Nike Zoom Crisp Sneaker

Let the summer shoe-drooling commence. The Nike Zoom is presented with a Maharam collaboration to bring you an new, lightweight shoe body that’s an easy pick for linen and cotton. It’s really hard to match 100% linen pants with any sneaker-type shoe, but with these, I can see it. Maharam’s a textile company in New York, so they brought the textured upper to the Nike body in linen, horsehair, and leather touches. Gorgeous, heat-friendly, and superbly stitched for the serious buyer.

You don’t have to live in Miami or Malibu to find the most use out of these. The naturally-colored upper is an easy combination with well-worn denim (I’m picturing Levi’s that have bleached themselves out at the knee and thigh), boating-type longer shorts, paper-thin tees, or a vintage maroon sweater. The uppers don’t strike me as high-maintenance, instead appearing casual, packable for travel, creative, and comfortable.

Nike will be releasing the Zoom Tennis Classics through a select set of stockists, and they are tempting. What did not tempt me was the Dunk High Premium collab with Maharam, which you can see here. This look fails where the Nike Zoom has excelled, looking fussy, unusual, and slightly silly. [via acquire]

Air Jordan III True Blue

The Air Jordan III is one of the most iconic of all of the storied Jordan signature line. Introduced for the first time way back in 1987, Michael won the dunk contest in these while Tinker Hatfield introduced the world to elephant print. The now ubiquitous pattern was just an inkling in Hatfield’s head when he transposed it to the sneaker, and the rest as you may well know is history. The first Jordan with a visible air unit is also one of the most simple and durable Jordan’s ever created. While aesthetes will argue their favorite colorups until the cows come home, there is no denying the Air Jordan III True Blue. With a red Jumpman at the tongue, blue accents at the mid-sole and a white base these shoes scream Americana, and rightly so. If you’ve missed out on these coveted kicks in the past, fret not, Independence Day of this year marks their latest incarnation. There is no word as of yet on the price-point or slight variations from the 2009 model, but one thing that is for certain is these will be highly sought after. So before you buy your dogs and burgers, set yourself up for a perfect BBQ with a crisp pair of True Blue IIIs, the perfect accouterment to any barbequed entree.

Duke duo draws crowd at ACC/Crossfire All-Star game

Doors to Reynolds' gym swung open a couple of minutes before 5 p.m. Saturday.

In a matter of seconds, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith were swarmed by autograph seekers.

The two Duke basketball stars signed for close to an hour and then had plenty of dexterity left to entertain a capacity crowd at the annual ACC All-Star/Crossfire game.

"It means a lot to come to small cities like this that we don't get to visit all the time," Smith said.

"Not everyone from Asheville can get to Durham to see us play in person. We just want to go out there, play hard and have fun, just like it was an ACC game."

Smith scored Saturday's first basket off a steal and the ensuing layup by the reigning ACC Player of the Year. But Crossfire eventually won the game, 116-113.

Singler and Smith were named the Blue Devils' co-most valuable players Friday during Duke's postseason awards banquet.

"(Friday) was definitely an emotional night," Smith said.

"We were saying farewell, so there was some sadness. But there was also a lot of joy because this team accomplished so much."

Even with Buncombe County Schools on spring break, Reynolds athletic director Larry Brow said there had been a buzz all week with the anticipated arrival of the ACC All-Stars, particularly Singler and Smith.

"People have been texting me and calling me all week asking about tickets," Brow said.

"The ACC guys don't come up this way much, so when they do, it's a big deal to a lot of people."

College basketball fans also got one last chance to marvel at the freakish athleticism of UNC Asheville dunk machine John Williams.

Williams suited up for Crossfire on Saturday and an alley-oop slam at the 4:15 mark of the first half drew loud cheers. The forward said he has been traveling to Greenville, S.C., three times a week for workouts in preparation of upcoming camps for NBA and overseas teams.

Williams was instrumental in leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament for the second time last month.

"There were a lot of moments that I'll never forget," Williams said.

"I haven't really had time for it all to set in. With all the schoolwork I've had to make up and the workouts, I haven't really had to think about it all. Maybe after it's all done, I'll get a chance."

And was Williams in any way intimidated about going up against any of the ACC All-Stars?

"The way we're taught at UNCA is to not be afraid of anyone," Williams said.

US Downtown investment debated

While that may be a bit of an overstatement, the apparent resurgence of America's downtowns earned an article in the Wall Street Journal last December. It is an interesting idea, and broad structural changes like the one described in the article do tend to grab headlines, but looking at occupancy trends for commercial real estate—and office in particular— the data have yet to tell this story convincingly.

On the surface, a number of arguments seem to support the thesis of a rebound for downtown markets; some are more compelling than others. One, for example, is that businesses prefer downtowns because they are closer to clients and suppliers, which makes it more efficient to operate downtown than in a suburb. Another is the take on rising energy costs, which posits that individuals prefer downtowns because it lowers commuting costs by employing a mix of transportation options that are not as readily available in the suburbs. Moreover, declines in the incidence of crime in major cities over the last 20 years have made downtowns safer and more desirable, not just for commuters but also for residents. And finally, downtowns are just cooler than the suburbs. After all, you just can't find that cool, hipster coffeehouse vibe in the suburbs; you really need to be downtown for something like that.

Personally, I don't buy a number of these arguments. Let's begin with lowering commuting costs. In order to lower commuter costs we need to start with the assumption that most markets have a well-developed public transit system. They don't. Outside of Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. there are simply no well-developed public transit systems to measurably reduce commuting by car—and thereby the expenses of commuting into a downtown area for work.

Crime is the one area where I agree; over the past two decades, cities have become safer. No argument there. Still, inner-city schools remain underfunded, understaffed and on the margin dangerous enough that most families with the means either move to the suburbs or opt for pricey private schools. So with families prone to relocating to beyond the city limits, what are we left with? That's right: the 20- and 30-somethings that make those coffeehouses so darn hip. And guess what? In those very coffeehouses, many of them are coupling, settling down, and unwittingly—and metaphorically—packing their bags for the greener pastures of the suburbs.

I don't mean to be a downer, but that's life. So let's get to the core of this argument, which is why businesses and investors flock to downtown locations. It's a more compelling argument, but even so it's not necessarily a slam-dunk for downtown office assets, nor is it the death knell of suburban office as we know it.

The notion of downtowns is great for business; being there offers both prestige and efficiency, in many cases. Tenants who take up space in downtown submarkets often do so to be closer to partners, clients and important business services. They offer a central location so businesses can draw commuters from the city and close suburban locations—perhaps even further out if they are in one of the aforementioned transportation markets. But, as economists like to say, there is no free lunch.

On average, the price per square foot of office space downtown is about $10 more than that for the suburbs, according to our TW rent index; and before you ask, this does account for asset-quality differences between posh high-rise business-district towers and smaller business-park offices. That margin may not seem like much, but consider that the difference is applied to an average five-year lease on 10,000 square feet of space. That's a difference of about half a million dollars, not accounting for the future value or opportunity cost of a five-year period.

Surely, as is the case with individuals, each tenant has its own utility function and budget constraint that determines both its willingness and ability to pay for office space. That said, to assume that downtown locations can command increasingly higher rents based on efficiencies and a general desire to be near a city center is to ignore the price elasticity of demand for space. At some point, the relative price of downtown space becomes too high to attract tenants away from their suburban locations. Moreover, it also prices certain businesses out of the market. For example, most investment banks in New York don't consider rents at all; they simply build new headquarters or purchase existing space outright. Large corporations also may have more flexibility on pricing, but this is not the case with smaller companies with less extensive operating budgets.

Another interesting way to view the relationship between downtown and suburban office markets through the eyes of a potential investor is by looking at movements in rent. The cyclical relationship is such that during the downside of a rent cycle, rents converge as they fall faster and further in downtowns than they do in the suburbs. As an example, in the most recent recession, effective rents in downtowns fell by nearly 22%, while in the suburbs they fell by nearly 13%. A similar pattern is evident through each of the past three recessions. It is also true that on the upside there is more rent growth in downtown markets, particularly near cyclical peaks where downtown markets tend experience rent spikes, while rent increases in the suburbs tend to be slower and steadier.

On the whole, however, average rent growth tends to be nearly identical between downtowns and suburbs, particularly when one accounts for the additional volatility inherent in downtown markets. Though this seems to run counter to current conventional wisdom, much of the evidence suggests that the desire for businesses and individuals to pursue inner-city locations may be a little overstated. In fact, current data on office fundamentals suggest that the suburban office market may be leading the broader office recovery. Vacancy rates in the suburbs, for example, began to stabilize in early 2010, while downtown vacancy continued to rise through the third quarter of the year. And thus far, suburban markets have provided a majority of the demand increases we have seen nationally over the last year.

Still, if you talk to office investors, no matter what sort of data you present them, there is a perception that downtowns are the way to go—but for different reasons than mentioned above. They'll seldom argue about rent growth and volatility when it comes to suburbs versus downtowns, but it comes down to the more subtle differences in lease structure and capital expenses associated with leasing in these two types of markets. Suburban leases tend to average about four years where leases done in downtowns can run from five-to-10, sometimes more in certain, sought-after CBDs and financial districts. Because leases in the suburbs run shorter than in downtowns, investors need to consider that they will be laying out additional capital expenses to prepare and market space more often. The cyclical volatility issue notwithstanding, this means additional expense and risk.

Moreover, many investors are under the impression that office investments in CBDs are somehow safer and more insulated from risk than suburban investments. The evidence to support this is pretty clear. Over the past year, cap-rate compression has been far greater in CBDs as investors have tried to chase core and core-plus assets in select markets, in what is amounting to a flight to quality. And while investor preference is well-defined, the fundamentals—at least at the market level—don't necessarily support these improvements. Rather, it is the perception that larger more well-developed downtowns provide more security in the way of liquidity. That is, the ability to convert an asset into cash quickly. Yet, even despite recent trends, there is not a great deal of evidence to suggest this is the case; as the volume of transactions has remained evenly balanced across downtowns and suburbs. It simply boils down to what investors are willing to accept in the way of risk premium for each location.

