Taunton pastor, author starts own publishing house

TAUNTON — Hoping to uplift readers and give an opportunity to other religious writers, a local pastor has started a Spanish-language Christian publishing house.

Edna Isaac, pastor of the Casa de Adoracion based at the Pilgrim Congregational Church on Broadway, launched JDN Publications in mid-September. So far it has published two books written by Isaac, and it plans on releasing a lot more from herself and five other local authors, Isaac said.

"When you write to encourage other people, when you write to inspire other people in times of trouble or times when they are facing a difficulty, there is always a need for it," Isaac said.

The "JDN" in JDN Publication stands for Jesus de Nazareth.

Isaac's first motivational Christian book, called "Aprendiend a Volar Sobre la Tormenta," or "Learning to Fly Over the Storm," came out in 2004. She was using the Salon publishing house at the time, but now "Apriendiend a Volar" is one of the titles published by her new venture, along with another more recent book called "Volver a Empezar," which means "Starting Over."

"It was always one of my dreams to have my own publishing house," Isaac said. "My frustration as an author was that it was difficult because of the cost. What motivates me to do this is that so people can have the resources to go into it more easily. The purpose is to help new writers to publish their books, especially those who don't have the resources."

Isaac's books incorporate scripture and personal experiences with faith. She writes about Christianity and how it helped her overcome adversity in in her childhood, while having a baby who was born premature and in many other situations.

"If I overcome, anyone can," Isaac said.

Isaac said she has five authors who are working to get books published through JDN Publications. She is using the Internet to facilitate the business at www.jdnpublications.com.

Francisco Isaac, Edna's husband, said that he is proud that his wife started JDN Publications. "I'm very happy about it," he said.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Amazon sales-tax deal winds on

Gov. Deval Patrick, who signed a sales-tax increase back during the Great Recession, is giving peeved Massachusetts retailers another lump of coal in their stockings for the holidays.

The Patrick administration has yet to reach a deal with Amazon.com that would require the nation's largest online retailer to collect state sales taxes from Bay State customers.

Retailers had hoped an agreement would come before the start of the holiday shopping season, so the online giant wouldn't have the advantage of making sales without the 6.25 percent state sales tax during the busiest retail period of the year.

"We've pretty much come to the conclusion that it won't happen for the holiday season," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. "We've been pressing for this all year long. At first we had hoped for July 1 of this year and then, as a fallback, for the holiday season."

In late September, Gov. Deval Patrick said the state hoped to wrap up a deal "soon" with Amazon.

Under a Supreme Court ruling, online retailers must collect state sales taxes from customers only if they have operations where they live. Amazon this year opened a Cambridge software development office and bought a North Reading robotics company.

The Patrick administration said yesterday that discussions with Amazon continue. "We share the concerns of small-business owners and our mayors to help keep the business climate competitive," spokesman Alex Zaroulis said. "We also want Amazon to grow and create jobs here in Massachusetts. A congressional solution is best for everyone — and supported by all parties. In the absence of such a solution, we have had productive conversations with Amazon officials about a solution that works for everyone, and we hope to close out those talks soon."

Amazon collects sales taxes in eight states and has agreed to future collections in seven more. If Massachusetts officials fail to reach an agreement by year's end, Hurst promises a hard push for legislative action.

"Of course, we continue to push for the federal legislation," he said. "The fiscal cliff presents an opportunity to advance (that) during the congressional lame-duck sessions in November and December."

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Official: China can meet 7.5 percent growth target

BEIJING — China's sharp economic downturn has ended after trade and consumer spending improved in October but the world's second-largest economy is not ready for a recovery and exporters face tough conditions, officials said Saturday.

The economy should be able to meet the government's 7.5 percent growth target this year, the chairman of the country's planning agency told a news conference during a congress of the ruling Communist Party.

The comments echoed private sector analysts who say economic activity is improving but a recovery from China's deepest slump since the 2008 global financial crisis will be gradual and weak.

"The figures do indeed indicate an obvious trend of the Chinese economy stabilizing," Zhang Ping said.

"That said, we should not let down our guard," he said. "Our conclusion is that the foundation is not solid enough for a rebound in the Chinese economy and therefore we need to step up our efforts."

Trade data on Saturday showed export growth accelerated in October to 11.6 percent from the previous month's 9.9 percent. Data released Friday showed auto sales, consumer spending and investment also improved in October.

Zhang gave no indication what new initiatives Beijing might consider. The government has cut interest rates twice this year and is injecting money into the economy through higher spending on building airports and other public works and investment by state companies. But it has avoided a large stimulus after its huge response to the 2008 crisis fueled inflation.

Economic growth fell to a three-and-a-half-year low of 7.4 percent in the quarter ending in September. Growth for the first three quarters of the year was 7.7 percent, putting the government's target for the year within reach.

Also in October, inflation fell, giving Beijing room to launch new stimulus if needed with less danger of igniting new price spikes.

The improvement is welcome news for the ruling Communist Party, which is in the midst of a congress to install younger leaders who might benefit from an economic uptick.

