 212% taking it from $11k early in October to $34k in January 2021. At this point, BTC has managed to surpass giants like Visa, it was also larger than the Swiss Franc.
#Bitcoin is now larger than the Swiss franc ??
Switzerland's M1: $619,400,000,000#Bitcoin: $624,000,000,000
— Documenting Bitcoin ? (@DocumentBitcoin) January 3, 2021
It has become the 16th largest currency in the world according to @DocumentBitcoin and has flipped the Mexican peso and was inching closer to overtaking the Russian Ruble.
Source: Fiatmarketcap.com
This ATH in value has been achieved on Bitcoin's 12th birthday, which has been a matter of celebration across the crypto community. Square Inc. and Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, who has also invested actively in BTC tweeted:
Happy birthday #Bitcoin
— jack (@jack) January 3, 2021
While Messari's Ryan Watkins noted that as BTC hit $33k, the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto became the 40th richest person in the world. The researcher also posed the question:
"How long till Satoshi becomes the world's richest person?"
While, other prominent members in the field like Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao wished the Bitcoin community highlighting the ATH and stated:
"The Times 3 January 2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks."
Happy 12th Birthday #Bitcoin!
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) January 3, 2021
For Bitcoin, the new ATH has been achieved but it would not have been possible without the efficient network of Bitcoin. The Bitcoin network has been functional for 99.98% of the time since its inception on 3 Jan 2009 at 02:54:25 GMT. This can be viewed as a significant milestone and achievement for the decentralized system and that has put its robust nature in the spotlight.
Litecoin, Zcash, Compound Price Analysis: 03 January
Understanding the main triggers of this Bitcoin bull run