So the question remains: where is the future of the office market? The demise of the suburban office market is likely overstated. With population centers more dispersed now that ever; there remains a need for office space outside of city centers. Suburban office centers will continue to allow businesses a lower-cost alternative to downtown space and will allow employers to locate conveniently near their workers. Suburban space will also continue to serve investors that are looking for a way to diversify their portfolios and are willing to research and seek out quality income-earning properties that will provide a stable revenue stream.

Uplifting Athletes 4rd Annual Dunk Tank Fundraiser at Blue-White Weekend to Benefit Kidney Cancer Association

The Penn State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes has announced the first group of current Nittany Lions that will be participating in a dunk tank fundraiser near Beaver Stadium Friday, April 15 from 4:30-7:00 p.m. as part of Blue-White Weekend presented by AAA.

On Saturday, before the Blue-White Game, Uplifting Athletes volunteers will be canning from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. around Beaver Stadium.

As in previous years, proceeds raised at the dunk tank and canning during Blue-White Weekend will benefit the Kidney Cancer Association.

Also available at the dunk tank will be Uplifting Athletes T-shirts and scarves, informational brochures, and a chance to meet and greet members of the Penn State football squad. The initial group of players scheduled to participate in the dunk tank are: Drew Astorino, Brandon Beachum, Christian Kuntz, D'Anton Lynn, Matt McGloin, DeOn'tae Pannell and Nate Stupar.

Penn State Uplifting Athletes' Ninth Annual Penn State Lift for Life will be held Friday, July 8 in Holuba Hall. Proceeds again will benefit the Kidney Cancer Association. Since 2003, the Penn State Lift For Life has continued to build awareness and raise funds for the Kidney Cancer Association and rare diseases. The event is organized by Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes, whose members are on the Penn State football team.

Founded by Penn State football teammates, the Penn State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes has raised nearly $500,000 for the Kidney Cancer Association since 2003. This past year, the chapter raised a record total of $98,461.35, more than $16,000 above the record total raised in 2009.

The Nittany Lions conclude spring practice with the Blue-White Game presented by AAA on Saturday, April 16. Kickoff is at 2:00 p.m. in Beaver Stadium and there is no admission or game day parking fee. The popular autograph session with the players is from 12:30-1:15 p.m. A carnival and other events, including fireworks and the Penn State Idol finals, are Friday from 6-10 p.m. adjacent to Beaver Stadium. The carnival and other events, run Saturday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. and the carnival runs on Sunday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

10 Signs That Food Inflation Is Alive and Well at Retail

After the recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted tight corn supplies, prices spiked almost 5%, in a blink.

Why should you care? Because rising corn prices all but guarantee you'll be paying more to put food on your table. (Aside from being a summer BBQ favorite, corn is a critical input for livestock producers and food makers.)

And as an analyst from Farm Futures Magazine said Thursday, “We could see double-digit corn prices if a legitimate weather scare makes headlines on Wall Street this summer.”

But don't mistake this as a warning of food inflation to come. Truth is, it's already here.

And for consumers, food producers are merely masking the uptick in prices with a concept that Seinfeld's George Costanza knows all too well: Shrinkage!

You see, food companies don't need to raise their prices to charge more for a product. All they need to do is camouflage the increases by selling less food for the same amount, often in the same package.

Here are 10 examples to prove that this is exactly what's happening:

    Chicken of the Sea Albacore Tuna: Now comes in a 5-ounce can, instead of a 6-ounce can – a 16% change.
    Doritos, Tostitos and Fritos: Although the company swears it's a “limited time offer,” bags now contain 20% fewer chips than in 2009.
    Nabisco Premium Saltines: Kraft (KFT) claims its new “Fresh Stacks” packaging “offers the benefit of added freshness.” It also holds about 15% fewer crackers.
    Unwrapped Reese's Minis: Introduced in February, the cost per ounce is 54% higher than the foil-wrapped Miniatures. And they're smaller, too.
    H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ): Talk about a condiment caper. Not only have prices for ketchup, condiments and sauces risen, the company is also selling smaller, 5-ounce bottles.
    Classico Pasta Sauce: While Italian grandmothers will still make their homemade sauce, average Americans won't have any extra sauce left in which to dunk their bread. Classico went from offering 10-ounce bottles to 8.1 ounces – a 20% reduction.
    Edy's Ice Cream: No more drowning our sorrows in a big ol' tub of ice cream. Edy's has reduced its standard size from two liters to 1.5 liters – a 25% change.
    Tropicana: As the cost of oranges rose, Tropicana decided we didn't need as much of our daily allowance of Vitamin C. The standard carton size shrunk to 59 ounces from 64 ounces – a 7.9% change.
    Hebrew National Hot Dogs: Pinch an ounce and consumers won't notice, right? Wrong. The standard package now weighs in at 11 ounces, down from the previous 12 ounces – an 8.3% change.
    Kraft American Cheese: Forget making sure you have enough buns for your burgers -- you'll run out of cheese first. Instead of 24 slices, you now only get 22 slices – an 8.3% reduction.

As John T. Gourville, a marketing professor at Harvard Business School says, “Consumers are generally more sensitive to changes in prices than changes in quantity. And companies try to do it [reduce amounts] in such a way that you don't notice.”

It's only natural to expect the shrinkage to continue as corn prices and other commodity costs rise. That is, until it's so obvious that food companies can't avoid outright price increases. So don't be fooled by the clever packaging. Food inflation is alive and well. If you have any doubt, start paying a little more attention at the checkout line.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Sliders: Falling for Quentin ... again

It's the plight of every Fantasy writer in the age of information overload.

How am I supposed to pick up on any trends after only three games?

It's not for the faint of heart, and if you're not careful with it, you'll end up destroying a good team. Most of what stands out right now is the product small sample size -- a whole 1.9 percent of the season -- and doesn't deserve any attention from Fantasy owners. Ryan Hanigan's 1.571 slugging percentage? Get real. Jon Lester's 8.44 ERA? Not buying it. Albert Pujols' .154 batting average? Come on already.

But for a handful of players, enough has happened to change the way Fantasy owners perceive them. And once again, Sliders is here to identify those players.

Over the course of a season, stuff changes. Players progress and regress faster than anyone could have predicted. Sometimes they just blow up out of nowhere. By the end of the year, your draft results should be like a foggy memory from the weirdest dream you've ever had. If not, if you haven't adjusted your thinking on players based on the way they've performed, you've probably gotten left in the dust.

But you don't have to do it alone. Sliders will track the changes in player value from start to finish, steering Fantasy owners away from ordinary hot and cold streaks and toward the performances that actually mean something. It's prediction based on reaction and more of a guessing game than an exact science. But it's important nonetheless.

Because come September, your draft won't matter nearly as much as how well you adjusted throughout the season.

Scalping Final Four Tickets Is No Slam Dunk

When I bought a ticket to the Final Four basketball title game to resell for profit, I thought I'd hit nothing but net. Instead, I shot the equivalent of a scalper's air ball.

I purchased a $90 face-value ticket from StubHub in early March for $112 -- $135 when you total in the service charge and FedEx mailing. I still thought it was a good deal for the crowning moment of one of America's biggest sporting events, the NCAA Tournament. I was wrong. This week I resold the ticket on StubHub for $88. After StubHub took its 15%, I was left with $74.80. That's a $60.20 loss. (Remember, I paid $135 originally.)

Scalping is a tough game, and I may not get a chance to compete anymore. I've been benched by my wife.

So much for my new and exciting side job. I had this crazy idea that from time to time I would buy sports tickets online at a relative bargain and increase the price in the "secondary market". That's fancy talk for any place you can scalp.

I should mention that I have written before about StubHub in this space as an observer, and I bought tickets from from the site to actually attend an event. This time was different. I was in it to score a profit.

I figured the Final Four was a sure thing. Immediately after I bought my ticket I saw asking prices for the cheapest seats listed rise to $169 in mid-March. I patted myself on the rump for my good play (like they do in basketball). I decided to wait for the week before Monday's game to list the ticket back on StubHub. Then the listings plummeted below $100. I checked eBay and saw the same descent. Still convinced interest would surge as the event got closer, I finally listed the ticket on StubHub for $143. I waited 24 hours for a bite. Nada.

I pondered waiting until after Saturday's semifinals, thinking any ticketless fans of the winners of the games between Virginia Commonwealth and Butler and Connecticut and Kentucky would pay top dollar for Monday's championship. (StubHub offered an option where you could mail the tickets to company officials in Houston, the site of the Final Four. Then you could list the tickets right up to game time.)

But I didn't have the guts. I rose from bed on Tuesday, March 29, at 3 a.m., slashed my ticket price to $88, and within three minutes I received an email that my ticket had sold. A Kentucky man bought it, I later discovered. Go, Wildcats.

So where did I go wrong? Well, I can figure out a few things:

   1. I bought a single ticket. Most folks like to go with someone.
   2. Houston's Reliant Stadium, a football venue posing as a basketball arena, will seat more than 72,000 for the Final Four. A huge capacity creates a ticket surplus that sinks prices.
   3. Semifinal tickets are actually more valuable because at least buyers know their team will be playing.
   4. I studied what sellers were asking for tickets instead of what buyers were actually paying.
   5. The service charges are too much to overcome.
   6. The Final Four is not the Super Bowl. Just getting into the game isn't enough for many.

www.999plaza.net also suggests that scalper, or "ticket broker," wannabes buy premium seats (if you can afford them) to resell at premium prices. Logical, no? It's the good seats that jack up in value for a big event while the nosebleeds like the one I bought tend to be more static.

