7 Items Your Credit Report Won’t Reveal

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By Dana Dratch | Bankrate.com – Mon, Apr 9, 2012 3:00 AM EDT

Do you feel like your credit report is spying on you?Sometimes it seems like just about everything personal is included in your credit history, including your name, address and Social Security number. Even your birth date is on it.But you still have a few things that even your credit report doesn’t know.Here are seven items that lenders won’t see when they pull your credit report.

Your salary

Salaries haven’t “been on a report since the early 1990s,” says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for SmartCredit.com. Even then, it was “highly dubious” because the information came from the consumers themselves, he adds.

If you ask someone what they will make this year, there are “too many variables,” such as layoffs, raises, commissions and bonuses to get an accurate answer, says Ulzheimer.

Another reason you won’t see salaries on credit reports: “Income really isn’t a measure of creditworthiness,” he says. “It’s a measure of capacity.”

Your credit report and your credit scores are meant to tell “a creditor whether or not you’re going to make a payment, not whether you can make a payment,” Ulzheimer says.

Other income sources that also don’t appear on your credit report: unemployment benefits, alimony, child support or public assistance.
[Related: 7 Smart Ways to Lower Your Bills]

Your employment status

Lose your job and you probably feel like the bad news is tattooed on your forehead. One place no one will see it: your credit report.

Even if you tell individual lenders, such as your mortgage holder, that information won’t make it onto your credit report.

Employment information, though, could be there and will vary slightly depending on which of the three credit bureau reports a lender pulls.

Names of your employer or past employers could be on the report if you applied for credit and listed them on applications, says Rod Griffin, director of public education for Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies. But an Experian report won’t list your job title or dates of employment, he says.

Your Equifax report will list your last known employer and occupation, but not your dates of employment or whether you’re still employed, says Jennifer Costello, director of public relations with the credit bureau.

Your TransUnion report will list, “if available,” your current employer and occupation, plus the date employment was verified, the hiring date and/or the date the information was reported, says Clifton O’Neal, spokesman for the bureau. It also lists the same information for the previous employer, he says.

Your spouse’s credit history

Merging lives doesn’t mean merging credit files.

Contrary to popular belief, marriage doesn’t result in one joint credit file for both parties, says Ulzheimer.

When someone pulls your credit, whether you’re married or not, the lender will see only your individual credit history, along with the debts and accounts with your name on them.

Some of those obligations may show that you’re a joint account holder, co-signer or authorized user on certain accounts, says Ulzheimer. However, your report won’t show the names of the other people on those accounts, or your relationships to them.

If you live in a community property state and your spouse defaults on his or her individual debts, then a collection action for the debts, which could be considered yours also, could show up on your credit report, he says.

One thing you might notice no matter where you live: When you pull your own credit report, some versions will include your spouse’s name, says Ulzheimer. But the reports lenders and others view won’t have that.
[Related: Surprising Six-Figure Careers]

Your criminal past

Relax: That arrest for trespassing when you were a teenager won’t affect your credit. That’s because it won’t show up on your credit report.

Credit bureaus don’t include criminal conduct on credit reports, says Ulzheimer.

Three exceptions: First, if you have a financial snafu that also involves the court system, such as a judgment or lien, it will show up on your credit report.

Child support payments can also show up as a regular debt on your credit report, says Costello.

And if you receive a fine or ticket, don’t pay it and it goes to collection, then that collection activity could show up on your report. But it would appear as a debtor trying to collect an overdue debt. There wouldn’t be any details on the initial infraction, says Costello.

Medical debt

The Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits listing information on your report that jeopardizes your medical privacy. Often, this means medical debt doesn’t appear unless it goes to collections, says Ulzheimer.

One possible exception: Pay with a credit card or through a third-party lender and the balance could show as a regular debt, minus any medical information, he says.

In collections, medical debt can pop up on a credit report. But privacy rights are still in effect.

For Experian, the report lists the item as medical debt, along with the balance, default date and collection status. There is “no information on the type of condition treated, where you received the treatment, the name of the medical collection company — anything that would be of concern,” Griffin says.

