| So to Speak | Joe Blundo commentary: Columbus becomes 'center' of wine world
Here's another way Columbus can market itself: We're the capital of guilt-free wine drinking. Two experts recently co-wrote a study on the "carbon footprint" of wine. Because shipping wine generates greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, the experts wanted to know which was more environmentally friendly: buying wine from California or buying it from France. Their study determined a "green line," east of which it makes more environmental sense to buy from France and west of which it makes more environmental sense to buy from California. And guess through which major metropolitan area that line runs? That's right: We're the Continental Divide of vino. "You can go either way," said Tyler Colman of New York.
Troops shell Somali market, killing 11 - witnesses
MOGADISHU, Mar 29 (Reuters) At least 11 people were killed in Mogadishu today when troops at the Villa Somalia presidential palace returned fire against Islamist insurgents who attacked it with mortar bombs, witnesses said.
President Abdullahi Yusuf was there at the time, an aide told Reuters, but no one in the hilltop compound was hurt.
Residents said Ethiopian soldiers guarding Yusuf then launched shells at the city's Bakara Market, killing a number of people.
''Seven people including a woman died in the money changers' area when more than eight mortar bombs struck several parts of Bakara,'' shopkeeper Muse Ahmed told Reuters by telephone.
''Four people were killed inside the market's food section,'' said another market trader.
The market is notorious for its open-air arms bazaar, and has been the site of frequent skirmishes between guerrilla fighters and government troops backed by Ethiopian forces.
US realty investors eye Gulf amid subprime, credit blues
NEW YORK: US investors, once reluctant to put their money into the Arabian Gulf, are being drawn to the region as their domestic market slows.
US-based real estate investment funds say they are receiving growing requests about investment opportunities in the region. By one estimate, nearly $1.5tn of real estate projects are planned or under development there.
A growing number of investors say the region offers some of the greatest opportunities for hotel investment, in particular, due to rapid growth in the region and high hotel prices.
US investors, once deterred from the Gulf by concerns over transparency, investment returns and market immaturity, are increasingly looking outside their domestic market as they find it difficult to find profitable investments at home.
Asset allocation can help protect your portfolio
Over time, the value of stocks can go up and down. Bond prices fluctuate with interest rates, as do other types of fixed-income securities such as certificates of deposit and investments in money-market accounts. Predicting which investment vehicles are likely to perform better than others at any given point time is next to impossible. So how do you choose investments for your portfolio? The answer is to follow a risk-reduction strategy called asset allocation. By dividing your dollars among a variety of investments, you can decrease the likelihood that all the investments in your portfolio decline at the same time. Of course, by the same token, it's also unlikely that every investment in your portfolio would go up at the same time. Essentially, asset allocation diversifies your portfolio among several distinct asset classes.
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