Botox isn't just for women: Why so many men are 'Bro-tox' obsessed

Written By limadu on Selasa, 04 November 2014 | 22.16

men botox brotox More than 385,000 men got Botox, or 'Bro-tox', in the U.S. last year, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But now, more men than ever are flocking to the injectable line-filler, hoping 'Bro-tox' will knock a few years off of their appearance.

More than 385,000 men in the U.S. got Botox injections last year, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. That's a 310% increase from a decade ago.

While creases have always graced men's faces, dermatologists say there are a number of reasons why so many men are going under the needle now.

A large part of it has to do with the fact that these kinds of aesthetic procedures are becoming more acceptable across the board, according to American Society of Plastic Surgeons president Dr. Scot Glasberg. About 5 million women went for injectables last year, plus a bevy of female stars and famous men from Simon Cowell to Patrick Dempsey have copped to getting them.

Related: This doctor cures hangovers for $250

But Glasberg said that the financial meltdown has also played a significant role in the rise of men coming in, especially since most of the patients he's seeing are in their 40s or 50s.

"With the slowdown in 2008, there's been an element of wanting to look a little younger to get a job more easily," he said. "First impressions are everything in an interview."

No surprise, given that older workers have had a much harder time getting jobs back since the recession.

Almost two-thirds of unemployed workers 55 and older said they were actively searching for a job for more than one year, compared to just one-third of younger workers, according to a survey by the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

And according to the AARP Public Policy Institute, two-thirds of workers between the ages of 45 and 74 say they have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job.

Dermatologists say that something a bit closer to home is also motivating men. Dr. David Colbert, a sought-after New York City dermatologist and founder of Colbert MD Skincare, said that he's seen a huge uptick in men coming in for Bro-tox thanks to the women in their lives.

Related: Five-star stays in...hospital suites

"The thing I hear the most is, 'my girlfriend or wife says I need to get rid of that line,'" he said. "But I also get guys who see their wife looking so great that the husband will start asking some questions."

Another driving factor is that the procedure is quick; it can be done during a lunch break, as many men do. Colbert said that there's very little downtime, especially for men, who he said tend to bruise less than women.

But sticking needles in your forehead, near your eyes and along your jawline can be painful, and it does require men to come back every four to six months for maintenance.

"I would definitely say women hands down win in terms of who handles the pain better," Colbert said. "And men don't come back as regularly, either. They need to be prodded to come back in."

First Published: November 4, 2014: 9:50 AM ET


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3-D-printed organs are on the way

3d printing liver An Organovo engineer oversees the tissue-printing process.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

California-based biotech firm Organovo (ONVO) is set to begin selling 3-D-printed liver tissue by the end of the year, part of the growing movement to bring the technology to the medical field.

Organovo can't yet print a fully functioning liver. But the company has already been working with a handful of laboratories to manufacture live liver tissue, offering scientists a new way to conduct research.

"This gives researchers the kind of tool that they just haven't head in the past," said Michael Renard, executive vice president at Organovo. "They can't do the kind of experiments on a person that they can do with this tissue in a lab setting."

Related: The next frontier in 3-D printing is human organs

Within the next few years, Renard says 3-D-printed tissues could also be used in patient treatment, to replace small parts or organs or encourage cell regeneration.

So how do you print human tissue?

The process starts when scientists grow human cells from biopsies or stem cells. They then feed the cells into special printers that can arrange them three-dimensionally by cell type in the way that they'd appear in the human body.

Once the cells have been printed in the right arrangement, they begin to signal to one another, fuse and organize themselves into a collective system.

Renard didn't want to speculate on when the printing of whole organs might become a reality, but many researchers are excited about the possibility and its implications for transplant procedures.

The technology has already been used to make functioning prosthetics and replacement bones. But organs, which comprise many different types of living cells and need nourishment from the circulatory system, are a more difficult proposition.

Related: 3-D printed drones

That hasn't stopped scientists from trying, however. Harvard researchers are at work trying to print functioning human kidneys, while a team at the University of Louisville is trying to produce a 3-D-printed heart.