For Equifax, the report includes “the name of the creditor (i.e., medical corporation, treating agency, doctor’s office) but would not include information denoting that it is for medical services,” says Costello. If the provider’s name breaches confidentiality, the provider more than likely would report using the “parent company or holding entity” instead, she says.

For TransUnion, says O’Neal, it includes the balance in collections and that it’s medical debt, with no information on providers or services.

Nontraditional loans

Pawned some valuables? Taken out a payday loan? Signed for a car title loan?

Those transactions don’t show up on your credit report, says Ulzheimer.

“But if you default and the lender enlists a collection agency to come after you for the balance, that action likely will go on your report,” he says.

Another item that doesn’t show up on credit reports: reloadable debit cards. “They are not on your credit report because they are not credit,” Ulzheimer says.

One “lender” that’s also often missing from credit reports: utility providers.

While some power, gas and phone companies routinely report to credit bureaus and as a result, show up on your credit report, more often they don’t, Ulzheimer says.

When that can change: If you dodge a bill that goes into collections, you can probably expect that notation to end up on your report.

Your net worth

A credit report is basically a list of all your current and recent past debts and obligations.

What’s missing from the report: assets that you own outright.

Which means it can’t include your net worth. That surprises some consumers, says Ulzheimer. “A lot of people think their net worth is on a credit report.”

“There’s nothing on a credit report that talks about how much money you have in the bank, the money you have in a brokerage account, your stock options” or any other assets, he says. “And if you own a piece of property free and clear, there’s nothing on your credit report.”

Also not on the report: the worth of your home or home equity, says Ulzheimer. “The value of your home is not on your credit report.”

The only related item that you could see: your mortgage, plus any loans or liens you have on the property.

 

Beauty myths busted

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 By Rebecca Sample Gerstung,Real Simple

The truth behind 18 commonly held beauty beliefs.

Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo

Myth 1: Crossing your legs will give you varicose veins.

Sitting down and crossing your legs won’t cause varicose or spider veins, but standing may.

Pronounced veins often crop up on people who either have a genetic predisposition to them or have jobs that require them to stand a lot, says Kevin Pinski, a dermatologist in Chicago.

Standing makes the vascular network work extra hard to pump blood from the legs up to the heart. If the valves, which keep blood flowing in one direction within your vessels, aren’t functioning properly, a pooling of blood can occur and result in unsightly veins.

Pregnancy, which puts added pressure on the circulatory system, or a trauma―getting hit by a softball or a car door, for example―can also lead to varicose or spider veins.

Myth 2: You can get rid of cellulite.

Ah, if only. “This remains one of the holy grails of cosmetic dermatology,” says Timothy Flynn, a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Nothing can be done to permanently eliminate it―not even liposuction. Cellulite consists of fat deposits that get trapped between the fibrous bands that connect the skin’s tissues. The bands squeeze the fat under the skin, resulting in a lumpy texture.

Luck of the gene pool mostly determines who will and won’t get cellulite. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fat or thin. You can, however, temporarily reduce its orange peel-like appearance.

Firming creams often contain caffeine to tighten and smooth the skin. But a basic moisturizer will also work to hydrate and swell the skin, making cellulite a little less obvious.

Or try using a self-tanner. “A fake tan will help camouflage it,” says Elizabeth Tanzi, a dermatologist and a codirector of laser surgery at the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, in Washington, D.C.

Photo: Peter LaMastro Myth 3: Shaving will make your hair grow back darker and thicker. “Hair that hasn’t been cut grows to a point,” says Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a dermatologist in Miami. “It’s widest at the base and narrowest at the tip.” When you shave a hair, you cut it at the base. The widest part then grows out, and the hair appears thicker. But shaving doesn’t change the width, density, or color of hair. Myth 4: Putting Vaseline on your face nightly will prevent wrinkles. Marilyn Monroe allegedly slathered the thick salve on religiously to stay youthful-looking, but that doesn’t mean you should. “Petroleum jelly is the strongest moisturizer there is because it forces oils into the skin and prevents them from evaporating,” says Paul Jarrod Frank, a dermatologist in New York City. As the skin ages, it loses its ability to retain moisture, and skin that’s dry looks older. “Petroleum jelly can make wrinkles less apparent because it’s adding moisture to the skin, which softens lines, but it can’t actually prevent aging,” Pinski says. Only a cream with a proven active ingredient, such as retinol, can stave off wrinkles. Plus, petroleum jelly is so greasy that it can create other problems, including breakouts.