Still, Commerce Minister Chen Deming warned that Chinese exporters face tough conditions due to weak global demand and rising operating costs.

"The trade situation will be relatively grim in the next few months and there will be many difficulties next year," Chen told a news conference.

Stronger exports will help manufacturers that were battered by last year's slump in global demand. Thousands closed and survivors slashed payrolls, raising the danger of unrest as Communist leaders tried to enforce calm ahead of the leadership transition.

The import weakness meant China's global trade surplus widened by nearly 90 percent over a year ago to $32 billion — the highest monthly level this year.

Chen also warned that "growing trade protectionism" might hurt exporters.

World leaders pledged after the 2008 crisis to avoid steps that might hinder trade and hamper a recovery. But Beijing and trading partners including the United States, Europe and Japan have raised tariffs on goods including autos and solar panels in a series of disputes over market access, subsidies and other issues.

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Sotheby's to sell Mick Jagger's love letters

LONDON — Handwritten letters from Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to his former lover Marsha Hunt will be auctioned in London next month.

Hunt is an American-born singer who was the inspiration for the Stones' 1971 hit "Brown Sugar" and bore Jagger's first child.

Sotheby's says she has tasked the auction house with selling 10 letters written from the set of Jagger's film "Ned Kelly," which was shooting in Australia.

Sotheby's says the "passionate and articulate" letters sent in the summer of 1969 show a "poetic and self-aware" 25-year-old Jagger.

The auction house said Saturday that the collection, which includes song lyrics and a Rolling Stones playlist, is expected to fetch between 70,000 and 100,000 pounds ($111,300 and $159,000) and will go under the hammer on December 12.

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EU annual budget talks collapse, in worrying sign

PARIS — Negotiations over next year's European Union budget have collapsed after a dispute between member states and the European Commission over a shortfall in the 2012 budget. The talks, which essentially ended before they began, could be a sign of trouble ahead for longer-term EU budget issues.

At issue was a €8.9 billion ($11.3 billion) shortfall for 2012, according to the European Commission, which asked the states to cover the sum. Several states imposing spending cuts at home questioned the amount.

In a statement on his website, the European Parliament lead negotiator Alain Lamassoure said the commission must submit a new proposal before talks, which face a Tuesday deadline, could continue.

The only agreement Friday was for €670 million in aid to Italian earthquake victims — but not how to fund it.

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BBC chief: Abuse report was 'fundamentally wrong'

LONDON — BBC Director General George Entwistle says a report wrongly implicating a senior politician in child-abuse allegations should never have been broadcast.

On Friday, the broadcaster apologized "unreservedly" for airing a "Newsnight" program with accusations from a victim who claimed a one-time senior Conservative Party figure had abused him.

"Newsnight" didn't name the politician, but online rumors pointed to Alistair McAlpine, a member of the House of Lords. McAlpine fiercely denied the allegations, and the victim retracted his claim, saying he had misidentified his abuser.

Entwistle told BBC radio Saturday that staffers could be disciplined for a broadcast "so fundamentally wrong." He also insisted he had no intention of resigning.

The BBC is already under fire for not airing allegations that its late star host, Jimmy Savile, sexually abused children.

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John Henry quits trading after striking out

Red Sox owner John Henry is getting out of the business that made him rich.

After years of dwindling returns, the enigmatic billionaire's commodity trading firm, John W. Henry & Co., reportedly told clients it will no longer manage their money as of Dec. 31.

The firm's assets have gone from $2.5 billion in 2006 to less than $100 million today.

In an email to the Wall Street Journal, Henry said: "The firm has been small since 2007 and once assets fell below $100 million this year the company became too small to sustain itself."

Known as a trend follower extraordinaire, Henry began trading corn and soybean futures with his own money in the 1970s before being recognized as an industry savant.

Henry hasn't had a hands-on role in his firm for years, but whether that's related to the slump is unclear. According to performance data on the JWH website, the five funds it offers have lagged far behind the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500. In one particularly poor result, the firm's main commodities trading program, JWH GlobalAnalytics, has a negative 32 percent one-year annualized rate of return compared to positive 30 percent rate for the S&P 500. The firm's decline in assets began largely in 2005, when Merrill Lynch defected.

Financial planner Barry Armstrong, owner of Armstrong Advisory Group in Needham, said commodities trading is a high-burnout business.

"You're watching weather reports, you're watching the news, you're waking up to read things," Armstrong said. "By the time you're 50, you feel like you're 80."

He added, "you're only as good as your last wager."

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Despite size, mansion feels like home

Somehow this brick Colonial in Wayland manages to have a homey feel despite 10,500 square feet of living space.

Built in 2001, 190 Old Connecticut Path has high-end finishes such as triple crown molding, paneled wainscoting and custom cherrywood built-ins.

On the market for $3,899,000, the home has 2.3 acres of land, five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and garage parking for six cars. There are three refrigerators and dishwashers, three custom-built cherrywood media centers and even a surround-sound home theater with eight plush leather chairs. The backyard has a large in-ground pool with just-replaced pool equipment as well as a basketball sports court.

