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NEW YORK – US STOCKS jumped sharply higher on Friday, closing out the best week in two years and starting the second half on a solid positive note.

In thin trade ahead of the long July 4 holiday weekend, the Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 168.43 points (1.36 per cent) to 12,582.77.

The broader S&P 500 gained 19.03 (1.44 percent) to 1,339.67, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 42.51 points (1.53 per cent) at 2,816.03.

All 30 Dow blue chips were up, led by a 2.8 per cent climb by Alcoa and a 2.2 per cent jump by JP Morgan Chase.

On the Nasdaq, Apple added 2.2 per cent and Yahoo 2.8 per cent.

The markets got a boost from the release of the ISM purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector for June, which climbed 1.8 per cent from May, much better than economists had forecast. — AFP

Media complex the Sharp Project was officially launched last night.

The 200,000 sq ft venue, on the site of the former Sharp electronics  warehouse in Newton Heath,  Manchester, is home to 30 firms and also houses film and music studios.

Small companies can benefit from rents as low as £50 a week to locate there but there is also space for larger businesses, as well as a ‘campus’ where people can join as members and use the facilities to work.

Tenants range from law firms to animators.

The £16.5m warehouse revamp was funded by Manchester  c ity  council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.

Speaking at the launch last night, council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “My first experience of this building was a walk around it when it was an empty, derelict warehouse. I have to say it was a pretty miserable-looking place.

“This was originally meant to be a joint venture but then something called the credit crunch occurred and the only viable way of continuing was if the city council took it on its own. We did an

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Say the word “governance” and what springs to mind? 

For a lot of people, the first thing is “bureaucracy”. Some central body to define a thick manual full of policies. Endless reviews and compliance checks. Long-winded approval processes. 

The next thing they think about is finding ways to bypass all the controls so they can actually get some work done.

It doesn’t have to be that way…

Governance is about making good decisions, ones that balance the priorities and demands of multiple different stakeholders. Tangling everyone up in red tape rarely meets anyone’s needs. 

The red tape simply emerges because it’s a tough balancing act and we make poor trade-offs.

One of the classic problems of governance is balancing the benefits of central versus devolved oversight. Central oversight makes it easier to ensure that policies are interpreted and applied in a consistent way across the organisation. 

It provides a single point for managing quality and standards. It can help optim

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Since Apple unveiled the iPad to the world, tablet devices have attracted an immense spotlight. To some, they represent the future of computing, publishing, advertising and, well, life as we know it.

But is the smoke from the tablet market obscuring even bigger fires elsewhere? According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, e-reader ownership is growing much, much faster than tablet ownership.

Between November 2010 and May 2011, the number of adults in the United States with an e-reader has doubled. Today, 12% of the adult population owns one, marking the first time ownership has surpassed the 10% mark.

Tablets have grown quickly too, but can’t keep up the same pace. In November 2010, 4% of adults in the United States owned a tablet device. That figure jumped to 7% just two months later in January 2011, but sits at just 8% today.

The slowing growth in the number of tablet owners begs the question: has the tablet hype gone too far, too fast?

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The gloom on the high street is continuing to worsen, according to experts, with the twin spectres of sliding consumer confidence and an upturn in insolvencies.

Department store chain TJ Hughes is expected to appoint administrators today, as is Old Trafford-based kitchens and bathrooms group HomeForm.

Brian Green, head of restructuring at KPMG in the north west, today joined a chorus of experts in warning of further retail casualties, saying firms with large store portfolios are particularly under threat.

He said: “With the cushioning effects of suppressed interest rates being overtaken by pressure on incomes from the rising cost of living and faltering customer confidence, persistently worsening consumer spend is starting to crystallise in business failure.

“For the retail industry, it is now a question of survival of the fittest.”

Insolvency professionals trade body R3 said more firms will have struggled to raise the cash they needed to pay to landlords on ‘quarter day’ – June 24 – the day when retail rents traditionally fall due.

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(This speech exercise is part of the Speak For Success Course. While you can use this exercise to work on your speech skills at any time, its designed to work on a particular speech skill that you can find out more about at Speak for Success Speech Lesson 3.)

Picture yourself as a star of a long-running soap opera or TV show. What do stars do? They emote. This role-playing speech exercise will help you develop a more expressive voice by exaggerating your normal pitch and rhythm.

Put as much expression into your role as you can, following the stage directions. Its best if you work with a partner, as the script is written for two people ; although trying to play both roles can be fun, too!

Speech Exercise Script

Daphne: (horribly upset) Its all over, Rodney.

Rodney: (anxiously) What do you mean?

Daphne: I mean I just cant go on like this. The sneaking around, the hiding, trying to make sure that no one sees us…

Rodney: (compassionately) It hasnt been easy for me, either, you know.

Daphne: I know…

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