Photos: Yunhee Kim Myth 5: Wearing nail polish all the time will make your nails turn yellow. This is true, but you can wear nail enamel all you like and still avoid discoloration. Nails are porous, and they absorb the pigment in polishes. “Darker colors, especially reds, have more pigment, so they often stain your nails,” says Maria Salandra, the owner of Finger Fitness, in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. The solution: Before applying polish, paint on a clear base coat, such as Essie All in One Base Coat ($9.50, essie.com), to prevent nails from absorbing pigment. Myth 6: You can shrink your pores. It’s actually impossible to change the size of pores, but you can make them look smaller―and using egg whites, a beauty trick Grandma may have tried, does work. “Egg whites tighten the skin, giving the illusion of smaller pores, but it’s a temporary effect,” says Elizabeth McBurney, a clinical professor of dermatology at Tulane University School of Medicine, in New Orleans.

Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo Myth 7: If you use wax to remove hair, fewer hairs will grow back. “Wax rips the hair out at the follicles,” explains Woolery-Lloyd. “And any repeated injury to the follicles over time―we’re talking 20 years―could damage some follicles to the point that they don’t grow back.” So employ waxing for its ability to keep your legs smoother longer than shaving can, not for diminishing hair growth. Myth 8: Preparation H deflates puffiness. This is a secret of makeup artists everywhere, and there’s a lot of   anecdotal evidence to suggest that this hemorrhoid cream                             can reduce undereye baggage, but no clinical   studies have been done. One of the product’s ingredients, a yeast   derivative                             that is said to reduce puffiness, is no   longer found in the version that’s available in the States. (The cream   was reformulated                             in 1994.) The other ingredient that is   credited with reducing inflammation is phenylephrine, which temporarily   constricts                             blood vessels. Nevertheless, using   Preparation H around the eyes can cause dry and inflamed skin, says   McBurney, so use this                             only where it’s meant to be used, south of   the belt line.

Photo: James Baigrie Myth 9: Rubbing your eyes creates wrinkles. You won’t get crow’s-feet just from kneading your eyes when you’re tired, says Frank. But the tug of gravity and the repetitive movement of facial muscles, as in smiling or frowning, can break down the collagen in your skin and create wrinkles over time. So that silly taunt you heard as a child―”If you keep making that face, it will freeze that way”―has merit. Myth 10: Applying cocoa butter or olive oil will stop stretch marks. Sadly, this isn’t true. Stretch marks occur when skin expands quickly (as in pregnancy), breaking the collagen and elastin fibers that normally support it. Or they’re simply luck of the genetic draw. “Stretch marks are formed below the top layer of skin, where the cocoa butter and olive oil can’t reach,” says McBurney. The most either can do is quell the itching that occurs when skin expands.

Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo Myth 11: Brushing your hair 100 strokes a day will make it shine. Marcia Brady, it turns out, was overzealous in her beauty routine. “One hundred strokes is too much,” says Christopher Mackin, a trichologist (someone who studies hair) at the Gil Ferrer Salon, in New York City. “You’ll do more damage than good.” Hair will break if you tug on it too much. However, gentle brushing―a few strokes here and there―will make hair shine by distributing the natural oils from the scalp down the hair shafts and flattening the cuticles to make them reflect more light. More significant, light brushing removes impurities and stimulates blood flow to the scalp, which nourishes hair follicles and keeps them healthy. Myth 12: Tanning or dotting on toothpaste can help get rid of pimples. True to both, but don’t run for the tanning booth or apply a Colgate face mask. “A particular wavelength of light has been shown to stimulate porphyrin, a chemical that eradicates the bacteria that cause acne,” says Pinski. But while some sun exposure may help pimples get better temporarily, you can experience a rebound effect. “If the skin gets dry and damaged from the sun, your body’s response is to produce oil,” says Frank. Plus, sun exposure can lead to bigger problems, such as premature aging and skin cancer. As for toothpaste, it often contains menthol, which can help dry out a pimple. But other common toothpaste ingredients can irritate the skin. And there are much better over-the-counter options than toothpaste, such as Clinique Acne Solutions Emergency Gel Lotion ($14.50, clinique.com). If, however, you’re on a reality-TV survival show and all you have is a tube of the white stuff, a couple of million viewers, and a blemish, a dab on your dot will work.