Payroll employment gains have remained strong, averaging 224,000 per month since June 2018 (figure 1). This pace is similar to the pace in the first half of last year, and it is faster than the average pace of job gains in 2016 and 2017.
At the same time, the unemployment rate has remained little changed and has generally been running a little under 4 percent.3 Nevertheless, the unemployment rate remains at a historically low level and is 1/2 percentage point below the median of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants' estimates of its longer-run normal level (figure 3).4 Combining the movements in both unemployment and labor force participation, the employment-to-population ratio for individuals 16 and over--the share of that segment of the population who are working--was 60.7 percent in January and has been gradually increasing since 2011.
Other indicators are also consistent with a strong labor market. As reported in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the job openings rate has moved higher since the first half of 2018, and in December, it was at its highest level since the data began in 2000. The quits rate in the JOLTS is also near the top of its historical range, an indication that workers have become more confident that they can successfully switch jobs when they wish to. In addition, the JOLTS layoff rate has remained low, and the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits has also remained low. Survey evidence indicates that households perceive jobs as plentiful and that businesses see vacancies as hard to fill.
The flattening in unemployment since mid-2018 has been evident across racial and ethnic groups (figure 4). Even so, over the past several years, the decline in the unemployment rates for blacks or African Americans and for Hispanics has been particularly notable, and the unemployment rates for these groups are near their lowest readings since these series began in the early 1970s. Differences in unemployment rates across ethnic and racial groups have narrowed in recent years, as they typically do during economic expansions, after having widened during the recession; on net, unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanics remain substantially above those for whites and Asians, with differentials generally a bit below pre-recession levels.
The rise in LFPRs for prime-age individuals over the past few years has also been apparent in each of these racial and ethnic groups. Nonetheless, the LFPR for whites remains higher than that for other groups (figure 5). Important differences in economic outcomes persist across other characteristics as well (see, for example, the box "Employment Disparities between Rural and Urban Areas," which highlights that there has been less improvement since 2010 in the LFPR and employment-to-population ratio for prime-age individuals in rural areas compared with urban areas).
The EPOP ratio can usefully be viewed as summarizing both the LFPR--that is, the share of the population that either has a job or is actively looking for work--and the unemployment rate, which measures the share of the labor force without a job and actively searching.3 The divergence in rural and urban EPOP ratios during the economic expansion almost entirely reflects divergences in LFPRs rather than in unemployment rates (figures B and C). In particular, the rural and urban unemployment rates have tracked each other fairly closely in this expansion, though they have diverged a little in the past few years. In contrast, the difference between rural and urban LFPRs has widened significantly over the past decade.
On average, people in rural areas tend to have fewer years of schooling than people in urban areas, and because the EPOP ratio tends to be lower for individuals with less education, this demographic difference has contributed to the persistent rural-urban divide. However, these educational differences do not appear responsible for the fact that the gap between rural and urban EPOP ratios have widened. Figure D shows that, in recent years, rural and urban EPOP ratios diverged substantially even within educational categories, similar to the divergence in EPOPs more generally. The left panel of figure D shows that the EPOP ratio of non-college-educated adults ages 25 to 54 has been much lower in rural areas than in urban ones beginning in 2012. The right panel of figure D shows that the EPOP ratio of college-educated adults used to be higher in rural areas than in urban ones, but that is no longer so. Thus, the recent widening of the rural-urban disparity in EPOP ratios has not been primarily driven by differences in years of education.
Nevertheless, because the recovery in the EPOP ratio for non-college-educated adults in rural areas has been particularly weak, it is likely that broader macroeconomic trends--including the ongoing shift in labor demand that has favored individuals with more education--have had more adverse consequences for the populations in rural areas than in urban areas. For example, manufacturing, where employment has stagnated, accounts for a larger share of employment in rural areas than in urban areas, while fast-growing services industries, such as health-care and professional services that tend to employ workers with more education, are more concentrated in urban areas. Indeed, employment in manufacturing has not yet fully recovered from the recession. And, despite the strength in the past two years, the share of total employment in manufacturing has remained near its post-recession low.
These moderate rates of compensation gains likely reflect the offsetting influences of a strong labor market and productivity growth that has been weak through much of the expansion. From 2008 to 2017, labor productivity increased a little more than 1 percent per year, on average, well below the average pace from 1996 to 2007 of nearly 3 percent and also below the average gain in the 1974-95 period (figure 7). Although considerable debate remains about the reasons for the slowdown over this period, the weakness in productivity growth may be partly attributable to the sharp pullback in capital investment during the most recent recession and the relatively slow recovery that followed. More recently, however, labor productivity is estimated to have increased almost 2 percent at an annual rate in the first three quarters of 2018--still moderate relative to earlier periods, but its fastest three-quarter gain since 2010. While it is uncertain whether this faster rate of growth will persist, a sustained pickup in productivity growth, as well as additional labor market strengthening, would likely support stronger gains in labor compensation.
Consumer price inflation has fluctuated around the FOMC's objective of 2 percent, largely reflecting movements in energy prices. As measured by the 12-month change in the price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE), inflation is estimated to have been 1.7 percent in December after being above 2 percent for much of 2018 (figure 8).6 Core PCE inflation--that is, inflation excluding consumer food and energy prices--is estimated to have been 1.9 percent in December. Because food and energy prices are often quite volatile, core inflation typically provides a better indication than the total measure of where overall inflation will be in the future. Total inflation was below core inflation for the year as a whole not only because of softness in energy prices, but also because food price inflation has remained relatively low.
Core inflation has moved up since 2017, when inflation was held down by some unusually large price declines in a few relatively small categories of spending, such as mobile phone services. The trimmed mean PCE price index, produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, provides an alternative way to purge inflation of transitory influences, and it may be less sensitive than the core index to idiosyncratic price movements such as those noted earlier. The 12-month change in this measure did not decline as much as core PCE inflation in 2017, and it was 2.0 percent in November.7 Inflation likely has been increasingly supported by the strong labor market in an environment of stable inflation expectations; inflation last year was also boosted slightly by the tariffs that were imposed throughout 2018.
As noted, the slower pace of total inflation in late 2018 relative to core inflation largely reflected softening in consumer energy prices toward the end of the year. After peaking at about $86 per barrel in early October, the price of crude oil subsequently fell sharply and has averaged around $60 per barrel this year (figure 9). The recent decline in oil prices has led to moderate reductions in the cost of gasoline and heating oil. Supply factors, including surging oil production in Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States, appear to be most responsible for the recent price declines, but concerns about weaker global growth likely also played a role.
After climbing steadily since their early 2016 lows, nonfuel import prices peaked in May 2018 and declined for much of the rest of 2018 in response to dollar appreciation, lower foreign inflation, and declines in commodity prices. In particular, metal prices fell markedly in the second half of 2018, partly reflecting concerns about prospects for the global economy (figure 10). Nonfuel import prices, before accounting for the effects of tariffs on the price of imported goods, had roughly a neutral influence on U.S. price inflation in 2018.
Expectations of inflation likely influence actual inflation by affecting wage- and price-setting decisions. Survey-based measures of inflation expectations at medium- and longer-term horizons have remained generally stable over the second half of 2018. In the Survey of Professional Forecasters, conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the median expectation for the annual rate of increase in the PCE price index over the next 10 years has been very close to 2 percent for the past several years (figure 11). In the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, the median value for inflation expectations over the next 5 to 10 years has been around 2-1/2 percent since the end of 2016, though this level is about 1/4 percentage point lower than had prevailed through 2014. In contrast, in the Survey of Consumer Expectations, conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the median of respondents' expected inflation rate three years hence--while relatively stable around 3 percent since early 2018--is nonetheless at the top of the range it has occupied over the past couple of years.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 3-1/2 percent in the third quarter, and available indicators point to a moderate gain in the fourth quarter.10 For the year, GDP growth appears to have been a little less than 3 percent, up from the 2-1/2 percent pace in 2017 and the 2 percent pace in the preceding two years (figure 13). Last year's growth reflects, in part, solid growth in household and business spending, on balance, as well as an increase in government purchases of goods and services; by contrast, housing-sector activity turned down last year. Private domestic final purchases--that is, final purchases by households and businesses, which tend to provide a better indication of future GDP growth than most other components of overall spending--likely posted a strong gain for the year.
Some measures of consumer and business sentiment have recently softened--likely reflecting concerns about financial market volatility, the global economic outlook, trade policy tensions, and the government shutdown--and consumer spending appears to have weakened at the end of the year. Nevertheless, the economic expansion continues to be supported by steady job gains, past increases in household wealth, expansionary fiscal policy, and still-favorable domestic financial conditions, including moderate borrowing costs and easy access to credit for many households and businesses.
Real consumer spending picked up after some transitory weakness in the first half of 2018, rising at a strong annual rate of 3-1/2 percent in the third quarter and increasing robustly through November (figure 14). However, despite anecdotal reports of favorable holiday sales, retail sales were reported to have declined sharply in December. Real disposable personal income--that is, income after taxes and adjusted for price changes--looks to have increased around 3 percent over the year, boosted by ongoing improvements in the labor market and the reduction in income taxes due to the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). With consumer spending rising at about the same rate as gains in disposable income in 2018 through the third quarter (the latest data available), the personal saving rate was roughly unchanged, on net, over this period (figure 15).
