The BBCs Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says that many shops had run out of staple foods such as sugar, cooking oil and bread by the end of Monday.

The kwacha was devalued as part of moves by the new government to restore donor funding.

The former government had rejected IMF calls to devalue the currency.

Our reporter says that other goods such as rice, maize flour and orange squash were running short in Blantyres Chichiri shopping centre – the main retail area in Malawis biggest city.

He has been told that the same panic-buying is also happening in Malawis main towns.

The scramble comes despite economists saying they did not expect the devaluation to immediately lead to higher prices, as many businesses were expecting the move and were already using the new exchange rate.

The central bank announced that one dollar would now be worth 250 kwacha, up from 168, while the peg to the US currency would be scrapped.

The devaluation of the kwacha and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market are expected to continue the governments efforts to reach agreement with the IMF, said Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Charles Chuka, adding that this would hopefully lead to more donor funding in the next few months.

The International Monetary Fund has long urged Malawi to cut the value of its currency, saying this would boost exports and reduce demand for imports.

However, former President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in April, had rejected the calls, fearing it would increase inflation.

New President Joyce Banda is trying to improve relations with donors and get aid restored.

About-turns

In recent years, Malawi has run short of foreign currency after donors cut aid and demand fell for its main export, tobacco.

This led to a lack of fuel in the country.

In the four weeks she has been in power, President Banda has reversed several government policies.

Last week, she said she did not want Sudans President Omar al-Bashir, accused of war crimes, to attend a summit in July.

She says she feared the economic implications if Mr Bashir attended the African Union meeting in the country.

She has also fired Mutharikas widow, Callista, from her job as coordinator for safe motherhood, the AFP news agency reports.

The legendary investor waxes skeptical about Yahoos official position in the inadvertent error in the collegiate record of Scott Thompson.

Take HBOs new and controversial show Girls. Yes, I watch it. Ill leave it to others to decide if its good or biased or realistic — but I think its significant.

For background, the show follows four young 20-something girls as they struggle with their lives in New York City. They deal with jobs, boys, their weight, and other issues in a very frank manner.

In the show, the lead character Hannah Horvath (played by the shows creator, Lena Dunham) tweets raw thoughts about whats happening in her life and what shes feeling. On screen, you can see her previous tweets — theyre intriguing. Shes baring her soul.

Those tweets appear to be confined to the 30 minutes of camera time the show gets every week. The first thing I did when I saw her Twitter account on the show was look up the character on Twitter. Unfortunately, she doesnt exist.

There is a dormant Hannah Horvath account. (If HBO is smart, they control it.) Theres also a nonaffiliated Hannah account, which mainly repeats stuff from the show; most likely its controlled by a fan.

When there are so many young women talking about how realistically Girls depicts their lives (Emily Note has a wonderful blog about this here), what a shame that HBO and Lena Dunham — with her apparent insight into young womens lives — didnt take advantage of this and expand the Girls universe beyond the show and into the digital space.

Heres what I would have done if I was planning marketing for Girls. I would have had an official Hannah Horvath account, tweeting in character. First, her tweets would appear in real time with any tweets in the show — In other words, during the show, the character would tweet about whats happening to her. This extends the experience of watching the show live with friends. Fans could even tweet back to the character with support, criticism, or other comments.

Then, in the 10,050 minutes per week that Girls is not on television, Hannah would continue to tweet in character. Not as a marketing campaign (Are you ready to tune into Girls tonight? Live tweet us your thoughts at @GirlsHBO!), but as the character. Is she having a good day today? Did she have another bad job interview? What does she think of a fellow character, like her repugnant mother who cut off her financial support? Did she finish a chapter in the book shes writing? This would extend the character beyond the actual show.

Sound weird? Not really. Star Wars, for example, has done this for years with innumerable paperback books which are all controlled and internally consistent, but which extend the universe far beyond the six films that were made. For example, someone might write an entire book about how the Millennium Falcon was constructed; another book might be about Princess Leias home and what shes doing post-Return of the Jedi.

But we can take this further still. There surely are millions of 20-something girls who have questions about their lives. This includes girls who dont even watch the show. Why cant Hannah, in character on Twitter, have a hashtag like #BrooklynGirlProbs and reply to girls with their questions? Why couldnt HBO build a private discussion board or social network to convene girls around the issues on the show and allow them to support each other?

