Creative news blog

By Faith Lapidus
Washington
02 January 2009

Complementary and alternative medical practices - which include health products and therapies that aren’t generally considered part of conventional medicine - are frequently a part of Americans’ health care regimens. That’s the finding of a new survey released this month by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Thirty-eight percent of American adults are using some form of complementary and alternative medicine, known as CAM, to help with their health.

NCCAM Director Dr. Josephine Briggs says the new survey provides the most current, comprehensive and reliable source of information on Americans’ use of unconventional remedies such as medicinal herbs, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, massage and chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation.

Most of these patients, Briggs says, hope to alleviate pain.

“The most common reason why people turn to complementary and alternative medicine in our survey results is chronic back pain - far and away, the leading reason to use complementary and alternative medicine,” she says. “Neck pain, joint pain, headache: All these other conditions are also given as common reasons. But chronic back pain is the leading reason, a very common and difficult condition to treat.”

As the federal government’s lead agency for scientific research into CAM therapies, the center funds hundreds of projects and trials, supports training for researchers and encourages integration of proven CAM therapies into conventional practice.

Another important part of NCCAM’s mission is to publicize news and information about complementary and alternative medicine, and promote discussions about it between patients and their health care providers.

Briggs notes, “It is very important that people talk to their physicians and other health care providers about their use of complementary and alternative medicine.”

Read full article: Americans Turn to Complementary, Alternative Medicine for Pain Relief

Buyers cautious as prestigious Italian cars struggle to sell at auction.
By Paul Hudson

Desirable Ferraris have usually been considered less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the world’s financial markets than most other marques, but car collectors kept their hands firmly in their pockets at last weekend’s Bonhams sale of Ferraris and associated memorabilia in Gstaad.

Many of the star lots failed to reach their estimates and were consequently not sold, although most of the more affordable lots found buyers. Even then, they struggled to achieve the lower end of their estimated prices.

The annual ‘Ferrari et les Prestigieuses Italiennes’ auction at Gstaad featured a host of not only desirable but seminal Ferraris for sale, most notably a 1955 121LM Spyder Corsa that competed in the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours and that year’s Mille Miglia road race in the hands of Phil Hill, Eugenio Castellotti, Umberto Maglioli and Carroll Shelby. It was estimated at £2,808,450 to £3,945,000 but the price for one of the most collectible competition Ferraris to emerge on the open market for many years was apparently too steep as buyers responded to current financial woes with extreme caution.

An immaculate, 192 F40 also failed to sell, as did the 1951 212 Export Spider that came third overall in the 1951 Mille Miglia.

A 1967 275GTB/4, estimated at £717,000 to £836,000, had reached only £595,000 before the hammer fell.

The Ferrari ‘Daytona’ (proper name the 365GTB/4) coupe has been fetching high prices but one of the examples at Gstaad, one of only 530 Series 1 cars and estimated at £232,800 to £268,600, failed to sell.

Read full article - Ferrari values succumb to recession

It may seem odd to latch onto a Southern tradition when you’re born and bred in New York City. But once I discovered a few years ago why Southerners eat hopping john on New Year’s Day - a few bites and you’ll have a lucky year - I’ve been hosting a hopping (or hoppin’, as it is often spelled) john party ever since. Who doesn’t want good luck, especially nowadays?Southerners aren’t the only ones who mark New Year’s with food rituals that hope for good things ahead - in Italy, lentils are eaten to bring prosperity; in Spain and Malta, people eat 12 grapes, one for each month; a sour grape means you’ll have a bad month so you can plan - or at least resign yourself.

There isn’t a holiday that doesn’t have some sort of food tradition, and many of us continue the traditions handed down by our family.

A few weeks ago, the IJ asked readers to send in some of their holiday food traditions. Here’s what they shared:

Maya Manny, San Rafael

Growing up in the Netherlands, foods were very seasonal (no strawberries in November!) and at this time of the year we would be focusing on the all-important arrival of Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas. This used to be celebrated with witty clever poems, small, fun gifts and certain traditional foods for St. Nicholas Eve, Dec. 5. and St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6. Even though we still were rationed on sugar in the fall of 1948, three years after the war had ended, somehow the necessary ingredients for some of the traditional food items appeared. This one is named banketletter.This is a quick and easy recipe and can be shaped into two long sticks or into eight letters, so you can give everyone their initial to eat. You also may find a chocolate initial in your shoe if you put it near the chimney and sing an appropriate song.