Photo: Susie Cushner Myth 13: Sleeping on your back or with a satin pillow will help your face stay wrinkle-free. That’s a big exaggeration with a little truth behind it. As you age, the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin break down, so when you burrow your face into a pillow, putting pressure on these fibers for several hours at a time, the skin is increasingly less likely to snap back. “If you have a pattern of sleeping on one side, that side of your face will typically show more wrinkling than the other,” says Tanzi, who adds that the difference is very subtle. Learning to sleep on your back can help your skin a bit, but you’d fare much better wearing a good sunscreen every day than sleeping on a satin pillow, says Woolery-Lloyd. Myth 14: Rinsing your hair with beer will make it thicker. A final rinse of beer at the end of your shower will leave you with more   voluminous strands. “The beer builds up the circumference                             of the shafts,” says Philip Berkovitz,   founder of Philip B. hair products. One caveat: You may smell like a   frat house until                             the scent dissipates. Instead, try a   thickening shampoo with hops, such as Aussie Aussome Volume 2 in 1   Shampoo ($4.50, drugstore.com).

Photo: Anna Williams Myth 15: Applying mayonnaise to your hair will make it glossier. Mayo is made with an oil base, and it makes hair shine. But to avoid a   mess, try this method: – Apply a cup of mayonnaise mixed                             with a teaspoon of vanilla extract (to cut   the mayonnaise scent) to dry, unwashed hair. –  Cover your head with a warm   towel                             to help the mayonnaise penetrate, and leave   it on for 20 minutes. – Before you step into the shower, apply a heaping   handful                             of shampoo to your hair. Don’t add any water   yet; just massage it in thoroughly for several minutes. That will help   break                             down the excess oil, says Berkovitz. – Rinse   with cool water in the shower and your hair will come out shiny and   silky. If the                             idea of putting a condiment in your hair   makes you queasy, try a rich glossing treatment, such as Phytonectar   Ultra-Nourishing                             Oil Treatment ($30, drugstore.com), which contains egg and rich oils, the basic ingredients in mayonnaise. Myth 16: Never pluck a gray hair, because 10 more will grow in its place. This is false. “How can you get 10 new hair follicles from plucking   one?” asks Berkovitz. If anything, ripping a hair out                             by its root leads to regrowth that refuses to   lie flat. Your best bet for conquering gray? See a colorist.

Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo Myth 17: Hair grows faster in summer than in winter. Although studies have shown that men’s beards grow faster in summer, there is no evidence to suggest that the hair on your head does. Many women say they can tell it grows faster then, but if so, the difference is slight and barely detectable, according to McBurney. The only time women’s hair has been proven to grow faster is during pregnancy, thanks to increased hormones. Myth 18: Drinking water keeps your skin from drying out. “This is one of the biggest myths out there,” says Frank. What keeps   skin moist is oil, not water. Certainly, drinking water                          helps vital organs operate properly, and too   little water in your body can give you a wan appearance. But your skin   can still                          look dry even if you drink eight glasses a day.

 

Serbia finds stolen Cezanne worth $100 million

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Reuters – 7 hrs ago

 

BELGRADE/ZURICH (Reuters) – Police in Serbia have recovered a painting by the French artist Paul Cezanne that was stolen at gunpoint from a Swiss museum four years ago, officials said on Thursday.

              Cezanne’s Boy in a Red Waistcoat, which media said was worth more than $100 million, was one of four paintings stolen from the E. G. Buehrle Collection in Zurich in 2008 by a trio of masked robbers who burst in just before closing time and told staff to lie on the floor while they took what they wanted.

              The heist was one of the largest in the world at the time.

              Four men were arrested in the capital Belgrade and the southwestern town of Cacak on Wednesday in connection with the theft and the director of the Buehrle collection confirmed the authenticity of the painting, the Zurich state prosecutor’s office said.