Finally, in the offseason (Girls will be renewed, so there will be time between seasons one and two), the character could still be active. Everythings controlled by the show, so nothing that shouldnt be given away would be, but why couldnt Lena Dunham and her team write light material which keeps you engaged in the Hannah character while you anticipate the next season? The answer is, they easily could.

This isnt just true of Hannah of course — Id love to see something similar with, say, Barney from How I Met Your Mother. But this really works well for Girls because of its realism; young people probably identify more with Hannah and her friends and their problems than say, Blair Waldorf and hers or Barney and his.

There are of course other ways for HBO and Lena Dunham to leverage social media to expand the Girls universe. Im curious to know what kind of phones the characters use. If they all have iPhones for example, why couldnt the girls have a private Path network among just the four of them (which only 146 fans can also join at any one time)? Do you realize what a FRENZY that would create? What a great contest to run through their Facebook page.

Id also love to see a Pinterest account for each of the girls, reflecting what theyre thinking about, fantasizing about, and so forth. Maybe Allison Williams character is fantasizing about that sexy older artist she met, for example. Would she pin photos of him, or examples of his art, or quotes about how he makes her feel inside? I dont know, but I have to admit Im curious, and Im just some 30-something guy drinking a cup of coffee and blogging in my pajamas.

Presently, theres a gigantic gap between the cutting edge possibilities for leveraging social media for storytelling and the professionals actually in charge of telling the bulk of mainstream stories — Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Its a conservative place. But I see great opportunity for those who want to disrupt their status quo.

Click here to find out The Top DividendRank’ed Stocks With Insider Buying raquo;

Back on March 13, Morgan Jr. invested $126,912.00 into 3,000 shares of CPK, for a cost per share of $42.30. In trading on Monday, bargain hunters could buy shares of Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (NYSE: CPK) and achieve a cost basis 2.8% cheaper than Morgan Jr., with shares changing hands as low as $41.12 per share. Chesapeake Utilities Corp. shares are currently trading -0.24% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of CPK shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, CPK’s low point in its 52 week range is $36.00 per share, with $44.53 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $41.21. By comparison, below is a table showing the prices at which insider buying was recorded over the last six months:

TORONTO, ONTARIO, May 07, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
According to BMO’s 2012 Mother’s Day Survey, 73 per cent of
Canadians polled said they are getting mom a gift this Mother’s Day
and plan to spend an average of $84.16.

Mother’s Day typically generates the second highest volume of weekend
shopping in the year as measured by dollar value: bigger than
Valentine’s Day and second only to spending leading up to the
Christmas holidays.

In 2011, consumer spending increased 5 per cent during Mother’s Day
weekend compared to the previous year. Although consumer confidence
is down slightly in 2012, BMO Economics notes that it remains close
to normal levels, which is good news for retailers and restaurateurs.

BMO’s 2012 Mother’s Day Survey revealed that, on average, men plan to
spend $105 on their mothers, $43 more than women, who budgeted $62.

Does a bigger gift mean a bigger heart? “I don’t think so,” said
Jennifer Weisman, Director, BMO Bank of Montreal. “The difference in
spending is more likely a measure of practicality than it is of
love,” observed Ms Weisman, who noted that appreciative children can
be frugal and generous at the same time because of an array of unique
merchandise and services that are becoming more readily available
through loyalty rewards programs.

“The budget conscious who want to treat mom to something special this
year should consider using their loyalty rewards for their Mother’s
Day gift. With BMO’s World ELITE(R) Rewards and the AIR MILES(R)
Reward Program, you can redeem your rewards to surprise and delight
mom with uniquely personal experiences such as a spa treatment, a
weekend away, or the latest electronics such as an e-reader or
tablet. It’s a great way to show your generosity while also managing
your budget,” said Ms Weisman.

So what kind of gifts can mom expect this year? Canadians say they
plan to:

— Take mom out to a restaurant – 28 per cent. If you plan to take mom out
for a meal, be sure to make a reservation; Mother’s Day is one of the
busiest days of the year for dining out. There was a 22 per cent spike
in restaurant spending from the same period the previous month last
year, and a 7.35 per cent increase in restaurant in spending from 2010
to 2011.
— Bring her flowers – 27 per cent. No surprise here. With spring buds
blooming across the country, May is the perfect time to show your love
and appreciation with flowers. Last year there was a 237 per cent
increase in spending on flowers during the Mother’s Day weekend compared
to the same period in the previous month, and a 5.27 per cent rise in
spending on flowers year over year.
— Make her a home-cooked meal – 18 per cent. Whether it is breakfast in
bed or full-on Sunday dinner, it’s all good, as long as mom doesn’t have
to make it!
— Give other gifts or cards – 3 to 4 per cent. Aesthetic services, candy
and chocolate, jewellery, cards and other gift ideas all trailed far
behind the top three choices, listed above.
— No gift for you!! – 15 per cent. Respondents didn’t offer reasons for
foregoing a gift but the numbers were surprisingly high. This could be
due to the mother being out of town on holidays, or simply that families
celebrate their moms every day and don’t make a practice of observing
these types of occasions.