Consumer sentiment as measured by the Michigan survey flattened out at a high level through much of 2018, and the sentiment measure from the Conference Board survey climbed through most of the year, with both measures posting their highest annual averages since 2000 (figure 18). However, consumer sentiment has turned down since around year-end, on net, with the declines primarily reflecting consumers' expectations for future conditions rather than their assessment of current conditions. Consumer attitudes about car buying have also weakened. Nevertheless, these indicators of consumers' outlook remain at generally favorable levels, likely reflecting rising income, job gains, and low inflation.
Despite increases in interest rates for consumer loans and some reported further tightening in credit card lending standards, financing conditions for consumers largely remain supportive of growth in household spending, and consumer credit growth in 2018 expanded further at a solid pace (figure 19). Mortgage credit has continued to be readily available for households with solid credit profiles. For borrowers with low credit scores, mortgage underwriting standards have eased somewhat since the first half of 2018 but remain noticeably tighter than before the recession. Financing conditions in the student loan market remain stable, with over 90 percent of such credit being extended by the federal government. Delinquencies on such loans, though staying elevated, continued to improve gradually on net.
Investment spending by businesses rose rapidly in the first half of last year, and the available data are consistent with growth having slowed in the second half (figure 20). The apparent slowdown reflects, in part, more moderate growth in investment in equipment and intangibles as well as a likely decline in investment in nonresidential structures after strong gains earlier in the year. Forward-looking indicators of business spending--such as business sentiment, capital spending plans, and profit expectations from industry analysts--have softened recently but remain positive overall. And while new orders of capital goods flattened out toward the end of last year, the backlog of unfilled orders for this equipment has continued to rise.
Spreads of yields on nonfinancial corporate bonds over those on comparable-maturity Treasury securities widened modestly, on balance, since the middle of 2018 as investors' risk appetite appeared to recede some. Nonetheless, a net decrease in Treasury yields over the past several months has left interest rates on corporate bonds still low by historical standards, and financing conditions appear to have remained accommodative overall. Aggregate net flows of credit to large nonfinancial firms remained solid in the third quarter (figure 21). The gross issuance of corporate bonds and new issuance of leveraged loans both fell considerably toward the end of the year but have since rebounded, mirroring movements in financial market volatility.
Respondents to the January Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, or SLOOS, reported that lending standards for commercial and industrial (C&I) loans remained basically unchanged in the fourth quarter after having reported easing standards over the past several quarters. However, banks reported tightening lending standards on all categories of commercial real estate (CRE) loans in the fourth quarter on net.
Meanwhile, financing conditions for small businesses have remained generally accommodative. Lending volumes to small businesses rebounded a bit in recent months, and indicators of recent loan performance stayed strong.
Residential investment declined in 2018, as housing starts held about flat and sales of existing homes moved lower (figures 22 and 23). The drop in residential investment reflects rising mortgage rates--which remain higher than in 2017 despite coming down some recently--as well as higher material and labor building costs, which have likely restrained new home construction. Consumers' perceptions of homebuying conditions deteriorated sharply over 2018, consistent with the decline in the affordability of housing associated with both higher mortgage rates and still-rising house prices (figure 24).
After a strong performance in the first half of last year supported by robust exports of agricultural products, real exports declined in the third quarter, and available indicators suggest only a partial rebound in the fourth quarter (figure 25). At the same time, growth in real imports seems to have picked up in the second half of 2018. As a result, real net exports--which lifted U.S. real GDP growth during the first half of 2018--appear to have subtracted from growth in the second half. For the year as a whole, net exports likely subtracted a little from real GDP growth, similar to 2016 and 2017. The nominal trade deficit and the current account deficit in 2018 were little changed as a percent of GDP from 2017 (figure 26).
Fiscal policy at the federal level boosted GDP growth in 2018, both because of lower income and business taxes from the TCJA and because federal purchases appear to have risen significantly faster than in 2017 as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (figure 27).12 The partial government shutdown, which was in effect from December 22 through January 25, likely held down GDP growth in the first quarter of this year somewhat, largely because of the lost work of furloughed federal government workers and temporarily affected federal contractors.
The federal unified deficit widened in fiscal year 2018 to 3-3/4 percent of nominal GDP because receipts moved lower, to roughly 16-1/2 percent of GDP (figure 28). Expenditures edged down, to 20-1/4 percent of GDP, but remain above the levels that prevailed in the decade before the start of the 2007-09 recession. The ratio of federal debt held by the public to nominal GDP equaled 78 percent at the end of fiscal 2018 and remains quite elevated relative to historical norms (figure 29). The Congressional Budget Office projects that this ratio will rise over the next several years.
The fiscal position of most state and local governments is stable, although there is a range of experiences across these governments. After several years of slow growth, revenue gains of state governments strengthened notably as sales and income tax collections have picked up over the past few quarters. At the local level, property tax collections continue to rise at a solid clip, pushed higher by past house price gains. After declining a bit in 2017, real state and local government purchases grew moderately last year, driven largely by a boost in construction but also reflecting modest growth in employment at these governments.
Despite the further strengthening in the labor market and continued expansion in the U.S. economy, market-based measures of the expected path for the federal funds rate over the next several years have declined, on net, since the middle of last year (figure 30). Various factors contributed to this shift, including increased investor concerns about downside risks to the global economic outlook and rising trade tensions, as well as FOMC communications that were viewed as signaling patience and greater flexibility in the conduct of monetary policy in response to adverse macroeconomic or financial market developments.
Survey-based measures of the expected path of the policy rate through 2020 also shifted down, on net, relative to the levels observed in the first half of 2018. According to the results of the most recent Survey of Primary Dealers and Survey of Market Participants, both conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York just before the January FOMC meeting, the median of respondents' modal projections for the path of the federal funds rate implies two additional 25 basis point rate increases in 2019. Relative to the December survey, these increases are expected to occur later in 2019. Looking further ahead, respondents to the January survey forecast no rate increases in 2020 and in 2021.13 Meanwhile, market-based measures of uncertainty about the policy rate approximately one to two years ahead were little changed, on balance, from their levels at the end of last June.
The nominal Treasury yield curve flattened somewhat further since the first half of 2018, with the 2-year nominal Treasury yield little changed and the 5- and 10-year nominal Treasury yields declining about 25 basis points on net (figure 31). At the same time, yields on inflation-protected Treasury securities edged up, leaving market-based measures of inflation compensation moderately lower. In explaining movements in Treasury yields since mid-2018, market participants have pointed to developments related to the global economic outlook and trade tensions, FOMC communications, and fluctuations in oil prices. Option-implied volatility on swap rates--an indicator of uncertainty about Treasury yields--declined slightly on net.
Consistent with changes in yields on nominal Treasury securities, yields on 30-year agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS)--an important determinant of mortgage interest rates--decreased about 20 basis points, on balance, since the middle of last year and remain low by historical standards (figure 32). Meanwhile, yields on both investment-grade and high-yield corporate debt declined a bit (figure 33). As a result, the spreads on corporate bond yields over comparable-maturity Treasury yields are modestly wider than at the end of June. The cumulative increases over the past year have left spreads for high-yield and investment-grade corporate bonds close to their historical medians, with both spreads notably above the very low levels that prevailed a year ago.
Elevated valuation pressures are signaled by asset prices that are high relative to economic fundamentals or historical norms and are often driven by an increased willingness of investors to take on risk. As such, elevated valuation pressures imply a greater possibility of outsized drops in asset prices.
Excessive borrowing by businesses and households leaves them vulnerable to distress if their incomes decline or the assets they own fall in value.
Excessive leverage within the financial sector increases the risk that financial institutions will not have the ability to absorb losses when hit by adverse shocks.
Funding risks expose the financial system to the possibility that investors will "run" by withdrawing their funds from a particular institution or sector. Facing a run, financial institutions may need to sell assets quickly at "fire sale" prices, thereby incurring substantial losses and potentially even becoming insolvent. Historians and economists often refer to widespread investor runs as "financial panics."
While this framework provides a systematic way to assess financial stability, some potential risks do not fit neatly into it because they are novel or difficult to quantify, such as cybersecurity or developments in crypto-assets. In addition, some vulnerabilities are difficult to measure with currently available data, and the set of vulnerabilities may evolve over time. Given these limitations, we continually rely on ongoing research by the Federal Reserve staff, academics, and other experts.
Since the publication of the Federal Reserve Board's first Financial Stability Report on November 28, 2018, some areas where valuation pressures were a concern have cooled, particularly those related to below-investment-grade corporate debt.2 Regulatory capital and liquidity ratios of key financial institutions, especially large banks, are at historically high levels. Funding risks in the financial system are low relative to the period leading up to the crisis. Borrowing by households has risen roughly in line with household incomes and has been concentrated among prime borrowers. Nonetheless, debt owed by businesses is high, and credit standards, especially within segments of the loan market focused on lower-rated or unrated firms, deteriorated in the second half of 2018.
Asset valuations increased to the high end of their historical ranges in many markets over 2017 and the first half of 2018, supported by the solid economic expansion and an apparent increase in investors' appetite for risk. However, compared with July 2018, around the time of the previous Monetary Policy Report, valuation pressures have eased somewhat in the equity, corporate bond, and leveraged loan markets. Over the same period, amid substantial market volatility, the forward equity price-to-earnings ratio of S&P 500 firms, a metric of valuations in equity markets, declined a touch, on net, and it currently stands just below the top quartile of its historical distribution (figure A). Spreads on both investment- and speculative-grade corporate bonds over comparable-maturity Treasury securities widened modestly to levels close to the medians of their historical ranges since 1997 (figure B). Spreads on newly issued leveraged loans widened markedly in the fourth quarter of 2018. In real estate markets, commercial real estate prices have been growing faster than rents for several years, leaving valuations stretched.
