Hurting Spaniards pin hopes on Christmas lottery

MADRID (AP) — After another brutal year of economic hardship, Spaniards across the country are hoping for relief when the country’s famed Christmas lottery — the world’s richest — pays out €2.5 billion ($ 3.3 billion) in tax-free awards on Saturday.

Almost everyone in the country of 46 million people will be glued to live TV to watch school children sing out the winning numbers for the lottery that pays out maximum prizes of €400,000 ($ 529,840) and many more for smaller amounts. The top prize is dubbed “El Gordo” (“The Fat One”) and is likely to be won by hundreds if not thousands of players.

Unlike other big lotteries that generate just a few big winners, Spain‘s lottery — now in its 200th year — has always aimed for a share-the-wealth-system rather than a single jackpot, and thousands of numbers yield at least some kind of return.

The Christmas lottery is so popular that there are frequently three €20 ($ 26) tickets sold for every Spaniard, and the lottery itself is the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season.

“A lot of people win,” said Pablo Foncillas, a marketing professor at the IESE Business School in Madrid. “It’s really common even if you don’t win to get a free ticket. So many people win that people just keep on playing. Everyone knows someone who’s won, even if it’s only a little bit.”

Hundreds of players lined up daily to buy tickets this week outside the Dona Manuelita lottery store in Madrid, which has often sold winning tickets. Before Spain’s property-led economic boom collapsed in 2008, they had hoped to win so they could buy a small apartment or a car. Now people said they need the money just to hang on to what they have and avoid being evicted or having cars repossessed.

Betting that tickets from Dona Manuelita stood a better chance of winning, unemployed construction company office manager Miguel Angel Ruiz drove 165 kilometers (102 miles) to buy for a pool of players including his wife and relatives.

“We’re buying more hoping we’ll hit it so we can emerge from poverty,” said Ruiz, 39. “Before the crisis, lottery winnings were to buy an apartment or a car, and now it’s to pay debts.”

Diego Sanbrano, let go from his waiter’s job two months ago, said the Spanish lottery isn’t about getting rich and never working again.

“It’s to pay off debts and straighten out your life,” he said. “You pay the mortgage and make the car payment, and then maybe you have a little left over to go somewhere on vacation.”

Since so many people chip in to buy tickets in groups, the top prizes frequently end up being handed out in the same small town or in one city neighborhood. Last year’s top winning number hit for 1,800 tickets in the northern town of Granen, population 2,000. Townspeople shared about €700 million ($ 925 million), and the rest of the €1.8 billion ($ 2.4 billion) was doled out in smaller prizes around Spain.

The Dec. 22 lottery began in 1812 and last year sold an estimated €2.7 billion ($ 3.6 billion) in tickets with per-capita spending of about €70 ($ 92) just for the Christmas lottery.

Spain holds another big lottery Jan. 6 to mark the Feast of the Epiphany. It is known as “El Nino” (The Child), in reference to the baby Jesus.

But the crisis will hit El Nino and all lotteries going forward. Until now, lottery winnings have been free from taxation. Waves of austerity measures imposed by the government this year to prevent Spain from asking for public finances bailout like those for Greece, Ireland and Portugal have translated into higher taxes. Lottery winnings above €2,000 ($ 2,640) will face a 20 percent tax in 2013.

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Kenya police: 28 people killed in clashes

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A police official says 28 people have been killed in clashes between farmers and herders in south-eastern Kenya.

Anthony Kamitu, who is leading police operations to prevent the attacks, said Friday that the Pokomo tribe of farmers raided a village of the Orma herding community, called Kipao, at dawn in the Tana River Delta.

The latest deaths in a tit-for-tat cycle of killings may be related to a redrawing of political boundaries and next year’s general elections, according to the U.N.

At least 110 people were killed in clashes between the Pokomo and Orma in September and October.

Animosity between the two communities over land and water resources has existed for decades.

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Facebook tests $1 fee for messages to non-friends

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook says it is testing a service that will charge users $ 1 to guarantee that messages they send to people they are not connected to arrive in users’ inboxes, rather than in an often-ignored folder called “other.”

Launched in 2011, the “other” folder is where Facebook routes messages it deems less relevant. Not quite spam, these include messages from people you most likely don’t know, based on Facebook’s reading of your social connections. Many users ignore this folder.