Three front entrances help create separate wings that reduce the scale of the massive home. The vaulted main entrance opens into a marble foyer with a spiral staircase and a tucked-away half-bath. Then, there's a large, columned sunken family room with vaulted ceilings and an alabaster chandelier. One corner has a wall-length media center, a large gas fireplace and glass doors out to the backyard. The dining area has a cherrywood built-in hutch and a bar against one wall.

The adjacent kitchen features an island with two layers of granite counters, custom cherrywood cabinetry, a Thermador gas stovetop and two wall ovens, two dishwashers, a compactor and a cabinet-enclosed Sub Zero refrigerator.

Off one side of the kitchen is a formal dining room that looks out into the backyard. On the other side of the kitchen is a den/home office with cherrywood wainscoting, a media built-in and a gas fireplace.

To the far side of the kitchen is a slate-floored mud room, a laundry room, a trash room and direct access to a heated ceramic floor three-car garage. Across the driveway is a second three-car garage wired for sound with a car-washing system.

Back inside, on the opposite end of the main kitchen is another kitchen and dining area and an adjacent slate-tiled bath with a walk-in shower designed for users of the in-ground backyard pool. There's even a guest bedroom here.

A winding staircase leads up to four bedrooms on the second floor, off a landing with a marble-topped built-in. The master bedroom at the end of paneled, wainscoted hallway has a vaulted ceiling, a walk-in closet and a dressing room with vanity and a marble-surrounded whirlpool tub and walk-in shower. Outside the suite is a laundry room with a stacked washer/dryer and a folding counter.

There are three other bedrooms on this floor, two with en-suite bathrooms. The fourth bedroom, currently used as a home office, has steps up to a media room.

The home's finished lower level — with 10-foot ceilings — has a game room with a kitchen area and a carpeted exercise room.

There's also additional storage, a utility room with the home's gas-fired hydro air heating system, central air and central vacuum systems.

For more information or to see this property, call Marjorie Gold or Jonathan Slater of William Raveis at 617-731-7737.

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Over rocks, other hard places

'Strong," "tough," "enduring" — just a handful of terms that describe those who serve our country as members of the armed forces.

These characteristics also apply to some of the world's most rugged and capable off-road sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

And while off-road dynamos aren't known for their fuel economy, it's their rough image and presence on our nation's streets and highways that epitomize the definition of "powerful."

"They certainly exude strength. They exude a lot of attitude. That's part of their appeal," said Scott Oldham, editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com. "Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't drive a Hummer because it got good gas mileage. The image attached is a big selling point. It's the same mindset when a guy goes out and buys a Corvette or sports car."

Certain large-scale models, such as Chevy Silverado and Ford F-Series pickups, have been the pride of the auto industry for decades (on Monday we'll highlight the industry's veteran models), while others rev up within a smaller market niche.

This Veterans Day we salute all who have served, regardless of their rank and military branch. Be prepared to do the same for the following models — our top 10 greatest tough and rugged vehicles for 2013.

10. Nissan Xterra

In the age of SUVs based on sedans, the Xterra has a truck mindset, a robust suspension and a drivetrain perfect for off-road adventure. Yet the model tends to put performance and rugged capabilities over comfort and fuel economy. For those ready for fun in the wilderness, this is "a different beast" to get behind the wheel of, said Oldham, adding: "If you want comfort and economy, you buy a Mazda C-X5. If you want to go off-road and put a mountain bike wherever you need it to be, you buy an Xterra."

(Max Tow: 5,000 lbs; Max MPG: 18; MSRP: $30,592)

9. Toyota 4Runner

This is the first of three Toyota offerings on this list. A well-known, capable, mid-sized SUV for decades, the five-door 4Runner remains one of the Top 10 factory built, off-road machines still out there, yet a recently designed model is "not quite as hard-core as its predecessors, which is why it's No. 9," Oldham said.

(Max Tow: 5,000 lbs; Max MPG: 19; MSRP: $38,824)

8. Jeep Grand Cherokee

As rugged and off-road capable as ever, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a "best of both worlds vehicle" that offers smooth on-road capability and the "high levels of comfort expected at its price point," Oldham said. Leather-lined interiors, for example, contribute to the mid-sized SUV's luxurious feel. "It doesn't feel very much like a truck until you ask it to do something only a truck can do," Oldham added.

(Max Tow: 7,400 lbs; Max MPG: 19; MSRP: $38,258)

7. Chevrolet Silverado

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Spain's PM seeks end to mortgage arrears evictions

MADRID — Spain's prime minister says his government aims to fast track reforms to halt evictions related to mortgage non-payments after a woman committed suicide as bailiffs arrived to repossess her flat.

The death of 53-year-old Amaia Egana, who threw herself from her fourth-floor balcony as bailiffs arrived Friday, has caused a national outcry.

Mariano Rajoy said Friday that current legislation was allowing "inhuman situations" to occur as people unable to keep up with repayments were forced from their homes while still saddled with the remainder of their mortgage debt.

Rajoy said he wants "a temporary stop to evictions" by introducing a better code of practice among lenders that would allow renegotiations of debt, or an agreement permitting debtors to remain in their homes for longer when this was not possible.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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