Serbian special police guard what is believed to be an impressionist masterpiece “Boy in a Red Waistcoat” by Paul Cezanne in Belgrade April 12, 2012. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

              At a press conference in Belgrade, Miljko Radisavljevic, the special prosecutor for organized crime, said the suspects wanted to sell the painting, found in the door panel of a car, for as little as 3.5 million euros.

              “They received 2.8 million euros before the arrest,” he said.

              Boy in a Red Waistcoat, thought to have been painted in 1888, depicts a boy in traditional Italian dress wearing a red waistcoat, a blue handkerchief and a blue belt. Three other versions of the painting are in museums in the United States.

              Two of the stolen canvasses, one by Claude Monet and the other by Vincent Van Gogh, were recovered not long after the robbery, abandoned in a car. A work by Edgar Degas is still missing.

              At the same press conference, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said during the action dubbed Operation Waistcoat, police also seized about 1.5 million euros in cash, four vehicles, weapons and ammunition.

              “I don’t think we have ever had a more valuable arrest,” Dacic said. “The painting will now be guarded by police and returned to its owner.”

              The Buehrle collection, one of the most important 20th-century private holdings of European art, was amassed by the industrialist Emil Georg Buehrle, who derived his wealth from producing and selling anti-aircraft guns.

              Last October, Serbian police recovered two paintings by Pablo Picasso – Tete de Cheval (Horse’s Head) and Verre et Pichet (Glass and Pitcher) – stolen in 2008 from a gallery in the Swiss town of Pfaeffikon, near Zurich.

              (Reporting By Aleksandar Vasovic; Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson and Catherine Bosley in Zurich; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

 

National Geographic: Your Shot

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National Geographic highlights the top photos from users in its ongoing gallery called Your Shot. Here are some of the best from this week.

Kao Mei Wetland is a biodiverse tidal flat of Taichung City, which is located on the mid-west coast of Taiwan. Not only is it famous as a habitat for hundreds of kinds of winter and migrant birds, but it’s also a natural home to two kinds of endangered endemic water plants, Hygrophila pogonocalyx and Bolboschoenus planiculmis. (Photo and caption courtesy Ko Cheng/National Geographic Your Shot)

With only a fixed lens on my Fuji X100, I was still able to get a decent shot of a resident snow monkey bathing with her infant at Yudanaka’s snow monkey park, near Nagano, Japan. Although heavily photographed the monkeys appear fairly wild and have adopted a daily ritual of bathing in the hot springs. We were lucky to see them on a very quiet, surreal and snowy day in late spring. (Photo and caption courtesy Tyron Breytenbach/National Geographic Your Shot)

Instead of front legs, Vespa was born with little “chicken wings” that allow her to army crawl or hop, but only on soft grass or carpet. I wanted her world to be bigger, so I researched front wheels for dogs (she was not a candidate for prosthesis). I tracked down OrthoPets out of Denver, Colorado, a wonderful group that specializes in making animals more mobile, and there the door to that bigger world was immediately opened. (Photo by my boyfriend, Ron T. Ennis.)

The 10 Fastest Dying Industries in America

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By Mamta Badkar | Business Insider – Wed, Apr 11, 2012 2:17 PM EDT