Now, users will be able to pay $ 1 to route their messages to non-friends. Facebook said Thursday that it is testing the service with a small percentage of individuals — not businesses — in the U.S.

“For example, if you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox,” Facebook said in an online post. “For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them.”

The company says charging for messages could help discourage spammers.

In October, Facebook unveiled another feature that lets users pay if they want more people to read their updates. For $ 7, users can promote a post to their friends, just as advertisers do.

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Martha Raddatz, Hot Off Debate Performance, Promoted at ABC News

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Martha Raddatz, widely praised for her moderation of the vice presidential debate in October, has been given an expanded role as ABC News’ chief global affairs correspondent. Jonathan Karl, meanwhile, will become the network’s new chief White House correspondent, filling the void left by Jake Tapper‘s exit to CNN.

Raddatz will replace Tapper as the primary substitute for George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” and will contribute regularly to the Sunday morning show’s roundtable. Karl will also serve as a substitute and regularly appear on the roundtable.

Tapper departed ABC in part because he has long been interested in hosting “This Week” full-time, but Stephanopoulos has no plans to give up the hosting job, a person familiar with the situation told TheWrap.

ABC News President Ben Sherwood announced the new assignments for Raddatz and Karl on Thursday, soon after CNN announced Tapper’s hiring.

Karl has investigated wasteful federal spending, covered elections, and served as the network’s senior national security correspondent.

Raddatz has reported from the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House, and from conflict zones worldwide, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

But she has been perhaps most celebrated for keeping the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan on course after the moderator of the first presidential debate, Jim Lehrer, was accused of letting the candidates run amok.

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Charleston Car Accident Lawyer at Joye Law Firm Praises Efforts to Curb Driving Under the Influence

Ken Harrell, a South Carolina personal injury attorney, stresses the importance of making sure people don’t drive drunk or impaired during the holidays.

North Charleston, S.C. (PRWEB) December 21, 2012

As South Carolinians enjoy the Christmas season and parties to celebrate the new year, Charleston car accident attorney Ken Harrell urges drivers to remember to stay safe and refrain from driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“The holiday season is full of celebrations and parties, with many involving alcohol,” said Harrell, managing partner of Joye Law Firm, a personal injury firm in Charleston. “If drinking is a part of your festivities, it’s important to make sure that your guests and you do not get behind the wheel. It doesn’t take much to become impaired and become a danger.”

Nationally, 9,878 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving accidents in 2011, representing nearly a third of all traffic fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In South Carolina, 38 percent of all traffic deaths — 315 of 828 — occurred in alcohol-impaired crashes.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an average of 25 people were killed in drunk driving crashes nationwide per day during December 2010.

During this holiday season, several organizations are taking steps to raise awareness of and prevent impaired driving.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety is continuing its “Be a SANTA (Sober All Night, Totally Awesome)” campaign to encourage people to select a designated driver if their holiday celebrations include alcohol. The ad campaign includes a TV commercial that can also be seen online, as well as stickers, billboards and placards for restaurant tables to remind people to choose a designated driver.

“Programs such as ‘Be a SANTA’ give people the important reminder to use a designated driver for a group if drinking alcohol is a part of their holiday celebrations,” Harrell said. “Our firm supports any efforts that keep intoxicated people from driving on South Carolina’s roads.”

In addition, President Barack Obama has declared December 2012 as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. The designation is meant to raise awareness about the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The presidential proclamation contained reminders that drugs, including some prescription medications, can impair the skills crucial for safe driving and that distractions such as using mobile phones also make the roads more hazardous.

“The declaration of National Impaired Driving Prevention Month underscores that alcohol is not the only thing that does not mix with driving. Drugs and distractions are also serious problems, and it’s important to increase awareness of these hazards among drivers in South Carolina and across the country,” Harrell said. “Drunk and impaired driving is completely preventable. Our firm encourages drivers and passengers to follow guidelines from groups like MADD to ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday season. If you don’t have a designated driver, call a cab. I’m sure the cost of the cab will be a lot less than the estimated $ 10,000 of costs that a DUI arrest results in.”

MADD’s safety tips include designating a sober driver or arranging another safe way home, not letting someone who has been drinking get behind the wheel and calling 911 to report suspected drunk drivers.

