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Amazon.com announced Thursday that it will offer a same-day delivery service to customers, through an option called “Local Express Delivery”.

The new shipping option offers customers same-day delivery in seven major cities including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Seattle and Washington D.C. The service will be extended to Chicago, Indianapolis and Phoenix in the coming months.

Amazon has also expanded Saturday Delivery options. Now, items ordered before the cut-off time on Thursday using Two-Day Shipping will be delivered on Saturday instead of Monday. For Prime members, Thursday-to-Saturday delivery is free using Two-Day Shipping. For all other customers, the service is offered at the current Two-Day Shipping rates. Saturday Delivery is also available for orders placed before the cut-off on Fridays for $6.99 per item for Prime members and an additional charge for all other customers. Full details on shipping can be found at amazon.com/help/shipping … or go direct to Local Express Delivery.

According to Toy ‘R’ Us, Quality and Value matter: Value has two components: what consumers pay for an item and what they get for that price. Toys that last for years to come and provide open-ended play are among the most sought-after items during the holiday season. With thousands of toys to choose from, Toys”R”Us stores have the best and broadest assortment of products that offer both quality AND value.

The top toy company, which unfortunately closed their store in Arlington Heights a few years ago, has introduced two toy lists for the upcoming holiday and Christmas season: The ‘Fabulous 15′ and the ‘THE TOYS”R”US 2009 HOLIDAY HOT TOY LIST’ — 36 news toys that offer outstanding quality price and play.

THE TOYS”R”US 2009 HOLIDAY HOT TOY LIST

Available only from Toys R Us
Barbie® b-nails digital nail printer from Mattel®
Young fashionistas can glam it up like Barbie with a spa-like manicure in the comfort of their own home. This new digital nail printer, available exclusively at Toys”R”Us, allows girls to select designs from over 1,000 available images or upload their own creations from their computer. Whether using the printer to add decals over polish or directly onto a nail, young manicurists can place their fingernail into the printer after using scaling and sizing tools to select the perfect style. Printing takes only a few seconds and the designs last for days. No batteries required. Ages 8 years and up.

Not found on Amazon
Disney Netpal™ from ASUS
Available in Princess Pink and Magic Blue, this Disney-themed netbook computer was designed with Internet safety in mind, allowing parents to create a web-safe computing environment for their kids with more than two dozen parental controls. Once kids turn on the netbook, they’re logged on to the Disney Desktop, an intuitive software program that offers simple operation for children, along with easy access to the Disney web browser, which is preloaded with several kid-friendly websites. The Disney Desktop also comes with a “gadget tray” with icons for easy access to applications and a collection of 15 widgets, including a stopwatch and a digital memo pad. Rugged and durable, this Toys”R”Us exclusive version has a spill-proof keyboard and a 16GB SSD drive that can withstand bumps. A preinstalled card allows the Disney Netpal to access networks wirelessly. 1 “4200mAh Polymer” internal rechargeable battery is required (included). Ages 6 years and up.

Full list from Toy R Us
Baby’s First Christmas
3-in-1 Smart Trike from little tikes®

Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm from Fisher-Price®

Little Superstar™ Jammin’ Band™ Musical Microphone from Fisher-Price®

13 months to 2 years
Color Me a Song™ from Crayola Beginnings™

Little Mommy™ Baby Ah-Choo™ from Fisher-Price®

Sesame Street® The Original Tickle Me™ Elmo from Fisher-Price®

Tonka® CHUCK & FRIENDS™ CHUCK MY TALKING TRUCK™ from Playskool®

2 to 4 years
Disney Princess: Just One Kiss Princess Tiana Doll from Mattel®

Imaginext® Dragon World Fortress™ from Fisher-Price®

Paperoni® Deluxe Studio from Spin Master®

SCATTERPILLAR SCRAMBLE from Hasbro Games

Text & Learn from LeapFrog®

5 to 7 years
BAKUGAN® BATTLE BRAWLERS™ NEW VESTROIA™ Maxus Helios™ 7 in 1 from Spin Master®

Barbie® Fashionista doll collection from Mattel®

Battle Strikers™ Turbo Tops Tournament Set from MEGA™ Bloks

ChixOs™ Pink Design-A-Luxury Loft from Spin Master®

Egyptian Pyramid from playmobil®

Harumika™ RUNWAY SHOWSTOPPER SET from Bandai®

Matchbox® Rocky the Robot Truck™ from Mattel®

Moxie Girlz™ Jammaz™ dolls from MGA Entertainment®

NERF N-Strike® Raider Rapid Fire CS-35™ from Hasbro®

Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ Clone Turbo Tank™ from Hasbro®

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN CONSTRUCTION DEVASTATOR from Hasbro®

Zhu Zhu Pets™ Hamster from Cepia

8 – 11 years
Barbie® b-nails digital nail printer from Mattel®

Disney Netpal™ from ASUS

EyeClops Mini Projector from JAKKS Pacific®

Fast Lane JLX OVER DRIVE™ RADIO CONTROL ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE

Liv™ from Spin Master®

Mindflex™ from Mattel® Mindflex

Star Wars Fan’s Choice Anniversary Edition Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser from LEGO® Systems, Inc.