Since the 2007-09 recession, household debt and business debt have diverged (figure C). Over the past several years, borrowing by households has stayed in line with income growth and has been concentrated among borrowers with strong credit histories. By contrast, borrowing by businesses, including riskier firms, has expanded significantly. For speculative-grade and unrated firms, the ratio of debt to assets has increased steadily since 2010 and remains near its historical peak. Further, growth in debt to businesses with lower credit ratings and with already elevated levels of borrowing, such as high-yield bonds and leveraged loans, has been substantial over the past two years (figure D). Issuance of these instruments slowed significantly in November and December 2018 because of the sharply higher spreads demanded by investors to hold them, but issuance has rebounded somewhat in early 2019.
Credit standards for new leveraged loans deteriorated over the second half of 2018. The share of newly issued large loans to corporations with high leverage--defined as those with ratios of debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) above 6--increased through 2018 to levels exceeding previous peaks observed in 2007 and 2014, when underwriting quality was notably poor. In addition, issuance of covenant-lite loans--loans with few or no traditional maintenance covenants--remained high during the second half of 2018, although this elevated level may reflect, in part, a greater prevalence of investors who do not traditionally monitor and exercise loan covenants.3 Nonetheless, the strong economy has helped sustain solid credit performance of leveraged loans in 2018, with the default rate on such loans near the low end of its historical range.
The credit quality of nonfinancial high-yield corporate bonds was roughly stable over the past several years, with the share of high-yield bonds outstanding that are rated B3/B- or below staying flat and below the financial crisis peak. In contrast, the distribution of ratings among investment-grade corporate bonds deteriorated. The share of bonds rated at the lowest investment-grade level (for example, an S&P rating of triple-B) reached near-record levels. As of December 2018, around 42 percent of corporate bonds outstanding were at the lowest end of the investment-grade segment, amounting to about $3 trillion.
Vulnerabilities from financial-sector leverage continue to be low relative to historical standards, in part because of regulatory reforms enacted since the financial crisis. Core financial intermediaries, including large banks, insurance companies, and broker-dealers, appear well positioned to weather economic stress. As of the third quarter of 2018, regulatory capital ratios for the U.S. global systemically important banks remained well above regulatory requirements and were close to historical highs. Those banks will be subject to the 2019 Dodd-Frank Act stress tests and Comprehensive Capital Assessment and Review. Consistent with the Federal Reserve Board's public framework, this year's scenarios feature a larger increase in unemployment and a deeper recession than in 2018 as well as typically large declines in financial asset prices. Capital levels at insurance companies and broker-dealers also remained relatively robust by historical standards. A range of indicators suggest that hedge fund leverage was roughly unchanged over 2018; however, comprehensive data, available with a significant time lag, from early 2018 showed that leverage remained at the upper end of its range over the past eight years.
Vulnerabilities associated with funding risk--that is, the financing of illiquid assets or long-maturity assets with short-maturity debt--continue to be low, in part because of the post-crisis implementation of liquidity regulations for banks and the 2016 money market reforms.4 Banks are holding higher levels of liquid assets, while their use of short-term wholesale funding as a share of liabilities is near historical lows. Assets under management at prime funds, institutions that proved vulnerable to runs in the past, have risen somewhat in recent months but remained far below pre-reform levels.
Potential downside risks to international financial stability include a downturn in global growth, political and policy uncertainty, an intensification of trade tensions, and broadening stress in emerging market economies (EMEs). In many advanced foreign economies, financial conditions tightened somewhat in the second half of 2018, partly reflecting a deterioration in the fiscal outlook of Italy and Brexit uncertainty. The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) have not yet ratified the terms for the United Kingdom's March 2019 withdrawal from the EU (Brexit). Without such a withdrawal agreement, there will be no transition period for important trade and financial interactions between U.K. and EU residents, and, despite preparations for a "no-deal Brexit," a wide range of economic and financial activities could be disrupted. EMEs also experienced heightened financial stress in the second half of 2018. Although that stress has receded somewhat more recently, many EMEs continue to harbor important vulnerabilities, reflecting one or more of substantial corporate leverage, fiscal concerns, or excessive reliance on foreign funding.
Available indicators of Treasury market functioning have generally remained stable since the first half of 2018, with a variety of liquidity metrics--including bid-ask spreads, bid sizes, and estimates of transaction costs--displaying few signs of liquidity pressures. Liquidity conditions in the agency MBS market were also generally stable. Overall, the functioning of Treasury and agency MBS markets has not been materially affected by the implementation of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet normalization program over the past year and a half. Credit conditions in municipal bond markets have remained stable since the middle of last year, though yield spreads on 20‑year general obligation municipal bonds over comparable-maturity Treasury securities were modestly higher on net.
Conditions in domestic short-term funding markets have also remained generally stable since the beginning of the summer. Increases in the FOMC's target range were transmitted effectively through money markets, with yields on a broad set of money market instruments moving higher in response to the FOMC's policy actions in September and December. The effective federal funds rate moved to parity with the interest rate paid on reserves and was closely tracked by the overnight Eurodollar rate. Other short-term interest rates, including those on commercial paper and negotiable certificates of deposits, also moved up in light of increases in the policy rate.
Aggregate credit provided by commercial banks expanded through the second half of 2018 at a stronger pace than the one observed in the first half of last year, as the strength in C&I loan growth more than offset the moderation in the growth in CRE loans and loans to households. In the fourth quarter of last year, the pace of bank credit expansion was about in line with that of nominal GDP, leaving the ratio of total commercial bank credit to current-dollar GDP little changed relative to last June (figure 36). Overall, measures of bank profitability improved further in the third quarter despite a flattening yield curve, but they remain below their pre-crisis levels (figure 37).
After expanding briskly in 2017, foreign GDP growth moderated in 2018. While part of this slowdown is likely due to temporary factors, it also appears to reflect weaker underlying momentum against the backdrop of somewhat tighter financial conditions, increased policy uncertainty, and ongoing debt deleveraging.
Real GDP growth in several advanced foreign economies (AFEs) slowed markedly in the second half of the year (figure 38). This slowdown was concentrated in the manufacturing sector against the backdrop of softening global trade flows. In Japan, real GDP contracted in the second half of 2018, as economic activity, which was disrupted by a series of natural disasters in the third quarter, rebounded only partly in the fourth quarter. Growth in the euro area slowed in the second half of the year: Transportation bottlenecks and complications in meeting tighter emissions standards for new motor vehicles weighed on German economic activity, while output contracted in Italy. Although some of these headwinds appear to be fading, recent indicators--especially for the manufacturing sector--point to only a limited recovery of activity in the euro area at the start of 2019.
In recent months, headline inflation has fallen below central bank targets in many major AFEs, reflecting large declines in energy prices (figure 39). In the euro area and Japan, low headline inflation rates also reflect subdued core inflation. In Canada and the United Kingdom, instead, core inflation rates have been close to 2 percent.
With underlying inflation still subdued, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank (ECB) kept their short-term policy rates at negative levels. Although the ECB concluded its asset purchase program in December, it signaled an only very gradual removal of policy accommodation going forward. The Bank of England (BOE) and the Bank of Canada, which both began raising interest rates in 2017, increased their policy rates further in the second half of 2018 but to levels that are still low by historical standards. The BOE noted that elevated uncertainty around the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (EU) weighed on the country's economic outlook.
Moderation in global growth, protracted budget negotiations between the Italian government and the EU, and developments related to the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU weighed on AFE asset prices in the second half of 2018 (figure 40). Broad stock price indexes in the AFEs fell, interest rates on sovereign bonds in several countries in the European periphery remained elevated, and European bank shares underperformed, although these moves have partially retraced in recent weeks. Market-implied paths of policy in major AFEs and long-term sovereign bond yields declined somewhat, as economic data disappointed (figure 41).
Chinese GDP growth slowed in the second half of 2018 as an earlier tightening of credit policy, aimed at restraining the buildup of debt, caused infrastructure investment to fall sharply and squeezed household spending (figure 42). However, increased concerns about a sharper-than-expected slowdown in growth, as well as prospective effects of trade policies, prompted Chinese authorities to ease monetary and fiscal policy somewhat. Elsewhere in emerging Asia, growth remained well below its 2017 pace amid headwinds from moderating global growth. Tighter financial conditions also weighed on growth in other EMEs--notably, Argentina and Turkey.
In Mexico, economic activity increased at a more rapid rate in the third quarter after modest advances earlier in the year. However, growth weakened again in the fourth quarter, as perceptions that the newly elected government would pursue less market-friendly policies led to a sharp tightening in financial conditions. Amid a sharp peso depreciation and above-target inflation, the Bank of Mexico raised its policy rate to 8.25 percent in December. Brazilian real GDP growth rebounded in the third quarter after being held down by a nationwide trucker's strike in May, and financial markets have rallied on expectations that Brazil's new government will pursue economic policies that support growth. However, investors continued to focus on whether the new administration would pass significant fiscal reforms.
Financial conditions in the EMEs generally tightened in the second half of 2018, as investor concerns about vulnerabilities in several EMEs intensified against the backdrop of higher policy uncertainty, slowing global growth, and rising U.S. interest rates. Trade policy tensions between the United States and China weighed on asset prices, especially in China and other Asian economies. Broad measures of EME sovereign bond spreads over U.S. Treasury yields rose, and benchmark EME equity indexes declined. However, financial conditions improved significantly in recent months, supported in part by more positive policy developments--including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and progress on U.S.-China trade negotiations--and FOMC communications indicating a more gradual normalization of U.S. interest rates. EME mutual fund inflows resumed in recent months after experiencing outflows in the middle of 2018 (figure 43). While movements in asset prices and capital flows have been sizable for a number of economies, broad indicators of financial stress in EMEs are below those seen during other periods of stress in recent years.
The foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar is bit a higher than in July (figure 44). Concerns about the global outlook, uncertainty about trade policy, and monetary policy normalization in the United States contributed to the appreciation of the dollar. The Chinese renminbi depreciated against the dollar slightly, on net, amid ongoing trade negotiations and increased concerns about growth prospects in China. The Mexican peso has been volatile amid ongoing political developments and trade negotiations but has, on net, declined only modestly against the dollar. Sharp declines in oil prices also weighed on the currencies of some energy-exporting economies.


