Twitter axes 140-character limit on direct messages

TWITTER is to remove the 140-character limit on the private Direct Messages sent between users, the social network has confirmed.
Beginning in July, the character limit will be lifted on messages that Twitter users send to each other, but it will not be removing the lock on public tweets posted to the site.
The move is believed to be an attempt to draw more users to the microblogging site.
The news comes shortly after chief executive Dick Costolo announced he was stepping down, reportedly after investors became frustrated at the lack of user growth on the site. Twitter has around 300 million active users, while rival Facebook has over 1.3 billion.
In a post on Twitter’s developer forum, the firm’s Sachin Agarwal said: “We’ve done a lot to improve Direct Messages over the past year and have much more exciting work on the horizon.

One change coming in July that we want to make you aware of now (and first!) is the removal of the 140 character limit in Direct Messages.
“You may be wondering what this means for the public side of Twitter. Nothing! Tweets will continue to be the 140 characters they are today.”
Both communications types on Twitter having the same limit has caused confusion in the past, and seen users accidentally publicly tweet messages intended to be privately sent.
One of Twitter’s own executives mixed up the two last year, when chief financial officer Anthony Noto tweeted and then deleted a message apparently regarding a business deal.
“I still think we should buy them. He is on your schedule for December 15 or 16 — we will need to sell him. I have a plan,” he said.
Facebook has no limits on the number of characters allowed in public posts or private messages to the social network.

Tim Robards: The exercise that could change your life

WE ALL know that sitting for long periods of time is not good for us. We’re simply not built for it. But many of us are still sitting in excess of 12 hours a day.
If you really acknowledged the link between your headaches, gut issues, lack of energy, excess weight, your posture and mood to what extended sitting is doing to your body you would probably think about change your sitting habits.
Its not just the effects of sitting, its what you are missing out on while you’re doing it. A ‘standing’ worker, say a retail worker at a clothing store, burns about 1,500 calories while on the job; whereas a person behind a desk might expend roughly 1,000 calories.
Now, this exercise (see video above) is one of the best and simplest I’ve ever used to correct poor posture from sitting. It’s called…. ‘The Wall Angel’. This exercise will fire up your core, activate your glutes, help you to extend your thoracic, stretch your chest and active your lower traps.
How to do the ‘wall angel’
With your feet a few inches from the wall. Place your bum against the wall, followed by your shoulders and your head. Level one you leave the natural curve in you lower back. Level two you flatten your lower back into the wall, using your core, so there is no gap to get any fingers between your lower back and the wall.
Next take your arms up at 90 degrees on the wall as shown.

 You must keep your fingers and elbows touching the wall at all time. this is imperative! Breath in, than as you exhale over 5-10 seconds, push your arms up in a straight line vertically until fully extended.

It is imperative that the elbows and hands do not leave the wall and you take your time. I would rather you didn’t extend as much than let your elbows come off the wall.
Complete three sets of 6-8 reps (start with 6 for the first week and progress).
Those who have great thoracic and shoulder mobility will have no troubles with this but the rest of us will find it challenging.
You should maintain a long neck through the exercise and be able to feel it predominantly between your shoulder blades and your core keeping your lower back on the wall.
To progress start with Level 1 — (neutral spine with small gap between low back and wall) and use two arms.
Level 2 — Low back is pulled into the wall using the core (pull belly button to spine and tuck pelvis back). There should be no gap between the lower back and pelvis. You can progress this with single arms and then as you get better use two arms. Always breathe throughout — never hold your breath!
This exercises is truly one of the best I have used for posture to combat sitting and forward head carriage. This may help to decrease your lower back pain, decrease your neck pain and headaches, open up your chest for breathing, increase your energy and boost your mood! Enjoy!

David Beckham to star in movie for Guy Ritchie

HIS wife Victoria tried acting in the movie Spice World without much success and now David Beckham is set to test his acting chops in a new film.
The former Manchester United star has been cast in good friend Guy Ritchie’s new movie Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, alongside Jude Law and Eric Bana.

Little is known about the role but IMDB says his role will be “blackleg leader”.
“There’s going to be a version of the scene where Excalibur gets drawn from the stone. This is where Beckham factors in,” a source told The Sun. “There’s a little bit of a sense that David’s character, who fancies himself as a big player in this story, gets a little ticked off when this other fellow, this upstart, is the one who can free the sword.”

Beckham will no doubt feel comfortable being told what to do by good friend Ritchie who directed him in an ad for H&M and another for Haig Whiskey.
The former soccer star is also said to have made a cameo on the movie The Man From U.N. C. L. E, also directed by Ritchie, and starring Henry Cavill and Hugh Grant.

Maybe he will ask his wife, Victoria, for some pointers.
She was the first in the family to appear on the big screen when Spice World came out in 1997.

Have Nick Jonas and Miss Universe Olivia Culpo split up?