At Christmas time, I make the dough into circles and tie a red ribbon and green sprig on them.

For outer dough

2 cups flour (I use unbleached, unsifted)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

Mix quickly in Cuisinart or cut in by hand until crumbly. Add 1/3 cup ice water and spin, then gather it by hand into a sticky ball and chill at least 30 minutes.

For the filling:

7 ounces almond paste

1 egg

3 tablespoon sugar Ê Ê

In Cuisinart (or by hand) mix the filling and chill. Can be done the night before. Ê

Halve the dough, put rest back in fridge. Roll out between wax paper sheets or on silpat liner or on a lightly floured surface until a bit less than 1/4-inch thick.

Cut into 2 strips to make two wreaths or letters.

Layer the filling into a narrow strip, fold, moisten the edge, seal with a fork, turn upside down, connect the ends so the filling will not leak out.

Mix 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush all over the pastries. Bake in 350-degree oven for 30 minutes till golden brown. Slice in 1-inch pieces.

Note: It is a good keeper. Freezes beautifully; reheat for 7 minutes in a hot oven.

Shirley Graves, Novato

My mother was a great cook - every meal was a work of art and nutrition! But the Christmas treat that I remember most was only “arranged” by Mother. We lived in a lovely 54-unit apartment building in Joliet, Ill., until I was 12 years old. A lady from Denmark, Mrs. Farb, lived upstairs. At Christmas she baked traditional Danish cookies for many neighbors. They were small, sweet and either dark red or dark green. I have never seen anything like them.Mrs. Farb did not ask for money from the neighbors she baked for, just that they provide the sugar and butter for their batch of cookies. The problem was, this was the 1940s, our country was at war, and many things were rationed, such as the sugar and butter that made up most of the cookies. Everyone had a government-issued book of ration coupons to use to purchase certain items. Our cookie-eating neighbors and my mother chose to use some of their coupons on a Christmas treat!

Lori Smith, San Rafael

For the past 15 or so years, I have prepared apple baked yams for family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. My two college-aged daughters, Jenn, age 20, and Heather, age 23, absolutely love this Thanksgiving treasure! When serving these yams over the holidays, I hear many comments such as: “This taste just like apple pie,” “These are the best yams I’ve ever tasted,” etc.Jenn, a junior at UC Santa Barbara, is studying abroad in Grenoble, France, this year, and wasn’t home for the Thanksgiving holiday. She recently called me long distance to request that I prepare a Thanksgiving dinner at Christmas time, and include her favorite apple baked yams on the menu. Without hesitation, I let her know that her wish was my command.

I can’t wait to have both daughters home at Christmas break, and to prepare this dish for my wonderful family. With pleasure, I share this recipe that has been enjoyed by family and friends over the years.

Lori’s apple baked yams

This recipe makes 5 to 6 generous servings. I usually double the recipe.

5-6 medium yams (pierce the skin before cooking, peel after cooking and when cool to touch)

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup raisins

3 Macintosh or Empire apples, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Cinnamon to taste

Cook the yams in preheated 400-degree oven for approximately 40 minutes, or in a microwave oven on high for 15 minutes, or until tender. Mash yams with milk, 2 tablespoons butter and raisins. Place a layer of yams in a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Add a layer of sliced apples, and sprinkle lightly with sugar and cinnamon. Dot with butter. Repeat layering of yams, apples, sugar, cinnamon, dot with butter, and finish with a layer of yams. Dot surface with butter. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 1 hour.

Read this full article - Cooking up tradition during the holidays

This gratin is an easy vegetarian main dish to make and resembles a quiche, but without the crust.

This series offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. Produce, seasonal and locally grown when possible, and a well-stocked pantry are the linchpins of a good diet, and accordingly, each week’s recipes will revolve around a particular type of produce or a pantry item. This is food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and a pleasure to eat.
See previous recipes »

1 1/2 pounds winter squash of your choice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

3 eggs

1/2 cup low-fat milk

2 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (1/2 cup)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/4 cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cover a baking sheet with foil and brush lightly with olive oil. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy membranes, brush the cut sides with olive oil and lay cut side down on the foil-covered baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes, or until soft enough to pierce easily with a knife. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then peel and either mash with a fork, puree in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or finely dice. You should have about 2 cups of pureed or finely diced squash.

2. Turn the oven down to 375ºF and oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a medium heavy skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the parsley and sage, and squash, and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and whisk in the milk. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir in the squash mixture and the Gruyère. Taste and adjust seasonings. Scrape into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the Parmesan over the top.

5. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned on the top and sizzling. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Read full recipe - Recipes for Health - Winter Squash Gratin

Treatments can vary widely, from medication to surgery or herbs
By CINDY GEORGE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Constant shooting, stinging, throbbing and other painful head-pounding could ruin — or rule — your life.

Up to 35 million Americans suffer migraine and other forms of headache, according to the American Academy of Neurology.

• FOUR TYPES OF HEADACHES: The main types of headaches are tension, migraine, cluster and hormone.
Tension headaches, the most common, cause a band-like sensation or other pressure around the head. Most migraine headaches occur on one side of the head. Described as the most intense, cluster headaches attack in groups. Hormone headaches are associated with women’s menstrual cycles.

• OTHER TYPES OF HEADACHES: You might also experience over-medication rebound headaches, sinus headaches and those caused by brain abnormalities, including tumors.
• TRIGGERS: Stress, certain foods and sleeping patterns can trigger headaches.
“Eating meals regularly, staying well-hydrated and trying to minimize stress in life, sleeping well and getting exercise really do make a difference,” said Dr. Pamela Blake, a Houston neurologist at Memorial Hermann Northwest.

Changing weather that causes barometric pressure to spike or dip could be the culprit.

“When the fronts are coming in, primarily in the spring and fall, that will trigger headaches in the front of the head or face,”said Dr. Howard S. Derman, a neurologist at The Methodist Hospital. “People sometimes think those are sinus headaches because of spring flowers, but they’re really not.”

The same concept applies to people plagued with head pain while flying, hiking or mountain-climbing.

Read full article: So many ways to treat so many types of headache

The Medifast brand has been around for a number of decades, and at one time was only available via physicians. Nowadays the products can be ordered on-line and through a number of distributors.

Medifast offer a stable of meal replacement products - all generally formulated to be low-calorie and low-fat, and containing the optimum levels of vitamins. The formula will generally take users into a mild state of ketosis.

The most popular plan is called 5 and 1. This plan (800-1000 calories daily) comprises 5 meal replacements and one “real” meal containing a lean protein and vegetables and salad. Medifast claim a weight loss of 2-5 pounds per week on this plan.

Proof?

What many people don’t realize is that very few commercial weight loss programs have ever undergone any clinical studies. Medifast heavily promote the fact that a Johns Hopkins university study has shown that Medifast results in significant weight loss (67 pound average loss in males and 57 pound average loss in females). It’s worth pointing out that this study looked at patients who attended Medifast clinics.

There is also an additional study that compared the Medifast program with diabetes medication. The study found Medifast more effective at controlling type 2 diabetes than an ADA-recommended program (see PR).

Both studies were led by Associate Professor Lawrence Cheskin of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and were funded by Medifast .

Successes

Due to the popularity of the program, Medifast have a number of “success stories” - one of which is Nnedi Uzowihe-Igwe of Maryland, USA (currently featured on the Medifast site). She also appeared in People magazine in January 2006 describing a massive transformation that resulted in a 160lb weight loss between June 2004 and April 2005. Nnedi subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to her second daughter)

I was able to find out how Nnedi was going now, and she appears to have maintained her massive initial weight loss (and is aiming to lose the weight she put on with the second baby by the end of this year).

Drastic

Protein fasts and low-calorie meal replacements are a drastic solution, and in my opinion appropriate for drastic situations. Given the choice between gastric bypass surgery or Medifast , then Medifast must surely be a better answer.

The biggest test of a program such as Medifast is the long-term consequences - and in particular weaning off a program based around shakes and soups. The transition phase should be four to six weeks, and often starts off by introducing some oatmeal at breakfast, and some fruit for snacks. Also exercise must become a part of life (5 days a week). Exercise must be fairly low-key during the restrictive part of Medifast - but once transitioning - it becomes increasingly important.

Due to the level of energy intake and exercise levels - it is likely that some muscle loss will occur during the weight loss phase. Once again, the best course of action would be to gradually include strength training during the transition phase - and begin to build up muscle tone.

Costs

The Medifast 5 and 1 plan cost $275 for 4 weeks. However - that’s the cost of the “5? - you will still need to buy your daily “lean and green” meal (lean protein plus salad/vegetables).

Men & Women

Different formulations are used for men and women. Some shakes are called Medifast 55 or Medifast 70. The latter has a higher soy protein content and is more suitable for men (or women who prefer higher protein).