text:
#Awards: The Dublin Film Critics Circle announce awards for 2017
First trailer for Don Scardino's The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Movie News, Trailers
#Review: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Irish FilmCasting
#Casting: Marcie Films seek lead for The Rocker: The Life and Music of Phil Lynott
6-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, together with award winning documentary maker Colm Quinn, will bring the life of the hugely influential Phil Lynott to the big screen, as The Rocker: The Life and Music of Phil Lynott. Producers Marcie Films are looking for an actor/musician/singer, aged 18 – 35, to play the part of Lynott, Ireland's first bona fide rock star, in this feature documentary about his rise to stardom.
The documentary aims to capture Phil Lynott's unique energy and charisma throughout his amazing career as Thin Lizzy's front man, and are inviting anyone who feels they can embody this rock legend to attend the auditions.
Having known Phil, and loving his music from the very start, it's a great honour to celebrate his life and work on the big screen. I see this as a non fiction movie, one meant for the cinema, and I can't wait to start the process of finding our modern day Rocker.
Jim Sheridan, Director
The open casting will be held at Bow Street Bow Street is home to some of the most advanced and practical screen acting courses and workshops in Ireland. Housed in the stunning Jameson Building in Smithfi... More, 12-13 Bow St., Dublin 7 on Saturday 27th May from 12.30pm. Filming for the documentary will take place on various dates throughout 2017. Experience in film and television is not essential. Please come prepared with a song, poem or example of Phil's influence on you. Auditions will be filmed and may form part of the final film. There is no need to register.
Whether you sing, play the bass or have a passion for poetry and rock n' roll, you could be our Phil Lynott. The successful Rocker will work with professional mentors and those who have influenced and worked with Phil to 'become' The Rocker.
Alan Maher, Producer – Marcie Films
Although Lynott passed away in 1986, his legacy lives on through his songs and persona. The film, produced by Marcie Films and Eagle Rock Entertainment with support from the Irish Film Board Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (FÉ/SI) is the national development agency for Irish filmmaking and the Irish film, television and animation industry., will contemporise Lynott and underline his relevancy by taking an unknown musician and casting them in the title role. With the guidance of those who knew Lynott best, the filmmakers will watch as the successful candidate becomes the 'Rocker'. Using reconstructions and archive to trace the early years of Lynott's life, these two tracks will eventually meet in an astounding concert, mixing the present with the past, to show the power of Lynott, live and dangerous.
Colm QuinnFinding PhilJim SheridanMarcie FilmsPhil LynottThe RockerThe Rocker: The Life and Music of Phil Lynott
#IrishAbroad: Tom Burke's Losing Alaska to screen at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
#IrishFilm: Tom Burke's extraordinary looking documentary Losing Alaska to preview at IFI Doc Fest on September 29th
#IrishAbroad: Alan Maher and Chris Martin selected for European Film Promotion's Producers On The Move
#IrishAbroad: Three Irish films head to the 36th Istanbul Film Festival
Andy Umerah May 19th, 2017
I'm an actor living in London. Won't be able to make the audition do you know if they take video submissions?
Niall May 19th, 2017
Hi Andy. Try emailing info@marciefilms.com. Unfortunately, we do not have that information.
Phil Lynottin elämästä kertovaan "The Rocker"-elokuvaan etsitään pääosan esittäjää - Metalliluola May 21st, 2017
[…] linkistä. Metalliluolan tribuutin Lynottille saa lukuun […]