But even the pros miss once in a while. Brokers who bought blocks of tickets for Charlie Sheen's shows said in the New York Daily News that they will lose money because the seats are either not selling at all or way below face value.

That makes me feel better but it won't get me back in the game. The next time I buy a ticket to a basketball game, I'll actually show up for the tip-off.

Grading How Each Team Did in the 2010 NBA Draft in Retrospect

It is March, and that means everybody is watching college basketball. That means we are watching players like Jared Sullinger, Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams and Harrison Barnes.

Last year, however, we were watching the likes of John Wall and Evan Turner.

They ended up being drafted first and second by the Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers respectively.

Almost every other team in the league was involved in the draft as well. They combined for the standard 60 draft picks, and 45 of the drafted players are in the NBA as of right now.

Armed with the knowledge we have gathered from watching the season play out, we can now grade each team's draft more accurately.

Let's get to it.

Drafted: Evan Turner (second overall)

The Philadelphia 76ers' only acquisition of draft day was Evan Turner. He was expected to be the most NBA-ready player in the draft, and some even debated whether the Washington Wizards should've drafted him over John Wall with the first overall pick.

Those debates are hard to remember now.

Evan Turner has been nothing less than uninspiring during his career so far with the Sixers. He has lacked consistency and shown mere flashes of the dominance he showed in college. Turner hasn't even been able to prove himself worthy of the Sixers' starting lineup.

Given his youth and potential, it's very likely he could blossom into the player the Sixers thought they were drafting. As of right now, however, drafting Evan Turner looks like a bad move for Philly considering they could've drafted anybody not named John Wall.

Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats traded away all of their 2010 draft picks prior to the draft and did not acquire any picks or players on draft day.

Grade: N/A

Milwaukee Bucks
Only Larry Sanders remains with the Milwaukee Bucks. Hobson was waived on December 3rd due to an injury and never played for Milwaukee, while Gallon was released prior to training camp. Neither are on NBA rosters as of right now.

Sanders, meanwhile, has mostly come off the bench to support the Bucks' bigs. He has shown potential as a shot blocker. Per 36 minutes, Sanders averages 2.9 blocks per game. He is one of four players to have a game with at least eight blocks this season and is the only one of the players that wasn't featured during All-Star Weekend (the others were JaVale McGee, Brook Lopez, Dwight Howard and Serge Ibaka who has had two such games).

All the other parts of Sanders' game are still a work in progress, but shot blockers are a premium in this league, and Sanders could turn out to be an invaluable presence in the paint for years to come.

Aon eyes brighter future

It's easy to make blithe, hard-to-quantify, optimistic statements about buying into Japanese stocks, but I believe the reality's a lot more nuanced. The country already occupied a precarious economic perch, beset by spendthrift consumers, whopping debt, and a declining population. Add a massive natural disaster, and the government spending needed to rebuild from it, and "buy Japan" stops looking like a straightforward slam dunk.

I'd rather a wide-moated business with no direct exposure to the catastrophe, but a clear path to benefit from Japan's recovery. I found all these qualities in Aon (AON), one of the world's premier providers of insurance broking, outsourced HR services, and HR consulting. The stock is currently sandbagged by cyclically depressed earnings, seven years of declines in insurance rates, and misunderstood earnings power -- and the market doesn't seem to be pricing in any of its considerable potential. That's why I'm buying $800 worth of Aon shares for my Rising Stars portfolio.

What's good for you is good for me
Some of the world's best businesses are built on strength of a network. By offering an existing good service or good to a massive number of people, they can improve the offering in question, reduce the overall cost of doing business for end-consumers, and sell more of the product for suppliers. It's a classic win-win.

Aon works exactly the same way. Roughly 60% of its business comes from insurance brokerage, referred to as Risk Solutions, and 40% from HR services, most from the recently acquired Hewitt, which includes benefits administration, outsourced services, and consulting.

Aon is the largest insurance and reinsurance broker, and it enjoys a fabulous business here. The company acts as an intermediary between agents, who place policies, and insurance companies, who write them. There's a classic network effect here, connecting buyers and sellers to mutual benefit: Aon's able to give insurers an audience and better distribution, and grant businesses access to insurance at customized terms and better prices. Here, Aon applies its network and scale to meaningful benefit, using its market position and expertise to help clients structure very specialized contracts.

Because insurance contracts are basically needs -- and the business is an oligopoly, dominated by Aon, Marsh & McLennan (MMC), and Willis Group (WSH) -- it's characterized by stable and recurring cash flows, consistent growth, and pricing power. And since Aon doesn't carry the lurking balance sheet risks of some insurers and reinsurers, it can really bring home the bacon here.

The HR solutions business Aon absorbed through Hewitt benefits from the same dynamic, as a provider of outsourced HR services and HR consulting. The company partners with businesses, mostly small- and medium-sized, to manage HR functions such as health-care benefits and retirement plans. These are complicated, data- and resource-intensive activities, and switching platforms is not easy. Moreover, when small businesses outsource to a capacity player like Hewitt, they're able to benefit from its scale, since Hewitt can negotiate better terms with providers.

On their own, these factors create a fairly stable and recurring revenue base. The three-to-five-year contracts customers typically sign only augment this steady stream of income. It's no surprise, then, that these businesses are also oligopolistic in nature, dominated by Hewitt, Automatic Data Processing (ADP), and Paychex (PAYX). The HR services from Hewitt dovetail nicely with Aon's existing HR consulting group, which provides advice compensation, employee benefits, and investment management -- a trio of equally great businesses.

Brokering a deal
Despite all this, Aon is unbelievably cheap, trading for a mere 10 times my estimate of normalized cash flow. In effect, that valuation assumes Aon will never grow.

Why the bargain-basement price? Even though Aon's insurance brokering operations offer fairly recurring revenues, they're tied to the state of insurance markets. Brokers make money both on volumes and on the size of the contracts they place. Amid the global economy's downturn and a underwriting market, results have been passable, but hardly strong. That, and the market's failure to properly appreciate the Hewitt merger's potential, explain Aon's current stock slump.

Wall Street should think twice. Right now, three massive opportunities seem to await Aon:

    * Japan and Australia: In the wake of the past year's unbelievable catastrophes, including the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the floods in Australia, that sucking sound you hear is the capital being drained from insurers' coffers worldwide. To recoup those expenditures, it's highly likely that insurers will significantly raise their rates in the years ahead. Look no further than a recent conference call, where Aon's chief brokerage officer cited insurance rates as much as 25% higher in Asia.

      It'd be easy to discount this as an Asia-only phenomenon. But in truth, markets are dynamic, and the biggest insurers are global enterprises. Losses in one corner of the world affect rates everywhere else -- and industry-watchers have pegged tsunami and earthquake losses as high as $60 billion, making it the most costly natural disaster in history after Hurricane Katrina.
    * Reversion to the mean: We can't say for sure when Aon's cyclical dry spell will end, but the seven years of declining underwriting we've seen just can't last. The catalysts for a near-term recovery all seem present. AIG (AIG), a capacity player in P&C markets and very aggressive competitor on price from the Hank Greenberg days, recently announced that its competitive nature has come home to roost. Because it dramatically increased reserves for its P&C lines, its smaller capital base means it won't be able to write policy as aggressively or in volumes it previously had; thus, it may need to raise prices. Alongside the recent string of disasters, this bodes well for underwriting rates, which should mean higher revenue for Aon.
    * Aon's earnings power and the Hewitt acquisition: I'm normally very skeptical of acquisitions tagged as "transformative," and doubly so for restructurings. I also tend to doubt anticipated cost-savings from job cuts. Such actions rarely create value for shareholders.

      But on this count, Aon boasts an impressive track record. Current CEO Greg Case, a former McKinsey partner, has undertaken three major restructurings: one in 2005, another in 2007, yet and another following the Benfield acquisition in 2008. On the first two plans, he delivered cost savings significantly in excess of previously anticipated measures, and the Benfield effort is moving ahead of plan. With the Hewitt acquisition, he's at it again, aiming to deliver $355 million in annualized cost savings by 2013, including $280 million from job cuts and consolidating leased properties.

      So while I'd normally be skeptical, management's record bolsters my confidence. Note also that most of the cost savings are more concrete than the type of touchy-feely synergies we've come to expect from mergers. Furthermore, Aon's insurance brokerage and legacy consulting operations overlap nicely with Hewitt's specialties, providing excellent potential for cross-selling.

Valuation and risks
When sizing up Aon's valuation, my preferred scenario assumes that the company will average 6.5% organic revenue growth, as the underwriting market hardens and business volumes grow roughly in line with the world economy. If the company achieves 85% of its targeted cost-savings, operating margins would crest 18% in 2013. Under this scenario, I think the shares are worth $77.

The risks to this thesis are fairly straightforward. Merger integrations are challenging, and statistically speaking, most fail to realize expected benefits. While Aon's success is encouraging, it's hardly a sure thing.

Also, though there's a degree of recurrence to Aon's cash flow, premium volumes and employment fluctuate with business activity, and Aon's profitability and cash flow are tied to the health of the economy and underwriting markets. Organic revenue has hardly budged from 2008 levels, so while I think the shares' downside is relatively limited, that's far from certain. It's also possible that Aon could once again stumble into the regulatory tangles that plagued it in the past.

Still, we're not talking about advanced calculus here. Superb company + misunderstood potential = a great price. That's why I'm buying shares today.

Lakers treat 102-84 victory over New Orleans Hornets with businesslike attitude

After placing his shoes by his locker, Lakers guard Derek Fisher walked past the television and shot a glance at the screen.

The Memphis Grizzlies were seconds away from securing an upset victory Sunday over the San Antonio Spurs, the team with the NBA's best record that seemed destined to have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. But Fisher didn't flinch for one second. He simply walked past the monitor and headed toward the exit. There was a game to play.