The rise of cheap imports, technological advancements and the financial crisis have collectively delivered a harsh blow to some U.S. industries.
IBISWorld is out with a list of 10 American industries that have seen sharp revenue declines, a fall in industry participants and a declining life cycle stage between 2002 and 2012.
[Related: 5 Signs You’re in the Wrong Job]
Some of the worst hit industries include newspaper publishing, women’s and girls apparel manufacturing and appliance repair industries.
(library.duke.edu)Photofinishing
2012 revenue: $1.51 billion 2017 revenue: $897.1 million
Competition from digital cameras and camera phones has been a blow to the photofinishing industry which has seen revenue shrink 11.4 percent every year over the last 10 years. The pervasiveness of consumer shift to digital devices and online photo-sharing platforms has seen fewer consumers turn to printing photos.
The photofinishing industry is expected to see revenue fall 9.9 percent per year over the next five years. Eastman Kodak Company which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is one of the biggest industry players.
(cbcastro on flickr)Appliance Repair
2012 revenue: $3.68 billion 2017 revenue: $3.48 billion
The appliance repair industry has taken a hit since many consumers have opted to buy new household appliances instead of fixing them mostly because the price of household appliances has fallen an annualized rate of 2.4 percent.
The factor most directly responsible for the industry’s downturn however has been the increasing trend among manufacturers to offer warranties on new appliances. Improving appliance technologies have also resulted in lower demand for repair services.
Revenue for the industry has fallen 5.7 percent per year on average for the last 10 years. Sears Holdings and Best Buy are some of the biggest appliance repair industry players.
DVD, Game & Video Rental
2012 revenue: $5.89 billion 2017 revenue: $2.80 billion
The DVD, game and video rental industry has taken a hit because of its struggle to adapt to a competitive marketplace and embrace technological developments. Consumers are increasingly opting for streaming, video on demand (VOD) and downloading media.
The industry has seen revenue fall at an average rate of 6.6 percent per year and is expected to fall 13.8 percent per year over the next five years. Coinstar Inc. with its subsidiary Redbox, and DISH Network Corp. are some of the biggest names in the industry.
(Getty)Money market and other banking
2012 revenue: $834.4 million 2017 revenue: $799.3 million
The money market and banking industry that is made up of banks owned by non-financial companies and unincorporated banks that are not regulated by the Federal Reserve, took a massive blow during the financial crisis. With no access to TARP many drowned during the recession.
Many banks have been pushed toward commercial banking status and have seen average annual revenue decline 6.9 percent over the past five years. Moreover consolidation in the banking sector is likely to see revenues decline further, falling 0.9 percent per year over the next five years.
[Related: The Best and Worst Jobs for 2012]
Merrill Lynch Bank USA, American Express Centurion Bank and UBS Bank USA are some of the biggest players in the industry.
(Getty)Newspaper publishing
2012 revenue: $29.30 billion 2017 revenue: $23.70 billion
The newspaper and publishing industry has seen revenue decline at an annual rate of 6.4 percent over the past 10 years, driven by competition from web-based competitors. News consumers also seem to favor real-time reporting which has seen advertising revenues for newspapers decline.
Revenue in the industry is expected to decline at an average rate of 4.2 percent per year for the next five years. Gannett Co, Tribune Company and the New York Times Company are some of the biggest industry players.
Newspapers can, however, try to drive revenue through the use of paywalls and by charging for applications that allow access to full issues and multimedia content across a range of platforms.
(Cinram)Recordable media manufacturing
2012 revenue: $4.14 billion 2017 revenue: $3.31 billion
Technological developments have hurt the recordable media manufacturing industry which makes tapes and disks. Consumers first shifted to hard drives, and more recently to online downloading and streaming technologies. This, combined with the access to on-demand digital media, caused industry revenue to fall an average annual rate of 7.4 percent over the past 10 years.
The recordable media manufacturing industry is expected to see its revenue decline at an average rate of 4.4 percent per year over the next five years. Cinram manufacturing and Zomax are the Major players in the recordable media manufacturing industry.
This industry does however have room to grow and develop a niche market since bigger files like 3D movies cannot be supported through current streaming technologies.
(Toolstop)Hardware manufacturing
2012 revenue: $7.48 billion 2017 revenue: $6.63 billion
The rise of low-cost imports is causing a decline in the hardware manufacturing industry. Imports currently account for more than 50 percent of all metal hinges, handles, keys and locks sold in the U.S. compared with 29.3 percent in 2002. Most of these imports come from China, Mexico and Canada.
Stanley, Black & Decker, Assa Abloy, and Ingersoll-Rand Company are the biggest players in the hardware manufacturing industry.
(Keds)Shoe and footwear manufacturing
2012 revenue: $1.71 billion 2017 revenue: $1.56 billion
Competitive imports have delivered an especially hard blow to the shoe and footwear manufacturing industry, which has to compete with low-cost imports that account for a massive 95 percent of domestic consumption.
[Related: Survival Skills For a Job You Detest]
China alone accounts for 75 percent of the industry’s imports. With rising labor costs in China however, Vietnam has also surfaced as a new competitive threat.
(PRNewswire)Costume and team uniform manufacturing
2012 revenue: $986.7 million 2017 revenue: $889.6 million
Costume and team manufacturing has seen revenue contract at an average annual pace of 6.7 percent over the last decade.
The industry’s revenue is down from $2 billion in 2002. The relocation of manufacturing to other countries has hurt industry revenues. Berkshire Hathaway through its subsidiary Russell Corporation is a major player in this industry.
(staxxdowntown via YouTube)Women’s and girls apparel manufacturing
2012 revenue: $8.60 billion 2017 revenue: $8.27 billion
The women and girls apparel manufacturing industry has been hit by off-shoring and outsourcing. Revenue is already less that half of what it was in 2012 and has fallen at an average rate of 8.2 percent over the past decade.
There are now 1,196 manufacturing sites making women’s and girl’s apparel in the U.S., down from 2,272 10 years ago. But there is a silver lining, high-end goods in the industry can’t be cheaply produced abroad and have a niche consumer that could help it grow.
Major players in the industry include VF Corporation, Hanesbrands Inc., and Kellwood Company.
Source: IBISWorld