Behaviour Change Required

Read full story: Medifast Diet - This diet’s longevity speaks volumes

For every $100 spout on a house in 1950 the investment rose slightly through 2002, then soared to about $192 in 2006, adjusting for inflation. Then confidence in dried up, and the bust began. Rick Wallick moved into a new, three-bedroom $200,000 home in Maricopa, Ariz., in October 2005. Today, the well-informed in is worth $80,000.

The disabled software engineer stopped making mortgage payments this month. His $70,000 down payment is now trashy. His dream house will be foreclosed on next year.

“We’re so far underwater it’s not funny,” says Wallick, 57, who had to revenue to his original home in Oregon to care for a sick family member and tend to his own medical problems.

Wallick, one of the hardest-hit victims in one of the states hit hardest by the houses crisis, lost 60 percent of his home’s value in three years.

His story is an extreme sample, but home values have fallen so sharply since hitting a historic peak in the spring of 2006 that many Americans are wondering how much more prices can settle. As painful as the decline has been, history suggests home values still may have a long way to drop and may take decades to return to the heights of 2 1/2 years ago.

“We will never see these prices again in our lifetime, when you rearrange for inflation,” says Peter Schiff, president of investment firm Euro Pacific Cap of Darien, Conn. “These were lifetime peaks.”

The boom in home prices — fueled by heavily leveraged loans built on low or even no down payments — made it light to forget that housing values had been remarkably stable for a half-century after World War II, rising at roughly the same clip as income and inflation. Prices soared in most of the country — especially in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada and metro areas of Washington, D.C., and New York — during a abbreviated period of easy lending, especially from 2002 to 2006. That era is now over.

So far, home values nationally have tumbled an ordinary of 19 percent from their peak. As bad as that is, prices would need to fall as least 17 percent more to reach their traditional relationship to household gains, according to a USA TODAY analysis of home prices since 1950. In that scenario, a $300,000 house in 2006 could be good about $200,000 when real estate prices hit bottom.

The price plunge has wiped out trillions of dollars in stingingly equity and caused the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Susan Wachter, professor of sincere estate at the University of Pennsylvania, fears that foreclosures and tight credit could send home prices falling to the full stop that millions of families and thousands of banks are thrust into insolvency.

“Homes are different than other goods and services,” she says. “The fragility of our banking system is tied to the value of homes.”

Bailiwick values have fallen before — during the Great Depression and in Texas after a 1980s oil boom, for example — but those drops were a reply to other economic forces. This time, the housing price collapse is the cause of the nation’s broad economic troubles, not at most an effect.

“If we have another 20 percent decline in prices, we’ll need another bailout of banks similar to what we at most did,” Wachter says.

Other economists see a brighter picture in the long term. Wachovia economist Adam York expects cosy values to keep falling until 2010 but is optimistic they will recover.

“The one saving grace is the population is growing by 3 million people a year,” he says. “They neediness to live somewhere. That means more roofs.”

50 years of steady values

Until recently, homes were unwavering, unspectacular investments, not get-rich-quick schemes.

Nationally, the typical existing home was value roughly the same in 2000 as it was in 1950, after adjusting for inflation, according to Yale University economist Robert Shiller.

Newly built homes in general were bigger and more expensive than older houses. As time passed, that meant Americans lived in larger, more valuable homes comprehensive. But a house, once constructed, grew slowly in value. California in the 1970s, Texas in the 1980s and Florida on-and-off for a century were awesome exceptions to the rule.

Despite only modest increases in value, homes were smart investments. Owners lived in a company, then got their money back when they sold. That’s a better deal than renting. Borrowers got tax breaks, too, and built equity that could be leveraged into bigger houses as their incomes grew.

From 2002 to 2006, houses went from being a tortoise to a hare in the investment superb. Home sale profits and relaxed lending standards such as lower down payment requirements and adjustable-judge mortgages (ARMs) made it possible for buyers of all income levels to pay more for houses.

When the housing bubble began to deflate in 2006, biography had a sobering lesson to teach. Home values had closely tracked three common-sense measures for many years:

Gains: Home values floated at about three times average household income from 1950 to 2000. In 2006, the common household income was $66,500. Under the traditional model, home prices should have been about $200,000. Instead, the typical available sold for $301,000.

Rent: Homes traditionally have sold for about 20 times what it would cost to rent them for a year. In 2006, houses were selling for 32 times annual split.