Three hours later, the significance of San Antonio's loss came into perspective. The Lakers' 102-84 victory Sunday night over the New Orleans Hornets reduced the gap for first place in the Western Conference to four games and secured a one-game lead for the second spot over the Dallas Mavericks, which clinched their fourth consecutive victory with a win Sunday over the Phoenix Suns. Those that want to bristle at Fisher's one-of-eight shooting from the field against New Orleans should've been at Staples Center before the game where Lakers executive Magic Johnson stood in a nearby corridor adjacent to the Lakers' locker room. One by one, several Lakers filed out of that side entrance, including Ron Artest, Derrick Caracter and Lamar Odom. Each of them shared handshakes and brief small talk with the Lakers' Hall of Famer. Johnson reserved a more elaborate conversation for Fisher, however.

Expressing delight over a column penned by The Times' T.J. Simers that explained in great detail Fisher's value to the team, Johnson summed up his sentiments this way: "It said what needed to be said." Fisher smiled, nodded his head and walked away, before turning around and saying, "there's only one stat that matters," the obvious reference to his five NBA championships.

That's why it is fitting that the Lakers maintained a similar detachment to the latest ebbs and flows after improving their mark to 15-1 after the All-Star break. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson spent part of his postgame news conference pointing out the reserves squandering a double-digit lead for the third consecutive game and Carl Landry's 24 points. Those are all afterthoughts compared to how the Lakers' size advantage in Pau Gasol (23 points on nine-of-14 shooting and 16 rebounds), Andrew Bynum (13 points on five-of-six shooting) and Lamar Odom (eight points, four-of-six shooting) proved too overwhelming for the Hornets, which recently lost their leading scorer and second-best rebounder in David West to a season-ending left anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Even so, Jackson even went to say the Hornets' 17-13 effort on the offensive boards would give him cause for concern should the Lakers meet up with New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs. But that's just one example of Jackson ratcheting up the expectations as he hopes the team can sustain its consistency once the postseason approaches.

"I hope we can play as we've played tonight defensively and come back [Thursday] against Dallas," Jackson said.

After all, Johnson acknowledged he's more worried about the Lakers meeting Portland in the first round because of the two teams' familiarity and the Trail Blazers have won nine of their last 11 games at the Rose Garden. Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons argued sweeping the regular-season series against New Orleans would strongly derail its confidence should the Lakers host them in the first round. And even if the Lakers remain split on the ability to earn top seeding over San Antonio, all acknowledge the importance of securing home-court advantage over the Dallas Mavericks.

Still, the Lakers expressed more importance in their play itself than how it affects their standing in the West.

"We're motivated about winning," Bryant said. "It doesn't matter to us whether we catch them or not. We try to win every game. If we catch them, so be it. If we don't, so be it."

There's plenty of areas the Lakers should like. Bryant scored 30 points on 11-of-25 shooting, marking the third consecutive game he's scored above his season average, a stretch Jackson said Bryant has played "more aggressively." That's why Bryant couldn't help but laugh when informed that his sprained left ankle remains listed on the team's game notes. "I think I'll manager," he said with a smile.

Bryant's  body movement and overall play suggested he can. He noticed a double team coming and switched directions for a fadeaway bank shot in the second quarter. Bryant also went one-on-one against former teammate Trevor Ariza in a sequence that perfectly captured his strong footwork. He jabbed right, drove left into the lane and then banked a shot falling down, giving the Lakers a 92-83 lead with 2:28 remaining.

"Just getting into playoff mode," Bryant said.

In addition to Gasol's efficiency, Bynum maintained the same aggressiveness despite picking up five fouls. When he picked up his last foul with the Lakers leading 78-70 with 9:37 remaining, Jackson summoned Bynum over informing him he'd stay in the game and to remain aggressive, both said afterward. Bynum followed suit, scoring seven of the team's next nine points on plays that indicated his clear advantage in the post. He followed his dunk that gave the Lakers an 85-74 lead with six minutes remaining by performing a chin up on the rim. When New Orleans forward Aaron Gray attempted to shut him off baseline, Bynum jabbed twice and then pivoted to this left to convert on a seven-foot hook shot, extending the lead to 87-76 with 5:07 left.

"I wasn't in foul trouble. I don't think I committed any fouls tonight," Bynum said, joking. "At that point [in picking up the fifth foul], I was just thinking to go hard. If I get a foul, it's to be expected. Luckily, some good things happened."

And defensively, the Lakers' points allowed against New Orleans nearly mirrored the 87 points a game they yielded through the first 14 games following the All-Star break. They held the Hornets to 40.2% mark from the field, a clip that also pointed to them missing open shots.  Chris Paul also finished with a non-descript 10 points and nine assists, thanks to constant switching and communicating on screen-and-roll plays, though Jackson conceded he may be holding back for the playoffs.

Jackson had little praise, however, regarding the bench, which was yanked in favor of the starters with exception to Blake and Odom as they nursed an 87-76 lead with 5:07 remaining. Considering the Lakers held as much as an 18-point lead, Jackson sent a clear message he'll favor performance over pacing the minutes of his starters.

Phoenix Forum Announces Social, Networking Events

The Phoenix Forum announced its schedule of social events and networking opportunities today.

Kicking off the Forum will be its traditional annual charity golf tournament sponsored once again by X2K. Tee time is 12:30 p.m. on March 30. The tournament will benefit the Free Speech Coalition and feature a continental breakfast, full day of golf, lunch on the course, post-golf mixer and awards dinner.

Once the Forum begins, the Too Much Media and Nats 4.1 Hospitality Suite will be up and running in suites 2043 and 2045 for all three days of the event, while the JBM Hooters Happy Hour will provide attendees with an opportunity to relax on Thursday afternoon at an attendee-favorite locale.

The highly anticapted XBIZ speed networking event will once again bring attendees together in the Abbey at Tempe Mission Palms, and the always popular Phoenix Forum Welcome Reception will take place in the courtyard on Thursday evening.

Immediately following the Welcome Reception, Cybersocket will once again host its always well-received Webmaster Opening party at the Rula Bula Irish Pub next to the Tempe Mission Palms where traditional Irish food and drink will be served.

Rounding out the first full day of the Forum, the YNOT Grand Prix will help accelerate the networking to new levels at an off-site race track on Thursday night.

Also on Thursday, Video Secrets and OrbitalPay will present The Suite Life — Champagne and Shots, where all attendees are invited to stop by suite 2041 for premium champagne and shots all around. In addition, City Sex Cash Late Night Hospitality Suite and the Smashbucks Latenight Poker Lounge will keep things going into the early morning hours in suites 2040 and 2038.

Starting Friday at 11 a.m. IntenseCash is sponsoring 10-minute licensed massages and MeritCard is bringing in a body painter and opening up a cabana with a Dos Equis lager keg at noon.

At 1 p.m. the NakedSword Surf Shack presented by NakedSword, AEBN, Raging Stallion and Gunz Blazing is open for good times in suite 2047, sponsored by Cybersocket.

The JBM Happy Hour returns on Friday afternoon, and Maleflixxx’s Cock and Tail party gets going Friday evening. Next Door Buddy Profits Friday Night Heat keeps things going into the evening along with the return of City Sex Cash Late Night Hospitality Suite and the Smashbucks Latenight Poker Lounge. The Next Door Buddy Profits Recovery Breakfast will round out things early into the wee hours.

IntenseCash and the the MeritCard body painter and cabana are back again on Saturday with licensed massages as is the Surf Shack. A pirate dunk sponsored by Porn Guardian takes place Saturday afternoon.

Helping the 2011 Phoenix Forum draw to a close will be the Webmaster Dodgeball and Live Photo Shoot courtesy of Lightspeedcash.

Also closing the show is the Aloha Oe party sponsored by NakedSword, AEBN, Raging Stallion and GunzBlazing that begins at 8 p.m., and the Smashbucks Latenight Poker Lounge makes a final appearance.

For a complete listing of these and other events click here and select schedule.

The 2011 Phoenix Forum starts on March 31 and ends on April 2. Registration to attend the Phoenix Forum is $275 per person up until March 30. For those registering onsite, the fee will be $325 per person.

Udoh is far from a perfect Warriors PF, but he's probably a better option than David Lee

There's no doubt the Warriors have a problem on the frontline, and it's obvious that center Andris Biedrins has been a huge part of the problem.

He has regressed. He is an immense percentage drag on offense and–thanks to the loss of confidence–has become a mind-bogglingly negative player on defense, too.

Now Biedrins–due $9M for the next three seasons–is hurt and probably out for most or all of the remaining meaningless games, which means rookie Ekpe Udoh has been the starting C for a few games and probably will be for the rest of the season.

And it hasn't gone so well so far.

Udoh's clearly out of position and he doesn't get many rebounds–and if you don't get rebounds when you're 23 years old in the NBA, you probably won't get many at age 28, 30 or 33 either.

My point here: Udoh has a solid future role for this team, but it's not at center…

It's as a starting power forward WHO ACTUALLY PLAYS DEFENSE.

That is, Udoh could have that role if Warriors management ever gets over its besotted love for David Lee, and that might not happen, I realize.

It's also difficult to factor in all the money the team owes Lee for the next five seasons. There's a PR cost there, and the Warriors do love their PR.

But to use venture-capital lingo, let's consider the remaining $69.2M of his deal a “sunk cost” and work strictly based on what would make the Warriors a better team in the next few years.

Plus, they already have Udoh, so it's not like the GSWs would have to pay more money to put him at PF over Lee.

They'd just have to ignore the politics–for once–and play the more valuable guy at a position that demands defense above all other attributes.

And having Udoh installed as the main PF makes it easier to find a workable, blendable center in free agency or via trade.

