In a refreshing departure from color blocking and head-to-toe monochromatic looks, pretty prints have exploded into the fall scene. Even better news? Mixing patterns has never been more in, so don’t be afraid to pile them on!
Exotic footwear is the quickest way to spice up any ensemble. The of-the-moment ankle strap adds a little extra pizzazz and really accentuates the leg. (Get free shipping on orders of $35 or more with DSW coupons.)
Head-to-toe florals aren’t for the faint of heart. But on the flip side, with a look this bold, all you have to do is throw on heels and an understated bag, and you’re good to go! (Take 10 percent off your purchase with BCBG coupons.)
Polka dots make everything better! This blouse pairs with everything: slacks, a black skirt, jeans, leggings, bright crops and more. (Get free shipping on orders of $175 or more with J.Crew coupons.)
A refreshing alternative to boring bottoms, these colorific cords are a great excuse to bust out the denim pearl snap. (Get free shipping on orders of $100 or more with Anthropologie coupons.)
This is the ultimate day-to-night bag made luxe with subtle snakeskin. The purse fits all the essentials while keeping the girl-on-the-go glamorously hands-free.
Unexpected hosiery can really change an ensemble. Up the ante on your little black (or gray or green) dress with showstopping legwear. (Get 20 percent off your purchase with Kohl’s coupons.)
To their credit, those Kardashians know how to rock a blazer. Add easy polish to your basic office attire with this smoky-printed jacket that even Mr. Hefner would approve of. (Get $5 off purchases of $50 or more with Sears coupons.)
* ANZ lacked controls in wealth before selling unit-inquiry (Adds inquiry’s hearings on ANZ, quotes from executive)
SYDNEY, April 23 (Reuters) - Australia’s competition watchdog on Monday supported massive increases in financial penalties for companies caught doing the wrong thing, after widespread misconduct was exposed by an ongoing inquiry into the financial sector.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims said the government was correct to propose penalties of up to 10 percent of turnover, potentially running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The penalties we’re getting these days on both competition and consumer matters are tens of millions. We need penalties in the hundreds of millions,” he told state broadcaster the ABC.
“The key bit of the penalty is 10 percent of the turnover - that’s the change we’ve got to make in Australia in relation to not only competition but also consumer penalties so that company boards really sit up and take notice ... and don’t just treat it as a cost of doing business.”
His comments came after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull admitted he had been wrong to oppose the establishment of the independent judicial inquiry into the scandal-ridden financial sector, whose daily revelations of wrongdoing have shocked the country.
“Politically, all of the commentators are right when they say we would have been right to establish one earlier,” Turnbull said during a visit to Germany, according to the ABC.
The first three weeks of public hearings at the Royal Commission inquiry have been a political embarrassment for the government and a publicity disaster for Australia’s major lenders and AMP Ltd, the country’s largest listed wealth manager.
It has heard of strategies to deceive regulators and cases of people suffering financial distress due to poor financial advice, being charged fees for a decade after they had died and deliberately charged fees for no service.
Sims backed the government’s promise last week to double maximum prison terms for corporate crimes to 10 years, dramatically increase potential financial penalties from A$10 million ($7.7 million) to up to A$210 million or 10 percent of revenue, and ramp up the investigative powers of the corporate regulator.
“I think the banks think of themselves as a protected species,” Sims said, adding that attitude this must end.
Australia’s major lenders - Commonwealth Bank of Australia , Westpac Banking Corp, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and National Australia Bank - control 80 percent of the lending market and along with AMP, also have the lion’s share of the financial adviser market.
But they now face the almost certain prospect of greater regulation, stricter oversight, higher penalties and possible criminal charges.
“It is now clear to me that the Royal Commission is necessary and justified,” NAB’s CEO Andrew Thorburn said in a statement on Monday morning, ahead of the bank’s own appearance at the inquiry.
In Monday’s hearings, the inquiry heard that from 2013-2016 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group failed to have adequate controls to ensure its advisers were acting in the interest of clients, as required by law.
Evidence presented showed that from mid 2013 and until it decided to offload its wealth management and advisory businesses in late 2016, ANZ did not invest in the necessary controls and technology to ensure full compliance.
Shares in IOOF closed 2.2 percent lower on Monday, while ANZ shares were unchanged as it revealed it would book a A$632 million loss on the sale of the unit and a A$50 million charge in legal costs related to the inquiry.