Harrell also urged anyone who is injured by a drunk driver or other negligent motorist to seek legal counsel from a qualified Charleston car accident lawyer.

“The attorneys at Joye Law Firm have years of experience in handling these kinds of cases,” he said. “We can investigate your case fully and help you get the compensation you need and deserve for your car accident injuries.”

About Joye Law Firm

Since 1968, Joye Law Firm has been fighting to help people throughout South Carolina with their legal challenges in a broad range of practice areas, including personal injury, car accidents, birth injury, brain injury, defective products, drug injury, motorcycle accidents, nursing home abuse, Social Security disability, spinal cord injury, traffic tickets, truck accidents, workers’ compensation and wrongful death. The South Carolina law firm has offices in Charleston and Myrtle Beach and assists clients in areas that include Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and Summerville. The firm’s Charleston-area office is located at Northgate Office Building, 5861 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29406 (local phone (843) 554-3100). To learn more, contact the firm by calling (888) 324-3100 or by filling out its online form.

Ken Harrell
Joye Law Firm
(843) 554-3100
Email Information

Medications/Drugs News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Call for tougher banking reforms

21 December 2012 Last updated at 05:29 ET

Government plans to ring-fence the banks – trying to protect retail banking from the riskier investment side – “fall well short of what is required”, a report has warned.

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards wants the government to “electrify” the fence so banks cannot make holes in it.

The government’s bank reforms will go before Parliament early next year.

The Treasury said it was committed to reforming the banking sector.

Vickers recommendations

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, known as the Banking Commission for short, was asked by Chancellor George Osborne to study the draft version of the government’s Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill.

This follows last year’s recommendation by the Independent Commission on Banking, which was led by Sir John Vickers.

Sir John concluded that ring-fencing was the best way to protect “core” retail banking activities from any future investment banking losses, such as were seen during the global financial crisis.

The government’s proposed bill also spells out rules to protect depositors and prevent the use of taxpayer money for bailouts, thereby curtailing banks’ perception they are “too big to fail”.

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The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower’s debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is minuscule.

The bill hinges on three main aspects:

• ring-fencing or protecting retail banking


• ensuring that bank losses fall on bank creditors and not depositors or taxpayers


• making banks better able to absorb losses

Ring-fencing would ensure that retail services of a struggling lender can be carried on independently and smoothly even if authorities let the rest of the group fail.

For example, in the case of a failing banking group, regulators could sell off its core activities – thereby maintaining continuity for depositors – while allowing the rest of the organisation to go through a bankruptcy process.

Secondly, the proposed bill wants to rank retail deposits (but not pension liabilities) ahead of the claims of other bank creditors in the event of a bank insolvency.

Thirdly, banks are to hold a sufficient capital buffer – as outlined by global regulators – which means that if banks do fail, losses can be absorbed by shareholders and other creditors rather than the taxpayer.

“Electrification”

Under the draft legislation, the Treasury would have the authority to decide which banks ring-fencing should apply to, as well as specific activities to be undertaken, within ring-fenced banks.

The Prudential Regulation Authority, which will become the UK’s regulator for deposit-taking institutions in April under the Bank of England, would have the power to ensure the ring-fenced bank to carry on with its business.

But there has been much debate over whether to enforce a full separation between retail and investment activities – that is, a break-up. The recommendation by Sir John stopped short of such action.

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Banking Commission, said that the “electrification” of the ring fence should include the regulator being able to force the full separation of a bank’s retail and investment divisions, if the lender was found to be trying to break the fence.

“The proposals as they stand [in the Bill], fall well short of what is required,” he said.

“Over time, the ring-fence will be tested and challenged by the banks. Politicians too could succumb to lobbying from banks and others, adding to pressure to put holes in the ring-fence.”

Continue reading the main story

• The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards was appointed in July following the Libor scandal and other episodes that damaged the reputation of banks in the UK


• It includes MPs and peers and is chaired by Andrew Tyrie, who also heads the House of Commons’ Treasury Committee


• Members include the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby


• It heard evidence from major figures in the banking sector


• Evidence included a warning from RBS boss Stephen Hester that ring-fencing banks’ retail and investment arms could increase the risk of institutions needing to be rescued


• But Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins told the commission that his bank was “embracing” the ring-fencing proposal


• The commission has also heard from Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, about his US proposals to ensure bank safety

He added: “For the ring-fence to succeed, banks need to be discouraged from gaming the rules. All history tells us they will do this unless incentivised not to.”