Having Lee as the PF means you have to get a superstar center to balance his gaping weaknesses.

Superstar centers, you might have guessed, are almost impossible to get.

–Udoh wasn't my choice for the Warriors with the No. 6 pick. I liked Greg Monroe there because he's younger, more skilled offensively and just simply more valuable, which seems to be proving true.

But the Warriors took Udoh and he has shown three things–he plays hard, he plays defense and he can't do a whole lot of other things.

Stat that won't surprise you: The Warriors play far better defense statistically (and by eyeball test) with Udoh on the floor than with any other main-rotation player.

The GSWs allow 113.9 points per 100 possessions when Udoh is OUT… and just 105.5. points per 100 poss's when he's IN the game.

When Monta Ellis is IN, the Warriors give up 113.9 points per 100.

When Stephen Curry is IN, the GSWs give up 113.5 points per 100.

When Dorell Wright is IN, the GSWs give up 112.7 points per 100.

And when David Lee is IN… the GSWs give up 114.5 per 100.

Repeat: The Warriors only give up105.5 when Udoh is in… and 114.5 points per 100 possessions when Lee is in. (I realize they are often in together. That tells you how good Udoh is defensively when he's in the game without Lee.)

–Quick conclusion: Like Biedrins before him, Udoh suffers at C when he has to play next to Lee, because Lee provides no help at the major responsibilities. Which are defense and low-post scoring.

–Overall conclusion: If Lee is your PF, you need a C who can score on the post, guard big centers and also match up agains tall-quick PFs, since Lee can't do that either.

There are not many of those guys out there who can do that. Biedrins sure isn't one of them.

But as much as Biedrins' limitations have affected Lee (as I keep hearing from Lee supporters), I think Lee's less-discussed limitations totally ruined any shot for Biedrins to contribute.

When was the last time you ever saw Lee providing true help defense at the rim? Hardly ever happens, or if it does, it's mainly to look like he's helping by waving his arms wildly but by no means actually bothering the lay-up or dunk.

This left all of the rim-defense to Biedrins, which leads to fouls and–incidentally–Biedrins being out of position for rebounds.

Those are rebounds that Lee is usually in position to get because he DOESN'T help on defense at the rim. That exposes Biedrins and kills team defense–but it sure is nice for Lee's rebounding numbers.

By the way, the Warriors were the worst % rebounding team last year and they're the worst this year, too. They've bumped up the total, but they're still the worst.

Meanwhile, if Udoh is your PF, you have much of the defensive side taken care of, and what you need is a C who can score and rebound.

That's still a lot, but in my book, it's easier to build your frontline around a PF who can defend the block instead of building it on a guy who can't defend OR score on the post.

Then you still need a center, because Udoh isn't a center.

It's simpler to hunt for a C who can score efficiently and play only moderate defense as opposed to a C who MUST score and MUST play dominant defense.

For instance, Nene would fit very nicely with Udoh, if the Warriors could get Nene. Next to Lee… Nene would help, but the Warriors would have many of the same issues on defense, and if you have frontline defensive issues, you're mostly dead.

Especially if your backcourt can't play D, either.

–OK, you're still worried about Udoh's rebounding and cherish all those Lee “double-doubles”?

A stat that may befuddle you: Though Lee averages 9.6 rebounds per game, the Warriors actually are a WORSE % rebounding team when he's IN (47.3%) than when he's OUT (49.1%).

That, by the way, is the worst % of any member of the Warriors' main rotation except Acie Law.

This suggests that Lee gets the rebounds the GSWs would pretty much get anyway–and that he possibly bumps off his teammates more reliaibly than he bumps off the opposing team for those stats.

So Lee not only has the worst defensive stats… he's a so-called premium rebounder who does not help the team rebounding in any measurable way and in fact statistically makes them worse.

And even though Udoh doesn't have a double-digit rebound game in his NBA career (and is only averaging 2.7 per game in 16.7 minutes per), the Warriors' rebounding is basically the same whether Udoh is in the game or not.

Also, I can throw in the plus/minus, which I know everybody hates, but it still is a look at WHAT HAPPENS ON THE SCOREBOARD when players are in the game, and I think over the breadth of a season, that's sort of important.

More drama in Friday's NCAA tournament action

What mayhem will March Madness bring on Friday?

After a scintillating day of action Thursday, the NCAA tournament takes the court again today with 16 more games that will complete the second round and get us ready for the weekend.

And once again, USA TODAY is at the ready as Erick Smith and Tim Gardner will bring you updates from all the day's early games right here in Campus Rivalry.

6:58 p.m.: That's all for the afternoon session as Ohio State finishes off Texas-San Antonio 75-46. Enjoy the games tonight and we'll be back tomorrow afternoon.

6:49 p.m.: Last media timeout in Cleveland. Ohio State cruising 70-39 with 3:43 left.

6:40 p.m.: Ohio State's lead is up to 30 after Dallas Lauderdale delivers a thunderous dunk. Just a few minutes away from Kansas and Boston University tipping off in Tulsa.

6:35 p.m.: About halfway through the second half. Ohio State up 57-32 on Texas-San Antonio. Good time for the Buckeyes to start resting people in advance of their third-round matchup against George Mason.

6:28 p.m.: Last game of the afternoon session is Ohio State and Texas-San Antonio. Buckeyes comfortably ahead 50-27 with 14 minutes left in front of the home crowd in Cleveland.

6:24 p.m.: Florida State fans close the game with a Seminole chant as their team beats Texas A&M 57-50. FSU advances to face Notre Dame in the third round on Sunday.

6:21 p.m.: So much for the run by Texas-San Antonio. Ohio State responds with nine unanswered points to push its lead to 46-26 with 15:20 left.

6:19 p.m.: Things looking good for Florida State. Derwin Kitchen hits two free throws with 2:07 left and the Seminoles lead Texas A&M 53-42.

6:15 p.m.: Play back under way in Cleveland. Texas-San Antonio gets the first five points of the second half to pull within 37-37 of Ohio State.

6:11 p.m.: Last media timeout in Chicago. Florida State went up eight on a three-point play by Derwin Kitchen. Texas A&M responded with a Khris Middleton layup off an offensive rebound. Seminoles lead 48-42 with 3:43 left.

6:05 p.m.: Chris Singleton delivers a big three for Florida State in his first game back from a broken foot. Seminoles lead Texas A&M 45-40 with just under seven minutes remaining.

5:59 p.m.: Texas A&M went more than six minutes without scoring and saw an eight-point lead turn into a five-point deficit. But consecutive scores have pulled the Aggies within 36-35 of Florida State with 10 minutes left.

5:54 p.m.: Halftime in Cleveland. Ohio State holding a 16-point advantage at 37-21 led by 15 points from William Buford, and nine apiece from Jon Diebler and Jared Sullinger.

5:50 p.m.: Florida State keeps its surge going with a couple more easy baskets. Texas A&M has hit a scoring drought in the last five minutes, and the Seminoles lead 34-31.

5:46 p.m.: Ohio State now making it look easy. The Buckeyes are on a 22-6 run after a three by Jon Diebler and lead Texas-San Antonio 36-17 with 1:34 left in the half.

5:42 p.m.: Texas A&M looked on the verge of breaking open a close game before a 7-0 run by Florida State left the Aggies ahead 31-30 with 15:16 left. Derwin Kitchen started the move with a three-pointer and Bernard James' dunk capped it.

5:38 p.m.: William Buford is leading the way with 15 points as Ohio State has a 25-17 lead on Texas-San Antonio with 4:54 left in the first half. Buford is 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from the three-point line.

5:33 p.m.: Second half between Texas A&M and Florida State is under way. Aggies get an early three-pointer Nathan Walkup and lead 29-23 after a slow scoring start in the first half.

5:27 p.m.: Ohio State now taking control against Texas-San Antonio. It's 17-11 in favor of the Buckeyes halfway through the first half.

5:22 p.m.: Duke has finished off Hampton 87-45. After a late scoring binge, Kyrie Irving finished with 14 points to lead all Blue Devils players. A good sign for the top seed, which plays Michigan on Sunday.

5:20 p.m.: No. 1 seed Ohio State is getting an early test from Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners lead 9-7 with 15:19 left in the first half.

5:15 p.m.: Lamont Jones drilled two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to put Arizona up 77-74. The Wildcats then fouled to deny Memphis a three-pointer to tie the game. After Joe Jackson made the first shot, he intentionally missed the second. Wesley Witherspoon got the offensive rebound, but Derrick Williams blocked Witherspoon's shot to secure a 77-75 win for Arizona.

5:12 p.m.: Memphis still has hope. Joe Jackson hits two free throws, then a steal and basket cuts Arizona's lead to 75-74 with 12.8 seconds left.

5:09 p.m.: Arizona's Jamelle Horne hits two free throws after barely surviving the Memphis pressure. Wildcats up 75-70 with 24 seconds left.

5:05 p.m.: Arizona clinging to a 73-30 lead with 38.8 seconds left after a bucket by Memphis. Wildcats have the ball and will need to keep possession and make free throws. Tigers want a steal.

5:03 p.m.: Kyrie Irving has his first field goal on a driving layup. Irving showed nice explosion on the play so his toe seems fine. Duke leads 73-39.

4:58 p.m.: Derrick Wiliams is carrying Arizona as he has in most games. The Wildcats forward's three-pointer puts his team ahead of Memphis 68-65. A little less than four minutes left.

4:54 p.m.: Only drama in the Duke game is whether Kyrie Irving will make a field goal. The freshman is 0-for-3 from the field in his return to action. Devils lead Hampton 67-38 with 7:44 left.

4:50 p.m.: Texas A&M has finally shown some signs of life in Chicago. Aggies have tied up Florida State at 12 with 7:35 left in the first half. Some good news for the Seminoles. Chris Singleton has checked into the game after missing a month with a broken foot.