DELTA Goodrem’s ex Nick Jonas admits in his song to being a little Jealous ... but has it caused him to split from his Miss Universe girlfriend.
Jonas, 22, has been dating Miss Universe 2012 winner Olivia Culpo, 22 for two years now.

However the Daily Mail reports that Jonas and Culpo were in New York this week hanging out in different parts of the city.
The pair also checked into different hotels

Jonas is in New York promoting his new movie Goat and his upcoming music tour.
The last time the couple were seen in public together was on May 17 at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jonas started in show business at age seven, performing on Broadway.
In 2009 he and his brother Kevin and Joe Jonas rocketed to fame on the Disney Channel, while the trio also released a number of albums

He has been in a relationship with Culpo since meeting her in August 2013 at the Miss Universe pageant.
Neither Jonas or Culpo have comments on the breakup rumours.

Is Joe Hockey right about housing affordability?

JOE Hockey has come under fire for telling first time home buyers to “get a good job that pays good money” but is he right? Should Australians just stop whingeing?
The Treasurer offered his housing tips on Tuesday when providing an update on the government’s crackdown on dodgy foreign housing investment.
Asked if he thought Sydney housing is unaffordable, Mr Hockey said: “No.” “If housing were unaffordable in Sydney, no one would be buying it,” he said.
Treasury secretary John Fraser said last week there is little doubt there is a housing bubble in Sydney and the top end of the Melbourne market.
Mr Hockey has said he doesn’t think there is a bubble: “The starting point for a first homebuyer us to get a good job that pays good money.
“If you’ve got a good job that pays good money and you have security in relation to that job then you can go to the bank and you can borrow money.
“That’s readily affordable, more affordable than ever. (It’s more affordable to) borrow money for a first home now than it’s ever been.”

So was he right? We’ve pulled together some statistics. You be the judge:
INTEREST RATES:
The Reserve Bank’s cash rate sits at a record low of two per cent compared with 7.5 per cent in 1995.
HOUSE PRICES:
According to AAP, the median Sydney house price is around $900,000, more than 11 times the average annual wage. Twenty years ago it was about six times the average annual wage.
Sydney prices have jumped 39 per cent in three years according to a HSBC report, while Melbourne prices were up 22 per cent. The average price for the rest of the country was 10 per cent.
SYDNEY IN 1995:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 1996 Census: $700-$999
Median house price according to a university report: $196,750
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($39,350) based on saving 30 per cent of an income of $700 ($210 a week): 3.6 years
SYDNEY IN 2015:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 2011 Census: $1447
Median house price in March according to Domain: $914,056
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($182,811) based on saving 30 per cent of income ($434 a week): 8.1 years
INVESTMENT PROPERTIES:
About 15 per cent of new home loans were taken out by first-home buyers in April, compared to 41.2 per cent taken out by investors.
The proportion of first home buyers has almost halved since 2009 when they made up 31.4 per cent of the market.
Harley Dale, chief economist for HIA told ABC the vast difference could be explained by an “extraordinary stimulus” injection for first-home buyers to combat GFC (in 2009).

WAGES:
The median weekly household income in Sydney is $1447 or $75,244 a year (before tax) according to the 2011 Census.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a registered nurse or midwife with eight years’ experience in a public hospital earns just under $80,000.
The highest grade a state school teacher will earn is just under $100,000 a year.
Mr Hockey’s parliamentary salary is $365,868.
JOBS:
The unemployment rate in Australia is currently 6.1 per cent. In June 1995 it was 8.4 per cent.

MELBOURNE IN 1995:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 1996 Census: $500-$699
Median house price according to a university report: $129,000
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($25,800) based on saving 30 per cent of $500 income ($150 a week): 3.3 years
MELBOURNE IN 2015:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 2011 Census: $1333
Median house price in March according to Domain: $638,445
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($127,689) based on saving 30 per cent of income ($399 a week): 6.1 years

Would abolishing negative gearing end up costing us more than it saved?

WHAT would really happen if we got rid of negative gearing?
The issue is a hot topic and has been blamed for everything from soaring house prices to stopping first home buyers from entering the market.
Property analyst Simon Pressley of Propertyology reckons getting rid of negative gearing would be “political suicide” and end up costing the government more in the long run through taxes it would miss out on.
So what is negative gearing?
Negative gearing is a form of financial leverage where the gross income you earn from an investment property is less than the cost of owning and managing the property, this includes interest on your mortgage on the property. Those losses are then tax-deductible against other taxable personal income.
So basically if your property costs you more than it makes you can claim a tax deduction.
Mr Pressley said very few people understood what it was and its implications.
“There’s a sad segment amongst Australians who believe that negative gearing is some kind of hand out to the rich,’’ he said.
“Little do they know that there are approximately 1.9 million Australian property investors and more than 70 per cent of them only own one investment property and have a taxable income of less than $80,000.’’
He said many bought investment properties to help fund their retirement so as not to rely on a government pension.