 

 

Cutting-edge Navy warship being built in Maine

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By DAVID SHARP | Associated Press – 20 hrs ago

FILE – This file image released by Bath Iron Works shows a rendering of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt, the U.S. Navy’s next-generation destroyer, which has been funded to be built at Bath Iron Works in Maine and at Northrop Grumman’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The enormous, expensive and technology-laden warship that some Navy leaders once tried to kill because of its cost is now viewed as an important part of the Obama administration’s Asia-Pacific strategy, with advanced technology that the Navy’s top officer says represents the Navy’s future. (AP Photo/Bath Iron Works, File)

 

BATH, Maine (AP) — An enormous, expensive and technology-laden warship that some Navy leaders once tried to kill because of its cost is now viewed as an important part of the Obama administration’s Asia-Pacific strategy, with advanced capabilities that the Navy’s top officer says represent the Navy’s future.

The stealthy, guided-missile Zumwalt that’s taking shape at Bath Iron Works is the biggest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy.

The low-to-the-water warship will feature a wave-piercing hull, composite deckhouse, electric drive propulsion, advanced sonar, missiles, and powerful guns that fire rocket-propelled warheads as far as 100 miles. It’s also longer and heavier than existing destroyers — but will have half the crew because of automated systems.

“With its stealth, incredibly capable sonar system, strike capability and lower manning requirements — this is our future,” concluded Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, who gave the warship his endorsement on a visit last week to Bath Iron Works, where the ships are being built.

It wasn’t always this way.

The General Accounting Office expressed concerns that the Navy was trying to incorporate too much new technology. Some Navy officials pointed out that it’s less capable than existing destroyers when it comes to missile defense, and a defense analyst warned that it would be vulnerable while operating close to shore for fire support.

Even its “tumblehome” hull was criticized as potentially unstable in certain situations.

The 600-foot-long ships are so big that the General Dynamics-owned shipyard spent $40 million to construct a 106-foot-tall building to assemble the giant hull segments.

And then there’s the cost, roughly $3.8 billion apiece, according to the Navy’s latest proposed budget.

Including research and development, the cost grows to $7 billion apiece, said Winslow Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information in Washington.

Because of cost, the originally envisioned 32 ships dipped to 24 and then seven. Eventually, program was truncated to just three. The first, the Zumwalt, will be christened next year and delivered to the Navy in 2014.

But Greenert told reporters that the ship fits perfectly into the new emphasis on bolstering the U.S. military presence in the Pacific in response to Asia’s growing economic importance and China’s rise as a military power.

Greenert didn’t go into detail on how the new ship could be used. But the Defense Department has expressed concerns that China is modernizing its Navy with a near-term goal of stopping or delaying U.S. intervention in a conflict involving Taiwan. China considers the self-governing island a renegade province.

Defense officials also see a potential flashpoint in the South China Sea, where China’s territorial claims overlap with those of other countries including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The Zumwalt’s new technology will allow the warship to deter and defeat aggression and to maintain operations in areas where an enemy seeks to deny access, both on the open ocean and in operations closer to shore, the Navy says.