“That is why we recommend electrification. The legislation needs to set out a reserve power for separation – the regulator needs to know he can use it.”

Anthony Browne, the chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), welcomed the report, but warned that uncertainty over banks’ prospects could have a negative impact on their ability to lend.

“The risk here is creating uncertainty. If it’s perpetually hanging over the banking sector that individual banks or the whole sector could be broken up at some point, then it’s going to be difficult to return to having an investable banking sector that can be customer-focused and globally competitive and do what it should be doing, which is lending to homeowners and businesses,” he said.

Ed Balls, Labour’s shadow chancellor said: “As Ed Miliband and I said at the Labour conference this year, if the letter and spirit of the Vickers proposals are not delivered and we do not see cultural change in our banks, full separation will be necessary.

“The Commission is clearly right to say the jury is still out and to demand a reserve power for full separation of the banks.”

‘Consensus commitment’

The Commission’s report comes a month after Mr Osborne urged its members not to send the government’s proposed reform “back to square one” by “unpicking” the consensus on how it should be carried out.

A Treasury spokesman said on Thursday evening: “The government is committed to reforming the financial sector and putting in place a regulatory structure that learns the lessons of the past and protects taxpayers in the future.”

“It has been committed to building consensus and has consulted widely on these reforms over the last two and half years. The Banking Reform Bill is the next step in that.

“The government is grateful to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards for its scrutiny of the draft bill and notes that it, ‘welcomes the government’s action to bring forward legislation to implement a ring-fence’.”

The spokesman added that the government would study the report and respond in detail when the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill is formally introduced to Parliament early next year.

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State Department security chief leaves post over Benghazi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday its security chief had resigned from his post and three other officials had been relieved of their duties following a scathing official inquiry into the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.

Eric Boswell has resigned effective immediately as assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a terse statement. A second official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Boswell had not left the department entirely and remained a career official.

Nuland said that Boswell, and the three other officials, had all been put on administrative leave “pending further action.”

An official panel that investigated the incident concluded that the Benghazi mission was completely unprepared to deal with the attack, which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

The unclassified version of the report, which was released on Tuesday, cited “leadership and management” deficiencies, poor coordination among officials and “real confusion” in Washington and in the field over who had the authority to make decisions on policy and security concerns.

“The ARB identified the performance of four officials, three in the Bureau of the Diplomatic Security and one in the Bureau of (Near Eastern) Affairs,” Nuland said in her statement, referring to the panel known as an Accountability Review Board.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted Boswell’s decision to resign effective immediately, the spokeswoman said.

Earlier, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Boswell, one of his deputies, Charlene Lamb, and a third unnamed official has been asked to resign. The Associated Press first reported that three officials had resigned.

PANEL STOPS SHORT OF BLAMING CLINTON

The Benghazi incident appeared likely to tarnish Clinton’s four-year tenure as secretary of state but the report did not fault her specifically and the officials who led the review stopped short of blaming her.

“We did conclude that certain State Department bureau-level senior officials in critical positions of authority and responsibility in Washington demonstrated a lack of leadership and management ability appropriate for senior ranks,” retired Admiral Michael Mullen, one of the leaders of the inquiry, told reporters on Wednesday.

The panel’s chair, retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering, said it had determined that responsibility for security shortcomings in Benghazi belonged at levels lower than Clinton’s office.

“We fixed (responsibility) at the assistant secretary level, which is, in our view, the appropriate place to look for where the decision-making in fact takes place, where – if you like – the rubber hits the road,” Pickering said after closed-door meetings with congressional committees.

The panel’s report and the comments by its two lead authors suggested that Clinton, who accepted responsibility for the incident in a television interview about a month after the Benghazi attack, would not be held personally culpable.

Pickering and Mullen spoke to the media after briefing members of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee behind closed doors on classified elements of their report.

Clinton had been expected to appear at an open hearing on Benghazi on Thursday, but is recuperating after suffering a concussion, dehydration and a stomach bug last week. She will instead be represented by her two top deputies.