Big Kids
DS™i from Nintendo®

Reader™ Pocket Edition™ from Sony®

Wii Sports Resort™ from Nintendo®

See also …
Chicago-Shops.com
Toysrus.com/HotToys

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The U.S. dollar (USD) (also known as the Greenback or Buck is the official currency used in the United States of America. Around the world, 85% of all currency transactions involve the US dollar, which is the world’s primary reserve currency. Twenty-five different currencies are pegged to the US dollar.

What does a strong dollar mean?
A strong dollar can benefit businesses, such as Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), that import raw materials or manufactured goods into the United States. A strong dollar can mean lower oil prices, as the United States purchases much of its oil abroad.

What does a weak dollar mean?
A weakening dollar benefits companies with foreign competitors, such as US Steel (X), since their competitors’ goods become more expensive. A weakening dollar can also lead to rising interest rates, as investors require higher rates to compensate for the added currency risk. Higher interest rates, in turn, have significant consequences for the housing market and business investment in general.

A weak dollar usually results in oil producers charging more to protect their margins.

Adrian Holovaty

Adrian Holovaty’s EveryBlock, which is based in Chicago and runs so-called “hyperlocal” or “microlocal” news sites in several cities, has been purchased by MSNBC for an undisclosed price. EveryBlock provides hyperlocal news in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

The 24-hour cable news channel MSNBC, a joint venture between Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal unit, has hired all of EveryBlock’s workers, according to EveryBlock’s blog. Critics and observers of the network, including antithesis FOXNews, claim that MSNBC has become increasingly biased to the liberal side of politics, compared with other networks, especially with its prime-time lineup of personalities Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann.

Adrian Holovaty, 28, is a web developer, journalist and entrepreneur living in Chicago, Illinois. Holovaty, a Ukrainian American, grew up in Naperville, Illinois. He graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2001 and worked as a web developer/journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lawrence Journal-World and The Washington Post before starting EveryBlock in 2007.

In 2005, Holovaty launched chicagocrime.org, a Google Maps mashup of Chicago Police Department crime data that was then succeeded by Everyblock after Holovaty was awarded a $1.1 million Knight Foundation grant and left his job as editor of editorial innovations at washingtonpost.com to start EveryBlock in 2007. Chicagocrime.org won the 2005 Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism and was named by The New York Times as one of 2005’s best ideas. As one of the first Google Maps added value products, it helped influence Google to create its official Google Maps API.

Related links …
EveryBlock.com
EveryBlock Chicago — chicago.everyblock.com
MSNBC.com

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GOLD (XAU 959) is one of the most highly-sought after precious metals in the world. It is used in jewelry, electronics, and coinage. Gold is widely considered to be an effective hedge against inflation, which means that when the dollar depreciates, demand for gold increases. In addition, during times of economic and political uncertainty, the demand for Gold rises due to its high intrinsic value and relative stability. More on wikinvest …

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SILVER (XAG 961) is a precious metal that is used in many different areas such as jewelry, photography, and a wide array of industrial applications. In fact, industrial applications (for example computers, cell phones, TV, batteries, pharmaceuticals) made up about 54% of the world’s silver fabrication demand in 2007. More on wikinvest …

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PLATINUM (NYMEX: PL) is an exceedingly rare (30 times rarer than gold), silvery-white precious metal used in jewelry making, electronics components and various industrial applications. About half of all global platinum consumption is for the manufacture of automobile catalytic converters. More on wikinvest …

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PALLADIUM (XPD 964) along with platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs). Platinum group metals share similar chemical properties, but palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of these precious metals. Palladium is found in many electronics including computers, mobile phones, multi-layer ceramic capacitors, component plating, low voltage electrical contacts, and SED/OLED/LCD televisions. Palladium is also used in dentistry, medicine, hydrogen purification, chemical applications, and groundwater treatment. Palladium plays a key role in the technology used for fuel cells, which combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water.

ISO 4217 (in parentheses after each precious metal title, except for platinum) is the international standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ISO 4217 code list is the established norm in banking and business all over the world for defining different currencies, and in many countries the codes for the more common currencies are so well known publicly, that exchange rates published in newspapers or posted in banks use only these to define the different currencies, instead of translated currency names or ambiguous currency symbols. ISO 4217 codes are used on airline tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price.