4:46 p.m.: A nice run by Memphis has the Tigers out front of Arizona 65-61 with 7:09 left. Memphis is 6-0f-12 from three, while the Wildcats are 3-of-15.

4:41 p.m.: Points still at a premium in Chicago. Ten minutes into the game, Florida State leads Texas A&M 12-5. Aggies are 2-of-9 from the field and have five turnovers.

4:38 p.m.: Catching up on other action after that wild finish in Cleveland. Duke is rolling against Hampton 55-25 after a 16-3 run to start the second half. Arizona leads Memphis 56-55 with 10:34 left.

4:36 p.m.: George Mason does it again! Corey Stokes missed a jumper in the final seconds, the Patriots rebounded and Mike Morrison dunked to ice a 61-57 defeat of Villanova.

4:34 p.m.: Luke Hancock drilled a three to put George Mason ahead 59-57. Villanova's attempt misses but a jump ball is called on the rebound. Wildcats have the possession arrow and have 9.1 seconds left to tie or win.

4:33 p.m.: Corey Fisher hit three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt and Villanova goes ahead of George Mason 57-56 with 31.7 seconds left.

4:30 p.m.: George Mason takes the lead on a rebound dunk by Mike Morrison. That caps a 8-0 run to put the Patriots ahead 56-54 with 54.7 seconds left. Villanova has used its final timeout.

4:28 p.m.: No sign of offense in Chicago. Florida State leads Texas A&M 3-0 at the first media timeout. Seminoles 1-of-5 from the field. Aggies are 0-for-4.

4:26 p.m.: Antonio Pena missed a pair of free throws, and George Mason got the ball inside to Ryan Pearson, who was fouled on a made basket with 1:34 left. Pearson converts the three-point play, and Patriots now are tied with Villanova at 54.

4:23 p.m.: A clutch three-pointer in the corner by Isaiah Tate has pulled George Mason within 54-51 of Villanova. Just 1:54 left. Time for the Patriots to play good defense and get the ball back.

4:21 p.m.: Florida State and Texas A&M have tipped in Chicago. Winner gets to face Notre Dame.

4:17 p.m.: Arizona has some breathing room early in the second half after a 7-2 surge. Wildcats out front 48-40 after Derrick Williams has scored five points in the run.

4:14 p.m.: Timeout in Cleveland with 3:53 left. Villanova up 52-46 after a three by Corey Stokes. George Mason hurt by missing two front ends of a one-and-one in the last two minutes.

4:10 p.m.: George Mason and Villanova trading blows in a tight game with 5:31 left. Wildcats lead 49-46 after a clutch jumper by Corey Fisher, who leads all scorers with 15 points.

4:07 p.m.: A very successful first half for Duke. Blue Devils lead Hampton 39-22, while Kyrie Irving has gotten significant action to knock off some of the rust gained during his layoff. Nolan Smith and Mason Plumlee each have seven to lead a balanced scoring attack.

4:02 p.m.: Villanova with a little breathing room against George Mason. Wildcats up 47-42 with 9:01 left after a pair of free throws by Maalik Wayans.

3:59 p.m.: Kyrie Irving is on the board with two free throws. The Duke guard still waiting for his first field goal as the Blue Devils are rolling against Hampton 33-18 with under four minutes left in the first half.

3:56 p.m.: Arizona has gone to the half with a 41-38 edge on Memphis. The Tigers started fast, but the Wildcats responded behind 22 combined points from Derrick Williams and Lamont Jones.

3:54 p.m.: George Mason has pulled to within 41-40 of Villanova after seven consecutive points by Luke Hancock. About 12 minutes left in Cleveland. Looking like this will go down to the wire.

3:47 p.m.: Notre Dame finishes off Akron 69-56. Methodical victory for the Irish, who never got flustered when the Zips tried to make a run. On to the third round.

3:42 p.m.: It was rusty start for Kyrie Irving. In about five minutes of action, he charged and missed his only shot. Duke leads Hampton 22-12 halfway through the first half.

3:40 p.m.: Notre Dame looks like it will comfortably reach the third round. Irish up 65-53 on Akron with 1:37 remaining. Zips struggling from the field and three-point line.

3:37 p.m.: Arizona has closed within one of Memphis on Kyle Fogg layup. Tigers still ahead at 26-25, but they've lost the momentum from their strong start.

3:33 p.m: Kyrie Irving's first touch came in a fast break situation. The Duke guard tried to go through two Hampton defenders and was called for a charge. Devils lead 18-6.

3:30 p.m.: Coming out of the first media time out, Duke leads Hampton 13-4. Of bigger significance to the Blue Devils is the return of Kyrie Irving. The freshman guard has checked in with 15:19 left.

3:28 p.m.: Akron has gone ice cold for the second time in the game. The Zips last field goal came at 10:05 left in the half. Notre Dame has used that drought to extend its lead to 59-45 with 4:18 remaining.

3:23 p.m.: Memphis started fast and has maintained its lead on Arizona. Wesley Witherspoon has seven points off the bench for the Tigers, who lead 21-16 after 10 minutes.

3:20 p.m.: Coming out of a media timeout, Notre Dame holds a 55-45 advantage on Akron with 7:25 left. The Irish haven't put away the Zips, but the Zips haven't gotten close enough to put a lot of pressure on the Irish.

3:17 p.m.: Minutes way from tip in Charlotte. Duke will face Hampton, but most eyes will be on Kyrie Irving, who returns after 3 1/2 months off due to a toe injury.

3:12 p.m.: George Mason had a nice stretch in the final minutes of the first half before an Antonio Pena jumper gave Villanova a 35-29 edge after 20 minutes. Wildcats guards Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes have combined for 24 points.

3:11 p.m.: Notre Dame hasn't put away Akron as we head to 10 minutes left in Chicago. The Zips trailed by 12, but a 11-4 run has trimmed the Irish lead to 49-44.

3:05 p.m.: Make that 10 of 11 of the first points for Memphis after a three-point play by Antonio Barton. No. 5 seed Arizona trails 10-1.

3:03 p.m.: Memphis has seven of the first eight points in Tulsa. Three minutes into the game, it's the Tigers ahead of Arizona 7-1.

3:00 p.m.: Villanova continues its strong first half against George Mason. Malik Wayans scored five points in a 8-2 run to extend the Wildcats margin to 31-21 with 3:55 left in the first half.

2:58 p.m.: Akron still hasn't scored in the first five minutes of the second half, and Notre Dame has pushed its lead to 43-30.

2:53 p.m.: George Mason calls timeout with 5:55 left in the first half. Villanova out front of the Patriots 25-17. Akron asks for its own timeout in Chicago. Five quick points by Notre Dame in the second half have the Irish up 39-30.

2:47 p.m.: George Mason and Villanova are the only two teams in action right now. Wildcats still leading the Patriots. It's 23-17 with 7:45 left in the first half. Notre Dame and Akron about to start the second half.

2:44 p.m.: Michigan has finished off Tennessee 75-45. A listless second half for the Volunteers, who only trailed by four after the first 20 minutes. Zack Novak led five Wolverines in double figures with 14 points.

2:41 p.m.: A nice first 10 minutes for Villanova, which needed some early success. Corey Stokes has nine points on three three-pointers. Wildcats lead George Mason 21-15.

2:36 p.m.: There may be less than four minutes left in Bruce Pearl's tenure at Tennessee. Volunteers trail Michigan 70-40. Wolverines have four scorers in double figures and will cruise into the second round with a likely matchup against Duke.

2:33 p.m.: First half is over in Chicago. Notre Dame out front 34-30 on Akron. Irish started fast, but the Zips have gotten back into the game after trailing by as much as 11.

2:30 p.m.: Villanova being more aggressive that during its late-season win streak. A three-point play by Corey Fisher has Wildcats up 9-7 on George Mason with 14:24 left in the first half.

2:26 p.m.: Texas has advanced with a 85-81 defeat of Oakland. The Grizzlies battled throughout, but the inside game of the Longhorns was too much. Reserve guard J'Covan Brown led Texas with 21 points.

2:25 p.m.: Akron couldn't hit anything in the early going, but the Zips have started to catch fire. A triple by Alex Abreu pulls them within 34-30 of Notre Dame with 1:35 left in the first half.

2:23 p.m.: Michigan still holding a comfortable lead on Tennessee. Wolverines out front 59-40 with 9:23 left. Not much life in the Volunteers right now.

2:20 p.m.: George Mason and Villanova have started in Cleveland. Patriots looking to make another deep tournament run as they did in 2006. Wildcats looking to turn around a slump at the end of the year.

2:18 p.m.: After a questionable foul call on Oakland, Texas hit one of two free throws. Then a Grizzlies three-point attempt went in and out. Longhorns rebound, and hit two free throws. 83-75 in favor of Texas with under a minute left.

2:15 p.m.: Oakland is now within five of Texas after a three-pointer by Larry Wright. Still 1:21 left for the Grizzlies to try and rally.

2:12 p.m.: It looks like Mike Hamilton's comments about Bruce Pearl's job security have inspired Tennessee. Michigan extends its second half run to 19-2 after a series of three-pointers by Zack Novak. Wolverines now lead 52-31 with 13:40 left.

2:09 p.m.: Oakland is within single digits after a three-point play by Reggie Hamilton. Texas still is up 78-70 with 2:28 left.

2:07 p.m.: Michigan is on a 12-2 run at the start of the second half to extend its edge on Tennessee to 45-31 with 15:34 left. Tobias Harris has 19 points, but nobody else on the Vols has more than four points.

2:05 p.m.: Notre Dame is hot. Akron is cold. No surprise that the Irish are out front 21-10 about halfway through the first half. The Zips are 4-of-18 from the field. Notre Dame has four three-pointers.