Clinton, who intends to step down in January, said in a letter accompanying the review that she would adopt all of its recommendations, which include stepping up security staffing and requesting more money to fortify U.S. facilities.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, which is expected to go to Congress for final approval this week, includes a measure directing the Pentagon to increase the Marine Corps presence at diplomatic facilities by up to 1,000 Marines.

Some Capitol Hill Republicans who had criticized the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi attacks said they were impressed by the report.

“It was very thorough,” said Senator Johnny Isakson. Senator John Barrasso said: “It was very, very critical of major failures at the State Department at very high levels.” Both spoke after the closed-door briefing.

Others, however, took a harsher line and called for Clinton to testify as soon as she is able.

“The report makes clear the massive failure of the State Department at all levels, including senior leadership, to take action to protect our government employees abroad,” Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

Senator Bob Corker, who will be the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the new Congress is seated early next year, said Clinton should testify about Benghazi before her replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

Republicans have focused much of their firepower on U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who appeared on TV talk shows after the attack and suggested it was the result of a spontaneous protest rather than a premeditated attack.

The report concluded that there was no such protest.

Rice, widely seen as President Barack Obama’s top pick to succeed Clinton, withdrew her name from consideration last week.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Christopher Wilson)

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Nexus 4 ad touts Photo Sphere as the go-to app for avoiding holiday family photo headaches [video]

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Why “Les Misérables” Looks Like a Holiday Box-Office Smash

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Moviegoers are storming online ticketing sites in advance of the Christmas release of “Les Misérables,” and the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical has all the makings of a holiday smash.

With a cast that includes Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, expectations are enormous, but based on advance tracking, so is the box-office potential.

The film, made for a reported $ 61 million, is poised to gross as much as $ 26 million over its opening weekend, according to BoxOffice.com.

The site predicts that the movie should pick up multiple Oscar nominations and that awards attention combined with a rabid fan base of musical theater lovers will have it beguiling moviegoers well into the new year.

Ultimately, it estimates that “Les Misérables” will rack up as much as $ 136 million at the domestic box office.

It’s well on its way. Early ticket sales at Fandango indicate that “Les Misérables” has the potential to be this holiday’s breakout smash, despite stiff competition from the likes of Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” both of which open over the next seven days.

Fandango also reports that the film has smashed records to become the company’s top advance-ticket seller among all Christmas Day releases, surpassing its previous record-holder, 2009′s “Sherlock Holmes”

It is also the largest advance-ticket seller among movie musicals in its history, supplanting 2006′s “Dreamgirls.” By mid-day Wednesday, “Les Misérables” was outpacing all other films, even current releases like “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” and was responsible for 40 percent of ticket sales at Fandango.

“There’s such a history and good will surrounding the stage musical and this is a film version people have been anticipating for such a long time, that it has turned into the movie event of the holiday season,” Dave Karger, Fandango’s chief correspondent, told TheWrap.

“We’re bullish on it,” added Phil Contrino, editor of BoxOffice.com. “Based on all the early reviews, this sounds like a crowd-pleaser. When a musical hits, it becomes a beast at the box office.”

He noted that “Mamma Mia!,” which arrived with less awards pedigree and was derived from a more dimly known stage show, grossed $ 609.8 million globally, because audiences loved the music.

Movietickets.com did not release any pre-sales information for holiday releases. However, recent surveys it performed of more than 4,000 customers indicate that there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the musical.

Of the major holiday releases, 52 percent of those polled said they were most excited to see “Les Misérables.” That was followed by 24 percent for “Django Unchained,” 16.5 percent for “Jack Reacher” and 7.5 percent for “The Guilt Trip.”

To be sure, not all of the “Les Misérables” reviews have been kind. In TheWrap, Alonso Duralde faulted the wobbly vocal talents of the leads and the director’s penchant for close-ups of his emoting stars.

“Director Tom Hooper (‘The King’s Speech’) piles one terrible decision upon another, with the result being a movie so overbearingly maudlin and distorted that it’s one of 2012′s most excruciating film experiences,” Duralde wrote.

Yet, audiences at screenings have been nearly rapturous in their response. Fandango’s Karger notes that at a recent screening for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that he attended, the crowd broke into applause at four different points during the film and gave Jackman and Hooper lusty ovations.