In an ideal world, we would all have fantastic managers—bosses who helped us succeed, who made us feel valued, and who were just all-around great people.
There are 5 tricks to get any job offer.
Getting a job offer isn't about your qualification for the job; it's about what you do and say during the interview process..
I'm lucky to know a number of remarkably successful people. Regardless of their profession or industry, they all tend to believe and think many of the same things.


text:
L'année 1478 est une année commune qui commence un jeudi.

Événements
 6 janvier : à la mort de Uzun Hasan, son fils Khalil lui succède comme sultan des Ak Koyunlu.
 24 juin : fondation de la ville de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria par Juan Rejón.
 15 juillet : début du règne de Ya'kub: vainc et tue son frère Khalil près de Tabriz et devient sultan des Ak Koyunlu (fin de règne en 1490).
 8 novembre : Eskender (Alexandre) succède à son père Baéda-Maryam à l'âge de sept ans sur le trône d'Éthiopie, sous la régence de sa mère Eléni (fin en 1494).
 Les Aztèques du roi Axayácatl sont pour la première fois depuis le début de leur expansion sévèrement battus par les Tarasques dans le Michoacán.
 Le Majapahit (Java) passe sous le contrôle des princes de Kediri.

Europe
 9 janvier : traité de Tours entre la France et la république de Venise. En Italie, Louis XI s'appuie contre la papauté sur les puissances marchandes : Florence, Milan et accessoirement Venise. Il utilise des moyens purement diplomatiques.

 15 janvier :
 Ivan III le Grand réunit Novgorod à l'État moscovite. De nombreuses familles sont exilées. Création du pomestie : Ivan III confisque le patrimoine des boyards de Novgorod et leur concède le bénéfice de terres (pomestie) dans la région de Moscou en échange de leurs services militaires et de leur loyauté.
 Richard de Shrewsbury, duc d'York, épouse à l'âge de 4 ans Anne de Mowbray (1472 † 1481), comtesse de Norfolk.
 18 février : Georges, duc de Clarence est exécuté pour trahison à la Tour de Londres.

 26 avril : conjuration des Pazzi. Complot du guelfe Francesco Pazzi et de Girolamo Riario (neveu de Sixte IV) contre les Médicis. Julien de Médicis est le seul tué, et Laurent le Magnifique massacre les conjurés et bannit les Pazzi de Florence. Sixte IV, qui avait fomenté le complot, excommunie Laurent, mais sera obligé de faire la paix en 1480 après une guerre avec l'appui de Naples et de Sienne.
 18 mai : Giovanni Mocenigo est élu doge de Venise.
 Mai :
 L'archiduc Maximilien d'Autriche contient l'avance française, repoussant notamment une attaque française sur Audenarde et Ypres.
 Début de la révolte des paysans de Carinthie, qui désirent remplacer par leur propre confédération les ordres de la province incapable de les protéger contre les incursions turques. L'entreprise échoue par suite de l'incapacité des révoltés à vaincre militairement la noblesse.

 8 juin : début du siège de Scutari par le sultan Mehmed II (fin en 1479).

 16 juin : prise de la forteresse albanaise de Kruja par les Turcs.