Jay Korman, industry analyst with The Avascent Group, said the warship uses so much new technology that it’s viewed by the Navy as a “silver bullet” answer to threats. The only problem is the cost.

“They were looking to introduce so many new technologies at once, and the cost ballooned,” he said. “I don’t think people have changed their minds that it’s a capable ship. It’s just too expensive.”

Unlike another new ship entering the Navy’s arsenal — the small and speedy “littoral combat ship” — the Zumwalt will be heavily armored and armed.

The Zumwalt’s 155 mm deck guns were built to pound the shore with guided projectiles to pave the way for the Marines to arrive in landing craft, and they’re far more cost-effective in certain situations than cruise missiles, said Eric Wertheim, author of the “Naval Institute’s Guide to Combat Fleets of the World.”

The smaller crew also represents a substantial cost savings, he added.

Down the road, the ship could one day be equipped with an electromagnetic railgun, a powerful weapon that uses a magnetic field and electric current to fire a projectile at several times the speed of sound.

Production will stop after three ships, and the Navy will go back to building tried-and-true Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, 510-foot-long ships featuring a versatile Aegis radar system that’s being modified for ballistic missile defense. Even with modifications, the ships will cost far less than the Zumwalt-class ships.

For Bath’s 5,400 workers, the Zumwalt has been both exciting and challenging, with a new design and new construction techniques. In the coming months, workers will take delivery of the composite deck house and helicopter hangar, which are being built at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi. Those will be placed on the Bath-built hull.

“If anybody can do it and do it successfully, then I’m confident that’s us,” said Jay Wadleigh, vice president of Local S6 of the Machinists Union in Bath.

 

 

Afghanistan’s Special Forces

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Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. Forces.

A woman Afghan Special Forces member participates in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

Women Afghan Special Forces members participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS/   REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. Forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS/ REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. Forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS/ REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. Forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. Forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS/ REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

Women Afghan Special Forces members participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS/   REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

Afghan Special Forces participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. It’s a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan’s new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. Forces. To go with AFGHANISTAN-NIGHTRAIDS/ REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

 

‘Monolith’ Object on Mars? You Could Call It That

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By Natalie Wolchover | LiveScience.com – Wed, Apr 11, 2012

Amateur stargazers have discovered an intriguing object jutting out from the surface of Mars. The seemingly perfectly rectangular, upright structure, found in NASA images of the Red Planet, bears a striking resemblance to the monoliths planted on Earth and the moon by aliens in the classic sci-fi film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

The object in question was first spotted several years ago after being photographed by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a NASA space probe; every so often, it garners renewed interest on the Internet. But is it unnatural — a beacon erected by aliens for mysterious reasons, and even more mysteriously paralleled in the imaginations of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, creators of “2001”? Or is this rock the work of nature? [Photo ]

According to Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, who processes many of the images taken during NASA’s Mars missions, the object in question is no more than a roughly rectangular boulder.

The HiRISE camera that photographed it has a resolution of approximately 1 foot (30 centimeters) per pixel — impressive considering the 180-mile (300-kilometer) altitude from which it photographs the Martian surface, but not quite sharp enough to capture the cragginess of a mid-size boulder. “When your resolution is too low to fully resolve an object, it tends to look rectangular because the pixels in the image are squares. Any curve will look like a series of straight lines if you reduce your resolution enough,” Hill told Life’s Little Mysteries.

The location of the boulder at the bottom of a cliff near many other boulders suggests it broke off the cliff and tumbled to its current spot sometime in the distant past, Hill said. Such a perilous location is itself an argument against deliberate placement by aliens: “If I was going to build a monolith somewhere, that’s the last place I would put it!” he said. “The debris falling from the cliff would cover it up pretty quickly, on geologic timescales.” [Vote: Do You Believe in Life on Mars?]

Hill added that the height of the boulder is being exaggerated in the photo by a low sun angle. Photographed when the sun was near the horizon, the boulder casts an especially long shadow.

The ufologists aren’t necessarily wrong in calling it a monolith — the word simply translates from Latin as “one stone.” But this monolith isn’t the masonry of Martians.