Appreciation: Existing homes grew in value by less than 0.5 percent per year, after adjusting for inflation, from 1950 to 2000. From 2000 to 2006, domestic prices rose at an average annualized rate of 8.2 percent above inflation and peaked with a 12.3 percent rail in 2005. Housing prices began to fall in the second quarter of 2006.

Inflation could help homes recapture their old prices, if not their value. But when inflation is factored in, residence prices might not return to their 2006 peak for many years. Housing prices are meaningless if you don’t adjust for inflation, says Schiff, the investment forewoman.

He points out that gold peaked in 1980 at $850 an ounce in response to inflation and the Iranian pawn crisis. It never recovered. Today, it sells for about $750 an ounce and would have to top $2,000 an ounce when adjusted for inflation to meet its value in 1980.

“That’s the nature of bubbles,” Schiff says. “The price never comes back.”

Read full article - Why home values may take decades to recover

By: Kathy Hester (View Profile)

Earlier this year I got myself a dwarf Meyer lemon tree. I have wanted one for a few years. It was only two feet tall, but already covered in green baby lemons. Now, six months later, I have about eight juicy yellow Meyer lemons to cook with.

It looked beautiful on my deck, and the white flowers were very fragrant. Unfortunately, I had to cut off the branch that was blooming to get rid of an unidentified icky pest that was trying attack it. I’m not sure if I’ll be harvesting much next year, so I want to make the best of what I have now.

In a warm climate, you could plant it outside, but I’m keeping mine in a pot. This way I can enjoy the green foliage inside during the winter and bring it outside for the summer.

If you haven’t used Meyer lemons before, you are in for a treat. They are sweeter, more of a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon. Also the skin is much thinner. In fact, so thin that when I hit it on the counter to get it ready to juice, it busted open and went all over me and the floor. Let that be a lesson you don’t have to learn first hand!

Read full recipe: Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing with Meyer Lemon

As the recession devastates the banking, brokerage, retail and automobile industries, landlords and commercial real estate brokers in lower Fairfield County ponder when and if the office market will be the next victim.

The region could be vulnerable because financial service companies rent much of the office space in Greenwich and Stamford. Greenwich has been called the nation’s unofficial hedge fund capital.

“We are still in a very good market. However, a lot of our clients are financial services companies,” said Jim Fagan, senior managing director of the Westchester County, N.Y., and Connecticut operations of New York City-based Cushman & Wakefield Inc. commercial real estate. “They include everything from hedge funds to reinsurance companies to investment banks, not to mention advertising agencies and other professional services companies.”

Those former mainstays in the office market will be shrinking, he said.

“As tenants try to lower their fixed costs, they are slimming down their commercial real estate exposure, where it is practical and pragmatic,” Fagan said. “The market is going through an adjustment. While it was white hot in July of 2007. It certainly is less than that now.”

John Hannigan, principal of Choyce Peterson commercial real estate in Stamford, said, “The quantity of tenants looking to grow has decreased precipitously.”

Reported office vacancies are not really bad - yet.

In the third quarter, 17 percent of the 14.5 million square feet of office space in Stamford was available for lease or sublease, up slightly from 16.4 percent at the same time last year, according to an average taken from five real estate firms. Available space are locations that are empty or slated to become vacant soon.

The numbers do not include large, single-occupant buildings such as the main UBS AG investment bank and trading floor in downtown Stamford.

But vacancy reports might not tell the whole story, said Jeff Gage, executive managing director at the Stamford office of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle commercial real estate. Some companies have space they are not using but will not admit it unless a broker approached them about subleasing, Gage said.

Sublease space, that which is leased but currently unused, is rising in Fairfield County, he said.

“We are going to see vacancy rates going up to 25 percent or higher (countywide),” Gage said. “My guess is that 40 percent of that will be sublease space.”

The big subleases include 112,000 square feet that UBS put on the market at 201 Tresser Blvd. in Stamford at Purdue Pharma’s headquarters. Others in the city are 50,000 square feet from Legg Mason at First Stamford Place and 120,000 square feet at 290 Harbor Drive.

Greenwich has smaller office vacancies, but its 4.8 million square feet of office space depends largely on financial services, hedge funds and private equity firms. About 9.3 percent of the town’s office space was available in the third quarter, which was unchanged from the same time last year.

“Greenwich and Stamford are not immune from the downsizing and reorganization from a new model of doing business,” said John Goodkind, managing principal at the Greenwich office of New York City-based Newmark Knight Frank commercial real estate. “The days of abundance are gone.”