2:01 p.m.: Texas still has comfortable margin on Oakland with 5:19 remaining. Led by Jordan Hamilton's 19 points, the Longhorns lead 76-63.

1:58 p.m.: Michigan has built upon is late momentum from the first half and extended their advantage on Tennessee to 40-31. Vols call timeout with 17:46 left after consecutive layups by Jordan Morgan.

1:55 p.m.: Two Notre Dame three-pointers are part of a 10-0 run by the Irish, who lead Akron 16-6. Zips are just 2-for-13 from the field with 12:57 left in the first half.

1:50 p.m.: First media timeout in Chicago. Akron and Notre Dame knotted at 6-6. Tim Abromaitis has all six points for the Irish.

1:48 p.m.: Under 10 minutes left in Tulsa. Oakland has pulled within 66-54 of Texas after being down 17 earlier in the half. Still a lot of work for the Grizzlies, who still cannot control the size of the Longhorns.

1:44 p.m.: Notre Dame and Akron have tipped in Chicago. The Irish got the first points on three foul shots by Tim Abromaitis. Darryl Roberts responded with a jumper and it is 3-2 early.

1:39 p.m.: Texas starting to assert itself with a run taking their lead to 63-46 on a Jai Lucas three-pointer. Oakland needs a response with just under 13 minutes left.

1:33 p.m.: A runner by Darius Morris at the buzzer gives Michigan a 33-29 margin after 20 minutes. Good first half for the Wolverines, especially with Tim Hardaway Jr. only contributing two points.

1:32 p.m.: Oakland and Texas going back-and-forth with the Longhorns up 53-44.

1:30 p.m.: Inside of two minutes left in the first half and Michigan is holding a 31-27 edge on Tennessee. About 10 minutes away from Notre Dame-Akron tip.

1:25 p.m.: Second half under way in Tulsa. Texas has first possession and a 46-38 lead.

1:22 p.m.: Michigan's mini-run became a full-fledged 10-0 run. Wolverines have scored 10 straight and lead Tennessee 27-23.

1:20 p.m.: Michigan responds with their own mini-run capped by a three from Matt Vogrich. Tennessee's lead trimmed to 23-22 with 5:23 left in first half.

1:14 p.m.:Tennessee eases ahead of Michigan 22-17 with 7:14 left in the first half as Tobias Harris scores seven points in a 9-4 run. Harris almost matching with Wolverines with 15 points.

1:07 p.m.: A little more than halfway through the first half between Tennessee and Michigan and it's tied at 13. Wolverines only 30% from the field and 1-of-7 from the three-point line. Also Tim Hardaway Jr. has two early fouls.

1:03 p.m.: Texas is shooting the lights out at 58.8% (20-of-34). But Oakland is hanging around with the Longhorns, who only lead 46-38 against the gritty Golden Grizzlies at half. Will be interesting what happens if Texas cools off.

12:56 p.m.: It took five minutes, but someone other than Tobias Harris has scored for Tennessee. Scotty Hopson's three puts the Vols up 11-9 with 14:15 left in the first half.

12:53 p.m.: Oakland has put together a quick 7-0 run which included by a long three from Travis Bader, who leads all scorers with 10 points. Texas leads 33-28 with 3:50 left in the first half.

12:49 p.m.: First media timeout in Charlotte with Tennessee leading Michigan 8-7 with 15:24 left in the first half. It's been the Tobias Harris show for the Vols. He has scored all eight points, while rest of team is 0-for-3.

12:45 p.m.: Texas pushes its lead to 29-19 with 7:55 left in the first half. J'Covan Brown has seven points off the bench to lead in the Longhorns. Grizzlies are hitting 50% from the field but are 2-of-5 from the free-thrown line and have four turnovers.

12:41 p.m.: Ball is in the air in Charlotte. Tennessee and Michigan, two schools with outstanding fight songs, battling for berth in third round that likely will mean a matchup against Duke.

12:38 p.m.: Hot shooting has Texas ahead 25-17 with 9:52 left in the first half. Longhorns are 10-of-16 (62.5% ) from the field after Cory Joseph hit a three-pointer.

12:31 p.m.: Texas has extended its lead to 19-13 with 11:49 left in the first half. It's been balanced scoring for the Longhorns, who have four players each with four points and J'Covan Brown with a three-pointer that came just before the media timeout.

12:27 p.m.: Interesting matchup in the second game to tip today between Tennessee and Michigan. Volunteers AD Mike Hamilton made some comments earlier this week that cast doubt on coach Bruce Pearl's future. A win against the Wolverines could help Pearl keep his job.

12:22 p.m.: Good back-and-forth action between Oakland and Texas. Longhorns are using their size to dominate the paint and lead 10-7 with 15:03 left in the first half.

12:17 p.m.: Texas guard Dogus Balbay gets the first two points of the game on a driving layup. Oakland misses a three on its first possession.

12:12: p.m.: About five minutes away from the start of Texas-Oakland. Don't be surprised if this is close throughout. The Longhorns lost three of their last five before making the Big 12 tournament final. The Grizzlies have won 18 of 19.

Jittery Over Japan? Make Money on Volatility with this Strategy

The financial fallout from the devastation in Japan has more than a few investors rushing to the sidelines, for fear of making a move in the wrong direction. However, options traders should have no fear -- there's a plethora of strategies out there that allow you to profit from price swings in either direction, without having to gamble a ton of greenbacks.

One such strategy is the long strangle, which is typically implemented by purchasing an equal amount of slightly out-of-the-money calls and puts with the same expiration date, resulting in a net debit.

The strangle will generate a profit as long as the underlying equity breaches one of two breakeven rails before expiration: the put strike less the net debit on the downside, or the call strike plus the net debit on the upside. In either case, the intrinsic value of the in-the-money option is meant to exceed the loss incurred from the losing option, resulting in a boost to your bottom line.

But what if the stock remains stagnant through options expiration? One of the primary appeals of the long strangle is that your risk is limited, with the initial premium paid for the options representing the maximum potential loss on the play (excluding brokerage fees).

Sponsored Link: Did you know... that ex-president Bill Clinton collects more than $84,550 PER MONTH in personal income... all thanks to one super-secret income stream!

O’Neill Embraces Motto: Fight On!

With so much at stake heading into Friday night’s semifinals of the Pac-10 Conference Tournament, drama was expected to be at a premium.

True to form, the subplots were many. However, the most interesting storyline developed well before play even started over at Staples Center.

Approximately an hour before the opening tip between USC and Arizona, news broke that Trojans coach Kevin O’Neill had been suspended by the school for the rest of the conference tournament after getting into an alleged altercation Thursday night.

Save the drama for yo mama, right?

Now, with that bit of information out of the way, we can finally talk about something more worthwhile, all the action that took place on the court instead of the shenanigans that took place off the hardwood. Bottom line, that is what’s most important.

ARIZONA 67, USC 62

** Without it’s fearless leader, O’Neill, a statement which can be taken both literally and figuratively, the Trojans actually came out and played some inspired ball.

*** Marcus Simmons was in a groove early on. He buried a three-pointer, a jumper and another three-ball to give USC a 15-9 lead with 14:09 left in the first half.

*** Derrick Williams struggled, at times, in the first half. Luckily for the Wildcats, Lamont Jones was able to pick up the slack. He scored five consecutive points to give Arizona a three-point advantage with 9:36 remaining before the break.

*** Williams woke up just in time, right before intermission. He knocked down a jumper and threw down a breakaway dunk to give Arizona a 33-28 lead at the half.

*** There’s been a a Jordin Mayes sighting. He hits back-to-back bombs from beyond the arc. A mid-range jumper follows. Wildcats have a nice little lead, 50-38, at 11:59.

*** Nikola Vucevic scores in bunches for USC. One has to wonder if it’s too little to late. With 12 points in less than 12 minutes, the Trojans rally and trail by a mere three points with :05 left on the clock.

*** Williams ices the game. He steps to the line and calmly knocks down a pair of free-throws to seal the victory for Arizona. After a particularly slow start, Williams finishes up strong with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and six rebounds. Plain and simple, he got the job done.

*** Simmons had 20 points, one of his better games this season, no doubt.

*** Vucevic played well throughout. He ended up with 16 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with five assists and three blocks. Not too shabby, this kid has NBA written all over him.

*** With the loss, the Trojans didn’t do themselves any favors in terms of helping their postseason chances. It will be interesting to see if USC is awarded an at-large berth to the Big Dance.

WASHINGTON 69, OREGON 51

*** Oregon entered this showdown as the prohibitive underdog. Truth be told, the Ducks looked every bit the part. They never had a chance in this one.

*** Terrence Ross makes his presence felt midway through the first half of play. His thunderous one-handed dunk and layup help Washington take a 16-9 lead at the 9:25 mark.

*** Joevan Catron attempts to keep Oregon somewhat close. Actually, there’s plenty to like with regards to the overall skill set that Catron possesses. He works inside and scores to cut the deficit to a basket with 6:16 left before halftime.

*** Washington answers, Scott Suggs in particular. He comes off the bench and scores all eight of his  points in the first half to extend the lead to 31-20 at intermission.

*** Justin Holiday scores a pair of baskets and adds a free-throw in the opening minutes of the second half. As a result, the Ducks trail by 14 at the 14:52 mark.

*** It’s the Ross show down the stretch. He gets loose for two dunks. This one is essentially over, the Huskies have a comfortable lead, 67-51, with 44 ticks left on the clock.

*** Turns out, the glass slipper never truly fit Cinderella, which in this case was the Ducks. As the seventh seed, they made a good run. In the end, however, second-seeded Washington proved to be the better program, and accordingly, prevailed with the victory.

*** The finals are set, the Huskies will take on top-seeded Arizona on Saturday afternoon in the championsip game. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m., West Coast time.