Given that “Les Misérables” tackles such topics as revolution, poverty and prostitution it seems like dark fare for the season, but Karger argues that the film provides enough uplift to appeal to moviegoers looking to get into the yuletide spirit.

“There are scenes of such intense suffering and despair in the movie, but at the end you are left with a profound feeling of love and that gives it a holiday feel,” Karger said. “It’s a slog through the mud to get there, but when the movie’s over you leave the theater with a wonderful sense of hope.”

If Karger is right then Universal, which is distributing “Les Misérables,” will be feeling very festive when Christmas rolls around next week.

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Liquid Nutrition Retains CHF Investor Relations

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Dec 20, 2012) – Liquid Nutrition Group Inc. (“Liquid Nutrition” or “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:LQD)(TSX VENTURE:LQD.WT) today announced that it has engaged CHF Investor Relations, a highly regarded Canadian investor relations firm headquartered in Toronto, as its IR partner.

“We are eager to share Liquid Nutrition”s story with a broader investor audience. CHF was selected to provide a solid broker outreach program and ongoing investor relations support that will showcase the Company”s growth and investment opportunity,” commented Glenn Young, President and CEO, Liquid Nutrition Group Inc.

Effective immediately, the services agreement for investor relations and market-making is for a term of twelve months to December 31^st 2013, and may be extended for up to one year. Under the terms of the services agreement, which is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, CHF will receive up to $ 7,500 per month in fees and reimbursement of expenses. CHF has been granted a total of 78,000 LQD stock options at an exercise price of $ 0.90 per share. The options vest quarterly over twelve months and have a five-year term. Upon termination of the services agreement, any vested options will be cancelled after 30 days, as is required for TSX Venture”s Tier 2 Issuers. 

The market-making activity will be conducted using a registered broker in compliance with Policy 3.4 of the TSX Venture Exchange Corporate Finance Manual (the “Manual”), IIROC”s Universal Market Integrity Rules & Policies (2010) and other relevant policies, so that trading orders in Liquid Nutrition”s shares are made to manage share price volatility and imbalances of orders in order to improve trading liquidity on the exchange. In accordance with Policy 3.4, section 2.8 of the Manual that states in part “an Issuer may not use its own funds, or provide direct or indirect compensation to other parties to undertake a market-making function in its securities,” the Company and CHF confirm that capital for the purposes of market-making has not and will not be provided from the Company”s treasury.

Prior to the grant of options outlined above, CHF had no direct or indirect interest in the Company or its securities.

About CHF Investor Relations

CHF”s effective role is acting as the public company”s outsourced, low-cost equivalent to an internal investor relations department. CHF serves an international portfolio of TSX/TSX Venture and CNSX listed companies that operate in a broad range of industries including niche products and business solutions, mining exploration and producers, oil & gas, industrial products and services, biotech and high-tech. The depth of capital market experience at CHF is formidable dating back to the late 1970”s.

About Liquid Nutrition Group Inc.

Liquid Nutrition Group Inc. (LNGI) (TSX VENTURE:LQD)(TSX VENTURE:LQD.WT) is a rapidly growing functional beverage, vitamin and supplement store brand committed to bringing healthy and delicious eating to communities around the world. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Liquid Nutrition Franchising Corporation, LNGI has signed franchise agreements for over 80 stores across Canada, as well as license agreement in the Caribbean and the Middle East. For store locations, business opportunities or more information visit www.liquidnutrition.com. Please join Liquid Nutrition on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @liquidnutrition.

About Team Liquid

Comprised of pro-athletes and experts in the world of sports, fitness and nutrition, members of Team Liquid were selected based on their personal and professional dedication to healthy active living. Members of the Team Liquid include: Steve Nash; Matt Ryan; Suzann Pettersen; Russell Martin; Vincent Lecavallier; Tora Bright; Elaine Hastings, RD, LD/N, CSSD, Nutritionist; Trish Stratus, seven times WWE World Champion, Yoga Master and Arlene Dickinson, Dragon”s Den CEO. To see what the Team Liquid has to say about Liquid Nutrition, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=da785AGWQqk.

To receive Company news via email, contact [email protected] and mention “Liquid Nutrition” in the subject line.

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