Nick Lockhart, managing director of MRD Partners, said there were benefits and disadvantages to using negative gearing.
The pros are:
Positive cash flow: After tax and adding non-tax deductions to rental income, a negatively geared property may actually produce positive cash flow.
Opportunity for the ordinary guy: Negative gearing bridges the ‘affordability gap’ to allow low to middle income earners to invest in property.
Reduce your taxes: It allows investors to deduct the negative amount from their taxes at their top marginal tax rate. The higher the top marginal tax rate the greater the tax benefits.
Self-imposed financial discipline: Negative gearing could be described as a type of forced savings. “If I am committed to putting $50 a week, for example, towards holding an investment property, that’s a good thing.’’
It’s only temporary: Over time as rents increase what was negative cash flow will become positive and eventually the investment property will be positively geared.
The cons are:
Taking from one’s cash flow: Unless the tax deductions exceed the losses on a negatively geared property, an investor must still make up for any cash flow shortfall.
Can cause hardship: Property investing is a medium to long term thing and if your situation changes you may find yourself in difficulty; sometimes being forced to sell a property at a loss.
Underperforming Investment: Unfortunately, markets can be unpredictable at times. The GFC had a negative effect on both rents and prices in most places around the country, some of which have taken a long time to recover.
Sleep at night factor: Taking on new debt can cause sleepless nights.
Additional responsibilities: As an investor you have new responsibilities and obligations. You have to deal with a property manager, handle bank accounts and have a more complicated tax return.

Mr Pressley said if we got rid of negative gearing there would be fewer property transactions every year and the government would lose a lot of revenue from stamp duties, infrastructure charges, land tax, construction industry payroll taxes, and more as a result.
He said it would be a disincentive to buying and holding property.
Mr Pressley said other factors affected property values more than negative gearing.
“The factors which affect property values the most are related to the general economy, employment, and credit policies, not tax policies.’’
“Negative gearing has been in place for generations and it is no more responsible for Sydney’s property price growth in 2013-14 than it was for its flatline performance from 2001 to 2008.’’

Service jobs — health, retail and hospitality — growing at fastest rate in a decade

SERVICE jobs — including those in health, retail and hospitality are growing at their fastest rate in more than a decade.
According to Ai Group’s Performance of Services Index (PSI) for May, employment increased 3.5 index points to 58.0, recording well above the 50-point level separating contraction and expansion and the fastest monthly improvement since December 2004.

Ai Group chief economist Julie Toth said employment in the services sectors — which includes health, retail and wholesale trade, hospitality, recreation, property, business, finance, communication and transport services — was positive.
“It hadn’t been showing any employment growth earlier this year but it did in May,” she said.
“We are hoping this is the start of a growth phase, not a blip (as) services as a group accounts for about 75 per cent of all (private) employment.”
Ms Toth said the data showed particularly good employment prospects in health and welfare, which experienced overall activity expansion for its seventh consecutive month.
Cytogenetic scientist Jessica Lee started her graduate role with Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology in May.
“When they were advertising this position, they were looking for three new graduates to start,” she said.
“They definitely have the work volume here to support graduate students but there was a high number of people who applied as well.”
Ms Lee recommended health service graduates begin applying for work well before finishing their studies.
“I started applying for jobs in the hopes that by the time I graduated my name would have come across desks a few times,” she said.
“I started the groundwork to getting a job after graduation a year before graduation.”
Nurses and community care workers in demand ... Employment Office managing director Tudor Marsden-Huggins. Picture: Tim Marsden / News Corp Australia

Employment Office managing director Tudor Marsden-Huggins said there had been an increase in hiring across the retail and health care sectors in the last 12 months.
“In particular we are seeing a lot of new positions advertised for nurses and community care workers,” he said.
“The ongoing casualisation of the workforce in these high growth sectors has increased the level of hiring activity taking place.
“Low interest rates are also contributing to increase consumer spending and the easing of small business budgets which has undoubtedly had a positive impact on new retail hires.”
Department of Employment figures forecasted 63,300 new jobs would be created for medical practitioners and nurses, and 33,700 for health diagnostic and therapy professionals across Australia in the five years to November, 2019.
Ms Toth said retail was also picking up in the employment stakes, as were financial services and personal and recreational services.
An additional 52,400 hospitality, retail and service managers, and 56,900 business, finance and human resource professionals are forecast to be employed by the end of 2019.
Overall, Ms Toth said the services industry recorded a PSI index just below 50, denoting slight contraction (49.6 points).
The National Australia Bank Monthly Business Survey for May, however, revealed increasing confidence in services sectors.
General business sentiment jumped from +3 to +7 index points from April to May, Australia’s highest level of business confidence since August 2014, with much of that confidence attributed to services.
The NAB report noted significantly higher confidence in retail and wholesale sectors following the Government’s Small Business Package, as well as in finance, business and property services sectors.
Australia’s strongest employment demand was in finance, property and business services, which recorded +9 index points.