“Large users are unlikely to make decisions on space unless they have to,” he said, referring to lease expirations.

On the positive side, Goodkind said many people who had worked for hedge funds, financial institutions and banks will be looking for office space in which to start their own companies.

“We have already seen significant numbers of new companies looking for smaller spaces,” he said. “That will be the mode for the next 12 to 18 months.”

But Gerald Celente, a trends forecaster known for gloomy predictions, said the downturn in the retail sector will affect office space because fewer customers will exist for service firms such as ad agencies.

“In 2009, the focus will broaden to include a range of calamities that will leave no sector unscathed,” Celente said in a report issued by his Rhinebeck, N.Y.-based Trends Research Institute. “Next in line is retail, which accounts for some 70 percent of consumer spending, 26 percent of which is holiday sales.”

“Add to the (retail) empties the commercial space vacated by defunct financial firms and an array of troubled businesses from restaurants to architectural firms, to high-tech operations, to offset printers, etc.,” the report said. “The inescapable result (that we predicted over a year ago and is only now being discussed in the business media) is a commercial real estate bust that will be costlier, wreak greater havoc and prove more intractable than the residential market decline.”

Local landords, by contrast, are more optimistic.

“We have been here before (in a recession), and we will get through it,” said Jo Ann McGrath, director of leasing for the Merritt 7 Corporate Park in Norwalk. “We just have to stay positive.”

She said the 1.4 million square feet of office space in Merritt 7’s six buildings is 95 percent occupied.

A 51,000 square feet sublease might occur in the complex’s 301 Merritt 7 building. Applied Biosystems is moving out of 301 Merritt 7 in July because it merged with Invitrogen Corp.

Applied Biosystems’s lease expires in 2011, and it has an option to sublet the space, McGrath said.

Margaret Carlson, director of leasing for New York City-based RFR Realty’s seven office buildings in downtown Stamford, said the market is slowing, but not to a crisis stage.

“We are still continuing to sign deals, and we are starting to see concessions for tenants creep in,” Carlson said. “Velocity is slowing down, but we remain optimistic. There are a lot of deals out in the marketplace, and we do not have a lot of sublease space in our portfolio.”

RFR’s Stamford buildings are 90 percent leased, she said.

Another landlord representative, Jeff Newman of W&M Properties, said the recession offers a chance to recruit new tenants. W&M manages First Stamford Place and Metro Center office complexes in Stamford and the MerrittView office building in Norwalk.

“We are well-positioned to ride out a down market,” Newman said. “We always have more than enough cash flow to cover debt service and operating needs.”

Gage of Jones Lang LaSalle predicted rents will drop 20 percent to 30 percent during the recession, which offers local companies a chance to move into better buildings.

In March, Stamford-based Choyce Peterson began telling its clients to pursue renovation subsidies and lower rent from landlords.

The average asking rent for Class A office space in downtown Stamford is $48 per square foot per year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

“We have been out there ahead of this (recession) news and have been meeting with many area companies to help them navigate these tough economic times, with regard to their office space,” said Hannigan of Choyce Peterson.

“The smart landlord are the ones who will lead the market in (lower) pricing,” Gage said. “If you follow the market, you are already too late.”

- Staff Writer Peter Healy can be reached at peter.healy@scni.com or at 964-227
Read article source - http://web-best.info/2008/12/for-rent-is-office-space-the-final-frontier-in-financial-crisis/

Source: For rent: Is office space the final frontier in financial crisis?

A new patent from Nokia shows a pretty interesting new design: a full widescreen that can swivel behind a QWERTY keyboard so only half the screen is visible.

When held in one position, the phone looks a lot like Nokia’s traditional QWERTY candybars, but the screen can swivel up and out to present a widescreen, presumably for media or web browsing, apps that need a lot of screen real estate. It’s a cool way to combine the appeal of a giant touchscreen with the utility of a QWERTY keyboard, except unlike sliders like the T-Mobile G1 or the Sidekick, the keys are always available on this concept. The screen can also apparently rotate side to side, though I’m not really sure what use could be had from that.

It’s just a patent, and I’m sure there are a number of reasons why this idea won’t come to fruition (how is that screen attached?). But I like the idea and maybe we’ll see elements of it in future products from Nokia.
Source - New Nokia Smartphone Patent Features Swiveling Widescreen and QWERTY