Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We suddenly can't remember where we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old acquaintance's name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain fades, we euphemistically refer to these occurrences as "senior moments." While seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a detrimental impact on our professional, social, and personal well-being. It happens to most of us, but is it inevitable? Neuroscientists are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done. It turns that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental workouts can significantly improve our basic cognitive functions. Thinking is essentially a process of making neural connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to excel in making the neural connections that drive intelligence is inherited. However, because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and fluctuate according to mental effort. Now, a new San Francisco Web-based company has taken it a step further and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental sharpness. Called Lumosity, it was designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford University. Lumosity, is far more than an online place to exercise your mental skills. That's because they have integrated these exercises into a Web-based program that allows you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills. The program keeps track of your progress and provides detailed feedback on your performance and improvement. Most importantly, it constantly modifies and enhances the games you play to build on the strengths you are developing--much like an effective exercise routine requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use. Apparently it does. In randomized, controlled clinical trials, Lumosity was shown to significantly improve basic cognitive functions. One study showed students improved their scores on math tests by 34 percent after using Lumosity for six weeks, significantly greater gains than those made by other students in the same class, who were not training with the Lumosity program. Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter As many people hit middle age... Read more »
5 Things That Will Make Your Interviewer Hate You 5 Things That Will Make Your Interviewer Hate You You probably know most of the interviewing tips that can help you forge a connection with a potential employer. Now it’s time to learn some of the things you must avoid in an interview to ensure the interviewer doesn’t end up hating you by the end of it. These things really do happen. Just make sure they don’t happen to you. 1. Jump at the chance to trash your former boss. “An interviewer will dislike you if you respond to the question, ‘What advice would you give your former boss, if asked?’” says Lee Evans, CEO and career coach at Free-Job-Search-Websites.com, adding that this is a trick question. “The interviewer will interpret your negative response as the answer you might give when asked about a manager at the interviewing company. It's also a test of your ability to respond appropriately to sticky questions. Your interviewer and prospective employer will side with your former manager, and view you as difficult to deal with.” Instead: Keep your responses professional and watch for trick questions. 2. Tell the interviewer what you would change. Sometimes interviewers will ask you what you might change about a prospective employer, and it can be an opportunity to bring out some ideas you might have. But keep it constructive, and wait until they ask, says Ronald Kaufman, author and executive coach. “Telling them things you would change about their company is arrogant and implies you might be a disruptive employee,” Kaufman says. “As an outsider, you don’t know my needs, my budgets, my problems, and telling me what you would change is a major turn off.” Instead: Wait to offer suggestions until the interviewer asks for them, and even then, keep them brief and constructive while stressing that you know you don’t have all the information. 3. Comment on your interviewer’s appearance. Whether you like the way your interviewer looks or not, keep it to yourself. Even “well, you look nice today” is inappropriate, according to Evans. Commenting on how people look when you’ve just met them can be a signal that you aren’t concerned with social boundaries or are rude. Comments about appearance are on the “interviewer’s red flag list,” Evans says. Instead: Keep social commentary to a minimum, and stick to safe and general topics, such as the weather or traffic, before you get into the interview. 4. Denigrate the organization you’re applying to. Even when you want the job, it’s possible that things you say make it sound like you think you’re better than what the company deserves. “If you make it appear as though the organization where you are applying is not up to speed in terms of technology or that its facility is lacking, you will alienate the interviewer,” says Cheryl Palmer, a career coach. “You need to give the interviewer reason to believe that you are the best person for the job and that you really want to work there.” Instead: Find ways to talk about how you’ll be a good fit for the company, rather than implying you’re a superhero for offering to help the organization out of a jam. 5. Show up late. It’s a killer, no matter why it happens. Showing up 10 minutes early is a common interview tip, but its importance cannot be overstated. “Tardiness shows one of two things: disrespect or poor planning, both of which are nonstarters for most hiring managers,” says Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, an organizational psychologist and author of “The YOU Plan.” Showing up late sets the tone for the rest of the interview, and you’ll have to be at the top of your game to come back from such a setback. 5 Things That Will Make Your Interviewer Hate You You probably know most of the interviewing tips that can help you forge a connection... Read more »
More investors hold bullish U.S. bond bets before FOMC: survey More investors hold bullish U.S. bond bets before FOMC: survey NEW YORK (Reuters) - More investors raised their positions in longer-dated U.S. Treasuries holdings in the latest week in advance of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, according to a survey released on Tuesday. A total of 19 percent of its Treasuries clients said on Monday they were "long" in their duration on U.S. government debt, or owning more longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks, up from 11 percent a week earlier, the latest J.P. Morgan Securities survey showed. This was the highest share of its clients who said they were long in their duration in about five months. By holding more longer-dated Treasuries, investors add duration or interest rate risk to their portfolios in anticipation of a market rally when longer-dated bonds generate higher returns than shorter-dated debt. Treasuries prices have slid and their yields have jumped in recent weeks due to worries the U.S. central bank might reduce its $85 billion monthly purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities later this year, as the U.S. economy has shown tentative signs of sustainable growth. The rebound in Treasuries longs likely stemmed from bargain-minded investors who bought them after their longer-dated yields rose to 14-month highs last week. There has also been a persistent view the Fed will stick with its current pace of bond purchases as long as unemployment remains high and inflation runs below its 2 percent target. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes traded 7/32 lower in price early Tuesday with a yield of 2.203 percent, up 2.5 basis points from late on Monday. The 10-year yield reached a 14-month high of 2.293 percent a week ago. (US/) The Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's policy-setting body, will convene later Tuesday. It is expected to release a policy statement and economic forecasts at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a conference with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. (FED/DIARY) The bond market has stabilized in recent days, although intraday volatility remained high. This suggested there are fewer investors who are "short" in their Treasuries duration, or own fewer longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks. In J.P. Morgan's latest survey, a total of 15 percent of its Treasuries clients said they were "short," down from 28 percent a week earlier. The share of "longs" exceeded "shorts" by 4 percentage points in the latest week, compared with a week ago when shorts exceeded longs by 17 points, J.P. Morgan said. The share of investors who said they held Treasuries equal to their benchmarks rose to 66 percent, from 61 a week earlier. Among active clients, who are viewed as making speculative bets in Treasuries, 77 percent said their longer-dated Treasuries holdings matched their benchmarks, up from 61 percent the prior week. The survey showed 15 percent of active "longs," up from 8 percent the prior week. Only 8 percent of active clients said they were short in duration versus their benchmarks, down sharply from 31 percent a week earlier. J.P. Morgan surveys 40 to 60 of its Treasuries clients weekly, of which 60 percent are fund managers, 25 percent are speculative accounts and 15 percent are central banks and sovereign wealth funds. More investors hold bullish U.S. bond bets before FOMC: survey NEW YORK (Reuters) - More investors raised their positions in longer-da... Read more »