Under examination, Kylie Rixon, chief risk officer for the wealth unit, said that while ANZ “could and should have commenced some technology initiatives earlier”, the bank had now increased supervision of its advisers.
“We’ve improved our requirements for supervision and what we require of our supervisors,” she said, adding however that the bank did not check “every piece of advice that goes out the door”.
The Melbourne-based bank reports half-year earnings for its 2018 fiscal year on May 1. ($1 = 1.3041 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Paulina Duran; Editing by Stephen Coates)
* Says net profit for FY 2017 to up 33.4 percent to 63.1 percent, or to be 90 million yuan to 110 million yuan
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese officials have issued warnings to seed dealers and farmers not to use unapproved genetically modified seeds in the country’s main crop belt, shortly after Greenpeace said it had found widespread GM contamination in corn.
The unprecedented action by rural authorities in the past two weeks also comes as state-owned ChemChina agreed a $43 billion deal for seed and agrichemicals giant Syngenta AG SYNN.VX, a move seen as bringing leading technology and know-how to China’s fragmented seed industry as it grapples with a divisive GM policy.
Despite Beijing’s strict official position on the issue, Greenpeace last month said almost all samples taken from cornfields in some parts of the north-east, China’s breadbasket, tested positive for GMO contamination.
Liaoning’s seed management bureau said any business or person found engaging in illegal activity with fake or genetically modified seeds would be “strictly investigated and prosecuted”.
The notice was posted on China’s Twitter-like Weibo and an official at the bureau reached by phone said the notice was authentic.
As the world’s largest grain producer and consumer, China places heavy strain on its fragmented farm sector in order to feed its nearly 1.4 billion population.
China’s crop-productivity gap is particularly evident in corn, where average yields remain over 40 percent below those of the United States due to poorer seed stock, smaller land parcels and ineffective pest management, according to the USDA.
“We have heard that GMO corn is very popular in the west of Liaoning and a small area of west Jilin. Those areas are traditionally infested by the Asian corn borer,” a moth that can devastate crops, said Liu Shi, a seed industry veteran.
>> The arrest of a writer on Saturday heightening tensions between Turkey and Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel lashing out at Ankara's use of an INTERPOL arrest warrant. Dogan Akhanli, a critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government, was stopped in Spain after Turkey issued the red notice. It's unclear on what grounds.
He's since been released as Spain assesses Turkey's extradition request, but not without provoking a furious response from Berlin.>> It's not right, we must not misuse international organizations like INTERPOL for such purposes.>> Akhanlis' lawyer told Der Spiegel magazine his client's arrest was part of a quote targeted hunt against critics of the Turkish government living abroad in Europe.
The move fans an already fierce row between the NATO allies. Relations between Turkey and the European Union have been under growing strain since last year's failed military coup. European-Turkish nationals are among the 50,000 people detained since then. On Friday, Erdogan raised tensions further, wading into German politics, urging the 3 million or so people of Turkish origin living in Germany to vote against Merkel in next month's election.
> I am calling on all my countrymen in Germany, do not support them by mistake. The Christian Democrats, SPD, the Green Party are all enemies of Turkey. Support those political parties who are not enemies of Turkey.>> Merkel labeling the intervention unacceptable. But European countries with large Turkish populations are increasingly uneasy of what they see as Ankara's attempts to influence domestic politics.
Great value glueless patch kit, comprising 6 glueless patches, sandpaper scuffer and a crayon to mark the hole, prior to repair.
It might surprise you to know that Spain has more vineyard land than any other country in the world. It also has the highest life expectancy in Europe -- coincidence? I think not!
Spanish wine is one of our very favorite values because so much of the vineyard land in Spain is old, which means lots of really old grapevines, which equates to delicious wines. Why? The simple reason is because as vines age and the roots go deeper, they produce less fruit but that fruit is more concentrated with flavor.
Spain also follows strict laws as to how they can label their wine. (Check out Rioja for example.) This means that unlike a number of New World regions, wines here must meet stringent requirements to get a term like Reserva or Gran Reserva. In other words, when you see these terms on the label they actually mean something!
Tempranillo and Garnacha dominate the red wines here, but inexpensive gems can be found in many other varieties as well, especially whites such as Albarino.
Make like Speedy Gonzales and grab a few bottles of this wine at Costco while you can!The Campo Arriba is a blend of 70% Monastrell … [Read more...]