Canadians indicate that credit cards remain the most preferred method
of paying for Mother's Day purchases. Cardholders are particularly
attracted to special features such as purchase protection, extended
warranties, zero liability, loyalty rewards and low-interest rate
options which add significant value and peace of mind.

BMO offers budget-smart strategies for Mother's Day shoppers:

-- Only spend what you have - Avoid interest costs by spending only what
you know you can afford to pay back by your statement due date. If you
must carry a balance on your credit card, consider using a credit card
that offers a low-interest rate option. BMO is unique among the Big Five
Banks in offering its cardholders a low-interest rate option for $45 a
year plus the ability to still collect cash back or earn AIR MILES
reward miles on their low-interest rate credit card.
-- Earn extra rewards - Get more out of every dollar you spend by using a
credit card with loyalty reward programs. The rewards you earn on
Mother's Day purchases using a BMO World Elite MasterCard or BMO AIR
MILES MasterCard can be used later to make travel, vacations, gift-
giving and everyday living more affordable.
-- Use a pre-paid credit card to help keep your spending in check - A pre-
paid credit card can be loaded with a pre-determined amount of money, so
you'll only spend what you put on the card and there are no monthly
bills or interest charges at the end of the month. The BMO Prepaid
MasterCard is accepted everywhere a regular BMO credit card is accepted
and carries the added benefits of purchase protection, extended
warranties, and zero liability.

Regional Findings

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Region Gender
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total ATL QC ON MB/SK AB BC Male Female
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giving a
gift 73% 68% 74% 73% 63% 75% 74% 72% 74%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
budget
for
gift $84.16 $70.41 $78.34 $93.61 $71.94 $84.98 $78.28 $105.02 $61.99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The survey was completed from April 23-26, 2012, using Leger
Marketing's online panel, with a sample of 1500 Canadians. A
probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of
2.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a
highly-diversified North American financial services organization.
With total assets of $538 billion as at January 31, 2012, and more
than 47,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of
retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and
solutions.

Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Ralph Marranca, Toronto
(416) 867-3996
ralph.marranca@bmo.com

Carol Greene, Toronto
(416) 867-3996
carol.greene@bmo.com

Sarah Bensadoun, Montreal
(514) 877-8224
sarah.bensadoun@bmo.com

Laurie Grant, Vancouver
(604) 665-7596
laurie.grant@bmo.com

www.bmo.com Twitter: @BMOmedia

SOURCE: BMO Financial Group and BMO Bank of Montreal

mailto:ralph.marranca@bmo.com
mailto:carol.greene@bmo.com
mailto:sarah.bensadoun@bmo.com
mailto:laurie.grant@bmo.com

http://www.bmo.com

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article:

Editors note: A commentary published on Friday by Peoples Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, stresses the importance of observing laws and Party disciplines, after Chinas leadership announced a decision on Tuesday to investigate former Party chief of Chongqing municipality Bo Xilai for serious violations of discipline. Excerpts below:

People across the country, including all CPC members, have reached a consensus that everyone should willingly observe the laws and Party disciplines, the article says.

On April 10, the CPC Central Committee decided to investigate Bo Xilais serious violations of discipline, and police announced the initial results of the reinvestigation into the death of British citizen Neil Heywood, and transferred suspects to the judicial authorities.

These moves have won extensive support from the people.

They are the implementation of the essential principle of being strict with Party disciplines and necessary moves to safeguard the socialist legal system.

Moreover, they show that the CPC, which represents the basic interests of all Chinese people, will not have any privileged Party members who can sidestep laws and Party disciplines.

Everyone is equal in front of the law. There is no privilege in the system and no exceptions in terms of regulations. Anyone who infringes the laws shall be convicted and punished, the article says.