 26 juillet (ou le 25 juin) : les Turcs, après avoir ravagé le Frioul, entrent en Carinthie par la passe du Predil, près d'Arnoldstein. Les paysans révoltés de Carinthie sont anéantis le lendemain.

 7 août : victoire des Génois révoltés contre le duché de Milan à la bataille de Due Gemelli. Gênes revient libre et Prosper Adorno gouverne jusqu'au .

 7 septembre : renouvellement de l'alliance entre le duché de Milan et le roi de France.
 Septembre : la peste est signalée à Châlons-sur-Marne.

  : par la bulle Exigit sinceræ devotionis le pape Sixte IV concède aux Rois catholiques la création de l'Inquisition espagnole.
 26 novembre : Baptiste de Campo Fregoso est élu doge de Gênes (fin en 1483).

 6 décembre : paix d'Olomouc. Après sa victoire sur les Jagellon à Breslau, Mathias Corvin se fait céder la Silésie, la Lusace et la Moravie aux dépens de la Bohême.
 28 décembre : victoire des Suisses sur les Milanais à la bataille de Giornico.

 Troisième règne de Mengli Giray. Les khans des Tatars de Crimée (capitale Balkhchisarai) sont tributaires du sultan ottoman jusqu'en 1774.

 Peste à Venise.
 Présence de Christophe Colomb à Madère, où il épouse Philippa Perestrello, dont la famille, originaire de Plaisance, est très intéressée par les découvertes africaines.

Naissances en 1478

 7 février : Thomas More, écrivain, philosophe, théologien et homme politique anglais, futur chancelier d'Angleterre. († ).
 8 juillet : Gian Giorgio Trissino dit Le Trissin, écrivain et poète italien de la Renaissance. († ).
 22 juillet : Philippe le Beau, futur souverain des Pays-Bas, roi de Castille et archiduc d'Autriche († ).
 6 décembre : Baldassare Castiglione, écrivain et diplomate italien († ).
 Date précise inconnue :
 Andrea di Cosimo, peintre italien († ).

Décès en 1478

 6 janvier : Uzun Hasan, sultan des Ak Koyunlu.
 12 avril : Sir John Say, parlementaire anglais
 26 avril : Julien de Médicis, homme politique florentin
 6 mai : Andrea Vendramino, doge de Venise.
 12 juin : Louis III Gonzague de Mantoue, noble italien, marquis de Mantoue (° , 64 ans)
 28 août : Yolande de France

 Date inconnue:
 Francesco del Cossa, peintre italien ferrarais (° v.1435)
 Olivier Baud, officier de finances breton
 Bartolomeo Manfredi, mathématicien et astronome italien.

Notes et références

Liens externes

Année du XVe siècle

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Weddings, Civil Partnership and Relationship Celebrations - Ceremonies which reflect your unique relationship and honour your new life together.
Vow Renewals - Reaffirming your love and committment to each other, in front of loved ones.
Baby and Child Blessings/Naming - Affirming and/or naming the baby or child within the wider circle of family and friends.
Adoption/Special Guardianship "Welcoming" Ceremonies - Welcoming adoptive or special guardianship children into the family and wider community of friends and extended family.
Celebrations of Life/Memorial Services - Marking the memory and life of a departed loved one, especially on dates and at locations of special meaning to yourselves.
Coming of Age ceremonies; Transgender Transition Affirmations; Relocation and New House Blessings; Hand Fasting; and Divorce Healing ceremonies. So please contact me if you'd like a special event marked, even if it isn't listed here.
- You want complete freedom to have a ceremony which expresses your love, relationships or loss, exactly the way which suits you.
- If you married abroad, and also want to mark your new life together here with family and friends. Or vice versa, you had a legal ceremony here, and want to have a ceremony abroad with family and friends.
- You already have an idea of the ceremony you want, and just need someone to help make it a reality.
- You choose who conducts your ceremony, someone you can build a good working relationship with over time. So on the day, it's like being guided through your ceremony by a trusted friend or valued acquaintance.
- Celebrant ceremonies offer an affirming alternative for trans people, before, whilst or aside from embarking on paperwork with deed poll name changing or gender recognition certificates.
You always dreamed of walking up the aisle to a particular piece of music, but it's deemed as having "religious" connotations, so you can't have it.
You want to celebrate the birth or adoption of a much longed for baby with a Naming Ceremony of some kind, but what you want is regarded as too "spiritual" or not religious enough.
You want a Celebration of Life ceremony which reflects the memory of your loved one and thier life, but some of the readings, poems or music you choose aren't classed as suitable.
You want your wedding held at a place which has special meaning to you as a couple, but it's not licenced for marriage, so you can't have it there.
You want a ceremony which incorporates aspects of your different non-religious/secular or spiritual beliefs, but you're told only secular beliefs can be included.
Similarly, wanting a wedding which honours both of your different religious or spiritual backgrounds in some way, but finding you can either have only one persons honoured in a religious setting, or neither at a registry office.
Your ceremony, is about YOU! Your relationship, your family, your loved one. So it's only right that it's your choice.
That's why people choose a celebrant, because they can have what they want, where they want.
Please contact me and together let's design the perfect ceremony which is truly right for you.


Ignacio Bayón is the President of the Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción (FAD), and well equipped to speak about the dangers of drugs and addiction.
In an interview with the DGT´s own road safety magazine, Bayón makes it clear how drugs and driving don´t work.
Is there awareness of the risk that drugs carry at the wheel?
Undoubtedly, prevention campaigns have had a positive impact on the population. Information about the risks of drug use and coping is known to the majority of the population.
How can the use of drugs be prevented at the wheel?
You have to work from the risks, the benefits and the social context that leads to that behaviour.
Are controls effective to prevent consumption?
Control measures are always necessary but not sufficient. The most important thing is to educate young people from a preventive approach and work on the motivations and individual and social attitudes that produce problematic consumption.
Social networks, new technologies … Are they more effective than traditional media?
Undoubtedly, especially for younger age groups and users of these networks, who no longer use traditional media to inform themselves. The 'influencers' are key to prevention.
What is the substance that is thought to affect driving the most?
I would not quote only one substance. In my opinion, alcohol, cannabis and cocaine.
Next article Did you feel the latest earthquake?