Everyone knows that children love Pictures and Picture books with lots of interesting words and sounds. Part of every childs' development comes from those times when they are snuggled up with mom or dad, Grammie or Grandpa listening to the words and looking at the pictures. It's also a wonderful time to bond with our children and grandchildren in a way that will bring fond memories back to them one day.
From my own experience, there is nothing quite like the quiet time spent with my little ones telling a story, listening to them describe how they see the pictures and teaching them some great life lessons all at the same time. Books and the words they contain are stepping stones that children love to learn and hear. So when you come across some books that you know children will love, it's only fair to share what you have found.
Rhyming and word-play are an important part of every child's verbal development. There are word rhymes that are still taught to children today that go back at least 60 to 70 years and we are still teaching these same rhymes with their sing song rythms. The kids just love them all.
These three books by Pat Furstenberg are all written in this way. The pictures are delightful and the stories themselves are ones that will resonate with big and little hearts. Children will enjoy the stories of unlikely friends, while parents and grandparents can tell little side stories too.
The Cheetah and the Dog are an unlikely pair, yet they become and remain good friends even though no on thought this was possible. Too many differences don't matter when your hearts are in the same place. How many times does that happen in real life? Do you have a friendship that is still as strong as the Cheetah's and the Dog's?
The Elephant and the Sheep is an endearing story too! How often we make friends but don't think beyond what we see right in front of us. Each of our lives are different, but, the one thing we all need is a friend. A friend that can see beyond our hardships and differences. Only when we try really hard do we sometimes find out the truth. Little sheep learns a valuable lesson about friendship, love, and family. Elephant learns something too, family can be much more than living with other elephants. Family can be living with those who love us!
The Lion and the Dog is another story about our differences and how they really don't matter. What matters is how we care and treat each other. Lion is so sad, yet the little dog Milo doesn't give up on Leo, even when he is less than friendly. Milo knows what every good dog knows, everyone needs a friend!
If you have children, reading them stories about friendship and caring for others is a great way to encourage empathy at a young age. The world needs more of that! Word play and stories with great illustrations makes it easy for parents and grandparents to instill little life lessons in a very heart-warming way.
If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can get these books and so many more by Patricia and other authors as well, delivered right to your Kindle device and some are free with Prime Membership.
Reading story books and picture books to children is a delightful and a necessary part of raising children from both the child's and the parent's point-of-view. I can't imagine a family life that doesn't include children's books. These featured books look like good choices, Olivia.
Thank you for your comments Miss Elf! I so agree, reading with children and grandchildren is a joy for me and I like to think the little ones love that special time with their Grammie too!
Children's books are a favorite of mine for any gift giving occasion! There is a beauty in being able to share lovely stories with my grandchildren and see the smiles that those stories invoke. These three stories are really quite lovely and I'm sure any child would enjoy both the stories and the pictures too!
To this day, I still love pretty illustrations in books. The pictures are all so cute and the stories definitely sound like they are based on excellent life lessons that inspire all of us to step outside the comfort zone to find unique friends. There is truly nothing better than a good book!
The pictures in these books are all so colorful and bright that any child will love to see the pages turn. I like that there is so much going on in the pictures, that you can tell little side tales as you read along.
I couldn't agree with you more Olivia. Reading is such an important part of a childs' development. We read all the time with our grandchildren. And, now the oldest reads to us. I just adore the way you described each one of these books.
Oh isn`t it wonderful when you can sit down with the grandchildren and they do the reading to you? I spend a lot of time doing that too and it pleases me to no end when they are as excited about the story being told and my reactions to their reading abilities.
I can't imagine how my life would have been without picture books and the adults who gave them to me and read them to me. Helping a child learn to love books is one of the greatest gifts one can give. These books you've suggested not only provide stories, but they also provide a take-off point for conversations on important topics.
You can say that again Barbara. Reading is one of the best gifts we can give anyone. Reading can take them places that they may never see in person and teach them a host of different things that they may have never ever thought about before. I love books too!
Love children's books though I haven't had a 'little' reason to pick one up for awhile. These three look like good picks, Olivia. What a great reason to be a member on Amazon Prime!
"little" reason, I hope that you will fill your tablet with some of these and more wonderful books! There's no reason not to!
I really love the colors in these books. There's something so wonderful about books with lots of color as share them with the kids. It's like as adults we get lost in the animation ourselves. Beautiful.
So true Barbara, I love the pictures in these books. They are colorful and full of all kinds of other animals and scenery. You can use those pictures as a starting point to tell your own stories or have the little ones make up one of their own.