Nike Dunk Hi AC Vintage Pack

While the Nike Dunk has always been one of the flagship sneakers for the brand, over the past couple of years they have been introducing a lot of new things to the shoe. Some of these changes come to the delight of fans while others not so much so. The soles are the biggest thing to have change with the introduction of the stained sole as well as the addition of the autoclave (AC) sole. Today we are going to be taking a look at a shoe that mixes both of those elements into one shoe, this is the new Nike Dunk Hi AC Vintage Pack.

This pack will come in a total of four different shoes with each of the pairs featuring stained, vulcanized rubber soles below premium suede uppers. They will all feature a stained tongue and the colors included will be yellow, orange, red and blue.

Nike SB Dunk High Premium – Family Guy Quagmire: Hot Shoe on eBay

Can you recognize those yellow stars on the red upper of this Nike SB Dunk High Premium? If you are familiar with the animated tv series Family Guy, you really know what I’m talking about. Glenn Quagmire is a character in the said show and is described as "an appalling human being who is still caught in the rat-pack era" based on anachronistic 1950s party-animal clichés. His neighbor and friend, Peter Griffin describes him as a "heartless sex hound" and refers to him as "a rapist" in The Cleveland Show.

Quagmire appears to have dressed up in red short-sleeved shirt with yellow stars print, teal pants, and brown shoes. His most famous identity is his shirt and from there Nike has come up with an idea of implementing it on one of its shoes. The Nike SB Dunk High Premium received the wonderful combination of Quagmire’s attire – the shirt, pants, and shoes. Basically, Quagmire’s shirt inspired the shoe’s side panel while the rest of the upper uses his pants’ color, and the outsole – his shoes.

On eBay, seller thesoleprovider offers this Nike SB Dunk High Premium – Family Guy Quagmire for $179.99.

Fall runways: Texture is key at Fashion Week in Milan

Don't expect to be swathed in silk next fall and winter. Designers are reaching for fabrics of a sturdier nature.

Fendi showed an eccentric side, combining wild fur, down-to-business tweed and ephemeral sheer fabrics, sometimes in a single piece.

And materials were the starting point of Prada's collection, from python in boots, caps and coats to fake fur caps and collars and sturdy gabardine outerwear.

Soft women, this won't be your year, at least judging by collections previewed last week in Milan.

Actress Katie Holmes was on hand for Max Mara's preview. She wore an off-the-shoulder dress, hair pulled back simply, for the collection, in a straightforward palette of gray, cream, beige and camel.

The Max Mara women won't need to worry about the cold. Whether dressed for the evening in a strapless dress, or for work hours in a belted gray leather jacket over paints, the answer is a high fur cowl as a hedge against a chill.
PRADA

What could be more innocent than an aviator's cap? Pair it with a narrow silhouette dress featuring a pleated skirt, and you start to get an image of innocent childhood dreams.

Then throw in some python boots, and the dream morphs into Miuccia Prada's fashion vision.

The clothes are about "innocence or freshness," Prada said backstage. "Not a girl dressing like a lady, but a lady getting more innocent."

There were dark double-breasted coats with big buttons, silver or black, belted at the waist. The collar matches the aviator's cap, and goggles complete the picture.

Drop-waist dresses feature pleated skirts, red or blue, or geometric designs, checks and squares.

Evening wear included dresses of plastic, transparent scales, in sophisticated combinations like mustard-seed and garnet, paired at times with one of her oversized furry collars -- a sort of surf-and-turf of fashion.

Accessorizing, Prada blurred the line between the clutch -- hers featuring strategic strap that snugly fits the hand -- and handbags, which models held sideways like clutches.
FENDI

Fendi's look recalls an era when women's daytime clothes were highly structured: tight skirts and tucked-in blouses. But the collection presented by Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi is deconstructed and looser fitting than the girdles of yesteryear.

Colors are natural, loden greens, grays and blacks, with accents of orange, green and azure.

The ruffle forms a motif for the collection. It is well-constructed, like an elaborate curl of cloth ribbon candy. It shows up on the bodices of daytime dresses, managing to be both playful and businesslike in swirling loden wool atop a long-sleeve plaid bodice that flows into a gathered black skirt, and more simply in black for a daytime dress.

Fendi combines tufts of sable, fox, chinchilla and mink to create a richly textured look of alternating black, silver and reddish-brown for fur jackets, bodices and scarves.

Evening dresses can be floor length, with silver shoes catching the light as the Fendi woman walks.

As earthy and grounded as the daytime collection, the eveningwear has a touch of magic: translucent sleeves sprinkled with flecks of gold, as if with fairy dust, and a bodice made of a rich mix of furs, as if from some enchanted creature, atop a straight black skirt.

The handbags -- from totes to clutches -- are made from "chameleon leather," which appears to change color with the light.
D&G

Don't try to read between the lines of D&G's collection for next fall and winter.

It's all there to see in black-and-white, or pink-and-black, and even yellow-and-black.

D&G appear to have dipped back to the 1980s, and perhaps took some inspiration from their earliest muse, Madonna, for their latest collection.

Madonna's "Vogue" provided the background music for the show -- but the influence of the era that launched both the designing duo and the pop queen hardly needed emphasis.

Colors were techno-bold, and the clothes -- clearly with a young audience in mind -- clung tightly to the models' slight frames: skinny dresses that ended with a sheer, ruffley fabric, tube skirts and tight leggings.

Most of the pieces featured a boggle of letters, perhaps inspired by nonsensical and repetitive keystroking. Don't strain too much to get anything out of it: The letters are an alphabet soup jumble, aimed at having fun, not sending a message.

Eveningwear stays bright, but skirts are long and sheer, recalling something of the prairie skirt of several decades ago, topped with a blouse.

The coup de grace: a herd of long-legged models wearing bright tutus covering the neon spectrum from orange and yellow to green and blue that evoked images of boldly feathered ostriches. Boldly feather ostriches wearing high-top wedged sneakers.

AMEX Ended Lower amid Libya's Chaos

AMEX was captured in negative territory where all the major indexes posted worst one day drops of the year because of shooting political crisis in Libya, On the contrary the oil prices continued to amplify.

However market strategists are of opinion that the market is on a short-term pullback given by steady rise since late August, and the advancement in oil prices might be the catalyst to set off that retreat.

The overnight slide joint with anxiety about precariousness associated to surging geopolitical risk overseas stimulated U.S. participants to cut their stock holdings. Primarily, their attempts plunged stocks nearly 1%, but as has been the matter in prior sessions some entered in to endow with support and proffer up the dunk.

A February Consumer Confidence Index reading of 70.4, which surpassed the Briefing.com agreement of 67.0 to set a near three-year high, assisted the attempt.

AMEX COMPOSITE INDEX (AMEX: XAX) plunged -0.92% at 2,325.26 where on the whole is moving with the positive growth rate of +75.89% of five days change, +27.72% of five years change and +159.49% of ten years change.

Looking for the basic Market Movers, Avalon Rare Metals Inc. and Denison Mines Corp. were among the top volume leading stocks on AMEX.

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (AMEX:AVL) traded with 3.06 million shares as compared to average volume of 2.14 million shares in last trading sessoin.

China generates nearly 97% of the global supply of the metals consumed in the manufacturing of numerous high-tech products like Blackberry, iPhone, aerospace components, wind turbines, and lasers. It proclaimed in December 2010 that it will reduce its export quota by almost 35% for the first half of 2011.

This opened chances for companies that were not in position to compete to fulfill the demands. Rare earth metals are dispursed all over the world: established reserves in China exist for almost 43% of the total, and the remaining best comprise of the Commonwealth of Independent States (19%), the United States (13%), and Australia (5%).

Avalon Rare Metals (AVL) focuses on raising the Nechalacho Deposit in Thor Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. Preliminary production is plagued for 2015. Furthermore, the Company is not having any debt. Also significance noting is that since September through November 2010, revenues surged by over 300% in contrast to the same period in 2009 resulted in the last 6 months, AVL is up by 70%, and year-to-date has increased by over 20%.

Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX:DNN) has commenced a Bid Implementation contract with White Canyon Uranium Limited under which Denison Mines Corp. has approved to make a conquest offer to obtain 100% of the issued as well as outstanding shares of White Canyon (TSX VENTURE: WU) (ASX: WCU) at a price of AU$0.24 a share for a total contemplation of nearly AU$57 million or CDN$56.6 million. The bid reflects a premium of almost 20% to the closing price of White Canyon shares on the Australian Securities Exchange on February 18, 2011 (the last trading day in White Canyon shares previous to this declaration) and premiums of 23% and 51% to volume weighted average prices for White Canyon shares in the prior 30 and 90 trading days, respectively.

DNN traded with 7.53 million shares as compared to average volume of 3.10 million shares.

Highlighting the broader picture of Advances & Declines on AMEX give the view that it has total 699 issues out of which Advancing Issues remained 114, where 552 were Declining Issues and 33 were noted as Unchanged Issues.

Whereas the Total Volume included from the pre-market and regional exchanges was noted as 826.57 Million with up volume of 9%, down volume 90% and 1% unchanged volume.

NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group, Inc (AMEX:NIV) witnessed as the top price% gainer with the splendid rise of +7.52% at $2.86 where on the whole is moving with the positive pace of +15.32% of five days change, +23.28% for quarter change and +26.55% of year to date change.

On the contrary, Midway Gold Corp. (AMEX:MDW) was noted as the top loser on AMEX with the sharp decline of -14.19% at $1.33. Midway Gold Corp. recommended that in association with its opening prospectus filed February 2, 2011, it has obtained remarks from the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) over the Company’s confession of technical as well as scientific information regarding its Midway, Pan and Gold Rock properties.

In last, B2B Internet HOLDRs (ETF) (NYSE:BHH) ($1.14, -4.20%) seems to be rising stock on AMEX traded with 1.04 million shares as compared to the average volume of 315,275 shares.