During the Winter of 2003, the concept of Jetty was conceived in an awesome, A-frame ski lodge in Mount Snow, VT. The Blahuts, who own and have added on to their amazing place over the years, were kind enough to put us up for a long weekend to celebrate our 10th Anniversary! Thirty of our close friends made the trip up, sampled our new beer (details to follow), skied, snowboarded and partied it up! With no TV or Internet, and barely any cell phone reception, it was QUITE the ESCAPE!


text:
Displaying items by tag: Soling
Ireland's Boatbuilding Magician to Cast a New Spell?
Bill Trafford, Ireland's boatbuilding sorcerer who beavers away in a shed near Skenakilla Crossroads in North County Cork, is already hatching new magic as onlookers continue to be entranced by his Super Etchells 22 Guapa currently making her debut on Cork Harbour writes W M Nixon.
This extraordinary project has already attracted several potential customers with their own ideas on re-configuring standard glassfibre boats. But Bill himself reckons that after an Etchells 22, a useful area for exploration might be found with the former Olympic class, the 26.75ft LOA Soling, which already comes with quite a pretty sheerline, and would only need a classic counter (and of course a teak laid deck and an elegant little cabin-top) to transform her into a very special 30-footer.
With a new counter stern inspired by the transom of the Friendship sloop of Maine, this is an Etchells 22 with a difference
Amidships, the Etchells 22 seems purest Scandinavian in concept
There's no doubt that the Soling has a long-lasting hull, and one in reasonable order would respond very well to the Skenakilla treatment. But I think I'd pass on what used to be a Soling, which we spotted a couple of years ago when cruising the Hebrides.
This boat is to be found – or at least used to be found – abandoned at Port Ellen on Islay. The conversion to her presumably dates from the days of short-handed Round Britain & Ireland Races and other such ventures. Someone had taken a standard Soling, and stuck a sort of cabin on the forward end of the cockpit, and then for stowage space had put a box of sorts on the afterdeck.
The result, it could be argued, was a small centre-cockpit offshore racer. Somehow, she ended up on Islay. The concept is not quite what Bill Trafford has in mind. But it certainly proves that the Soling has considerable scope for innovation and re-configuration.
Once upon a time, this was an Olympic Soling…Photo: W M Nixon
....and this is how she looked originally
Published in Etchells
Soling
Bill Trafford
'New Classes' Celebrate Their 50th Anniversary At Cowes Classics Week 2015
#classicboat – Cowes Classics Week has an eligibility policy with a rolling 50 year design date. This means that three new classes become eligible in 2015 and are preparing to celebrate their anniversary at Cowes Classics Week 2015 writes Dave Elliott.
Tempest: designed by Ian Proctor for the 1965 trials for the new Olympic Keelboat used alongside the Star in 1972 in which the British won the Silver Medal and as the two-handed keelboat in 1976. The Tempest is unusual for a keelboat in having a trapeze and can reach remarkable speeds.
Soling: designed by Jan Linge of Norway in 1965 based on ideas that emerged while tank testing a 5.5mR for the 1960 Olympics, ideas which were outside the 5.5mR rules. The Soling was selected as the men's triple-handed boat for the 1972 Olympics in selection trails at which it was the only survivor in heavy conditions at Kiel and remained an Olympic class until 2000.
Contessa 26: designed by Jeremy Rogers and heavily influenced by David Sadler and the Folkboat to produce a 25.6ft fibreglass boat that proved to be a very successful racer and capable of long-distance, blue-water cruising.
In addition, other new classes that will join us in 2015:
Star: designed in 1910 by Francis Sweisguth—draftsman for William Gardner's Naval Architect office and has been an Olympic class since1932 until 2012 - it will not compete in 2016. They will wear their artist-designed sails - Fine Arts Sails have produced a set of sails with designs by renowned artists and are coordinating events for the class in support of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation.
Royal Burnham One Design: designed by Norman Dallimore in 1932, the RBOD is similar in hull profile to the Alfred Westmacott designed XOD. Continuing our ambition to get together one-design classes from around the country as they are not well set up for travelling, CSCCW will be assisting with bringing some of the boats to Cowes.
Cruisers (non-Spinnaker): a new class that will appeal to those not so well set up for racing.
And, we are assured by the class associations of increased turnouts from XOD (the largest class that should reach 60 boats), Sunbeam and Daring (both of which have more boats in action than ever before as boats are restored, recovered or built/rebuilt) and 6mR (one of the most iconic classes ever).
British Sailors Want Redress Over 1980 Olympic Boycott
#OLYMPICS - "Lingering bittnerness" among British sailing veterans over the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics has pushed them to seek recognition for the effort they put into their campaigns, the Daily Telegraph reports.
http://www.afloat.ie/sail/events/olympics-2012
http://www.afloat.ie/sail/events/racing-update
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) was one of four sporting bodies that joined the British government's boycott of the Olympics that year.
http://afloat.ie/blogs/editors-blog/item/12340-royal-yachting-association
But according to the sailors who had earned their spots at the games, the RYA's decision was made without consultation with them or the body's membership.
"They took away our dream, the fruits of months and years of hard work and dedication which is something I will regret until my dying day," said Soling sailor Gavin Simonds, who is leading the charge for the RYA to make amends before London 2012 and assure that no sailor will be so deprived in future.
Simonds' brother Colin was the one of the leading Soling sailors in the world in 1980, and was reportedly devastated when the RYA backed that year's boycott.
The 1980 games saw Ireland win its only Olympic medals in sailing when David Wilkins and James Wilkinson took silver in the Flying Dutchman class. The president of the Irish sailing's governing body has an honourary seat on the RYA council.
http://afloat.ie/resources/organisations/irish-sailing-association/
The Daily Telegraph has much more on the story HERE.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/8905365/British-sailing-veterans-still-bitter-over-missing-the-boat-in-1980-Olympics.html
#OLYMPICS - "Lingering bitterness" among British sailing veterans over the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics has pushed them to seek recognition for the effort they put into their campaigns, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The 1980 games saw Ireland win its only Olympic medals in sailing when David Wilkins and James Wilkinson took silver in the Flying Dutchman class. The president of Irish sailing's governing body has an honourary seat on the RYA council.
Published in Olympics 2012
Royal Yachting Association
Gavin Simonds
Colin Simonds
Irish Sailing Association
The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."
When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.
After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.
The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.
The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium.
At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners
2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968