As a basic rule of a modern society ruled in accordance with the law, all organizations and citizens must strictly abide by the countrys laws. The rule of law is the foundation of the governance of the CPC and a critical condition for realizing long-term stability.

In a populous, developing country like China, it is of great significance to promote the rule of law and improve peoples awareness of law, so as to maintain social order and protect State interests and civil rights.

In an important period of social transformation and economic restructuring, the country is facing a new situation amid the changes in the administrative system and social structure as well as diversified interests and ideologies.

Only when all citizens observe and honor the law, can the country maintain law and order, create a favorable environment, better settle disputes and realize justice and social harmony.

In addition, it is always the outstanding character, and to the CPCs advantage, that Party organs and members strictly comply with the Partys disciplines, the commentary says.

Observing discipline is a basic requirement for a CPC member. And the top discipline is to follow the Partys political rules, to stand on the same side of the CPC Central Committee, with Hu Jintao as the general secretary, and fully implement their decisions.

The Wang Lijun incident, Heywoods death and Bos serious discipline violations again warn that a Party official will never be dignified and moral unless he firmly abides by Party disciplines and laws, never forgets who he is, always serves the people and never crosses the line of laws, disciplines and conscience, the article says.

In the face of a complicated situation at home and abroad, bearing a tough task of reform, development and stability, the country will need favorable social order and unity among all people if it wants to take full advantage of this important period of strategic opportunities and fulfill the economic and social development targets set forth in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), says the commentary.

Only when the awareness of laws is improved and the laws and Party disciplines are observed, can the country and Party improve creativity, unity and strength, create a favorable environment for promoting reform and opening-up and maintaining stability, and lay a solid foundation for new achievements in building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects and advancing the socialist modernization, it says.

Xinhua-China Daily

(China Daily 04/14/2012 page5)

By Ed Bott | May 7, 2012, 2:33pm PDT

Summary: The amounts required to license digital media decoders on Windows PCs seem like chump change. But multiply those pennies times hundreds of millions of PCs, and the bill for Microsoft and its PC OEM partners could be as much as $800 million per year. Who pays, and who gets paid?

Staff Report

KARACHI: Sporting relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have taken a hit after the latter postponed a much-anticipated cricket tour and a football club from there pulled out of the Asian Confederation Cup being held in Lahore. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials were not very pleased over a story on a leading cricket website that Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Mustafa Kamal had asked the South African Cricket Union to play against them in May. Kamal is quoted as saying that the BCB was willing to foot the bills for the unscheduled series, whether it is played in Bangladesh or South Africa. The PCB is still upset over the manner in which the BCB latched onto a High Court injunction in order to postpone its tour to Pakistan. ?Bangladesh are not playing any international cricket until September and yet they have ignored a good opportunity to play against a strong side by skipping the tour to Pakistan,? one board official was quoted as saying. The PCB hierarchy is due to meet soon to discuss the fall-out of the postponement and chalk out future plans, including how to continue cricket relations with Bangladesh hereafter.

Football front: On the football front as well, relations between the two countries are not good as Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) secretary Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi lashed out at Bangladesh?s Sheikh Jamal Football Club for pulling out of the AFC President?s Cup, scheduled to kick off from May 8 in Lahore. The club refused to tour Pakistan due to security reasons, despite a full security plan sent to them by the PFF last month. ?We are very disappointed by their pull-out despite our assurances. We have asked the AFC to ban them because once the AFC decided we will host the event, there was no excuse for the pull-out,? Lodhi said.

The PFF secretary said it was strange that while the national Bangladesh team played in Lahore last year without any problems, a private club had made an issue of security. According to Lodhi, a FIFA security consultant visited Lahore last month and everyone was satisfied with the plan. Security concerns, however, are not the only headache for the PFF as arranging visas for Chinese Taipei?s Taiwan Power Company (TPC) Club will prove to be a huge ask as Pakistan does not recognise the state, according to its foreign policy. ?We did get a heads-up from the interior ministry. A team from Chinese Taipei visited Pakistan in 2007, so we?re hoping everything goes smoothly this time too,? Lodhi said.

Home |
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TORONTO, ONTARIO, May 07, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. (“iSIGN” or “Company”)

/quotes/zigman/579326 CA:ISD
0.00%

, a leading provider of interactive mobile advertising solutions
that serves advertisers, manufacturers, retailers and advertising
agencies throughout North America is pleased to announce that is has
created
www.dealhere.ca to provide consumers with information on how
to access its messaging.

The Company previously announced in mid-March that it had completed
the installation of its Interactive Marketing Solution (“IMS”) 3.1
software and Bluetooth antennas in the Mac’s Convenience Stores Inc.
chain and that the system was ready for broadcasting.

“As advertising to mobile devices is a new advertising medium that
requires people to ‘program’ their devices to accept messaging, we
felt that we needed to provide consumers with information on how to
access our messages,” said Alex Romanov, iSIGN’s Chief Executive
Officer. “As we are receiving a great deal of Interest from a variety
of different advertiser types in participating in our mobile
broadcasting, we felt that a way of communicating with consumers that
was effective for all advertisers as well as each installation was
required.”

“We debated alternate ways of communicating with consumers, including
providing hand-outs in stores where our software is located,” added
Mr. Romanov. “We rejected this as it was felt it would be an
imposition to the stores’ staff, as well as being too costly and less
effective. In our opinion, providing an iSIGN website for consumers
of our system, regardless of where the installation is, made far more
sense. As a result, we decided to invest in the additional time to
create
www.dealhere.ca , a website that provides consumers with
knowledge about our system and instructions on how to set up their
mobile devices and access their messages before we commence full
broadcasting.”

“We believe that this investment will prove to be worthwhile, for
both advertisers as well as for the stores where our software and
equipment is currently located as well as future installations,”
stated Mr. Romanov.

About iSIGN Media

iSIGN Media is a North American leader in multiplatform advertising
solutions that utilize Bluetooth, Mobile, WiFi and Location-Aware
technologies to deliver rich media, permission-based messages to
engage consumers more deeply and cost-effectively. The resulting
business intelligence and real time metrics, gathered through iSIGN’s
patent-pending advertising platform, deliver insights into emerging
consumer behaviors that help advertisers measure their efforts and
make better business decisions to increase ROI and customer loyalty.
Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with R&D and customer
support operations in Vancouver, BC and Tampa, FL, the Company has
also grown to become the largest owner/operator of in-store digital
media in Canada with 5,600 digital signs in 1,400 locations. Partners
include: AOpen America Inc. and IBM, with solution distribution by
BlueStar Inc. iSIGN is publicly traded in Toronto (TSX.V). Additional
information can be found at
www.isignmedia.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that
are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and
uncertainties associated with iSIGN Media’s business and the
environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained
herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to
be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions
“anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, and
similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its
management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts,
but reflect iSIGN Media’s current expectations regarding future
results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or
events to differ materially from current expectations. iSIGN Media
assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to
update the reasons why actual results could differ from those
reflected in the forward-looking statements.

Copyright 2012 iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. All
other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective
owners.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Press contact:
ThinkInk Communications LLP
Vanessa Harwell
305 749 5342, extension 232
vanessa@thinkinkpr.com

SSPR
Belinda Rooney
609 750 9110
brooney@sspr.com

SOURCE: iSIGN Media Solutions Inc.

mailto:vanessa@thinkinkpr.com
mailto:brooney@sspr.com

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

/quotes/zigman/579326

Add to portfolio

CA:ISD

iSign Media Solutions Inc.

CA

: Canada: TSX Venture

$
0.26

0.00
0.00%

Volume: 35,300
May 11, 2012 4:50p

P/E RatioN/A
Dividend YieldN/A

Market Cap$16.17 million
Rev. per EmployeeN/A

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article:

US Southern Command said the five had been staying at the same hotel as the agents. The allegations are said to involve prostitutes.

The Secret Service agents have now been suspended.

Mr Obama is in the city of Cartagena for the Summit of the Americas.

The US Southern Command said that the five members had violated curfew and would be investigated.

The personnel are not permitted to have contact with anyone and will return to the US with the rest of the group after the summit, officials said.

Apology

Gen Douglas Fraser, commander of the Southern Command, said he was disappointed by the entire incident and [said] that this behavior is not in keeping with the professional standards expected of members of the United States military.

According to Reuters news agency, a policeman in Cartagena said at least one Secret Service agent had attempted to take a prostitute up to a hotel room without registering her.

In a statement on Saturday, the Secret Service said 11 employees had been put on administrative leave, and apologised for the distraction caused by the incident.

This is standard procedure and allows us the opportunity to conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation into the allegations, it said in a statement.

The 11 employees included both special agents and Uniformed Division officers, the agencys assistant director said, according to the Associated Press.

The agency did not disclose details of the alleged behaviour.