There's still a lot more research to be done -- and regulatory approval to be secured -- but researchers at Organovo and elsewhere are feeling optimistic.

"We believe this technology could very much be transformational," Renard said.

First Published: November 4, 2014: 9:50 AM ET


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Oops. Ford recalls cars to fix 'improper' recall

grand marquis recall The Mercury Grand Marquis is one of the Ford Motor cars being recalled to repair a fix made in a previous recall.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Ford said Tuesday it is recalling nearly 40,000 cars to repair a problem that it created when fixing a previous recall.

The cars at issue are the Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis. They have a steering shaft that could break, causing a loss of steering. Ford (F) said it is aware of one accident in one of the cars it had fixed, but said no one was injured.

The previous recall covered 355,000 cars. It was announced in August and owners were notified of the problem in October. Ford said that after making the repairs, it discovered the way it had fixed them was "improper."

Related: Fix for exploding airbags may be more deadly than the problem

Ford also announced four other recalls Tuesday. One covers 135,000 Ford Flex and F-150s with a passenger seat airbag problem: It may not deploy for an adult because the safety system mistakenly thinks no one, or a child, is sitting there.

The company also recalled 27,600 Ford Transit Connect cars to fix a problem with fuel lines that could lead to a fire; nearly 1,000 F-150s for a brake pedal position problem; and about 90 Transit vehicles for a problem with its fuel filter that could lead to engine stalls. Ford is not aware of any accidents or injuries.

Related: Ford says recalls will cost $500 million to fix

First Published: November 4, 2014: 10:09 AM ET


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Why retailers are afraid of Apple Pay

Written By limadu on Senin, 03 November 2014 | 22.16

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's why Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT) and others created a rival app: CurrentC. It's expected to be slower and clunkier than tap-to-pay technology like Apple Pay, but CurrentC makes processing payments cheaper for retailers.

When you swipe your card at stores, retailers have to pay credit card companies between 1.5% and 3% of every transaction. With CurrentC, retailers might get away with paying a tenth as much.

That drop in costs is huge. Consider Wal-Mart, which earned $4 billion in profit on $119 billion in sales last quarter, a profit margin of just 3%. Cutting down on swipe fees could amount to hundreds of millions -- even billions -- more dollars in profit.

"This isn't a battle being fought over security or ease of use," noted John Zurawski, an executive at Authentify, which secures payments. "It's a battle being fought over interchange fees that merchants pay."

Apple Pay runs on credit card networks. If it grows popular, Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) would get stronger and fees would stick around. That's something retailers have been fighting for years.

By contrast, CurrentC runs on an old, little-known payment network called "the automated clearinghouse." It's cheaper for shops to process payments, because the system is generally slower. (It's the one used for direct deposit and social security benefits.)

"This is an effort by large retailers to see if they can invent a mobile payment solution that gets them out from what they perceive to be the financial industry's control," said Jason Kratovil, a bank lobbyist in the nation's capital.

These retailers are also rejecting Apple Pay out of fear that Apple's newer, safer payment system will let banks charge stores even more money for every swipe, according to Cherian Abraham, a mobile payment expert with Experian (EXPGF).

"Retailers have always looked at contactless payments with suspicion," Abraham said. "They're worried that as volume picks up, they'll see higher rates."

Related: Apple Pay rival CurrentC just got hacked

Then there's customer data. Shops want it. Apple Pay doesn't give it to them.

With Apple Pay, store registers never get your credit card number -- only an anonymous payment token. This chokes off the number one way retailers get customer data for tracking purchases and directly marketing to you afterward.

Meanwhile, CurrentC is at its core a coupon-and-rewards app. That gives companies lots of detailed information about what you buy and who you are.

CurrentC was developed by the Merchant Customer Exchange, a consortium of retailers that includes CVS (CVS) and Rite Aid (RAD). Joining MCX forces retailers to reject Apple Pay, which is why CVS and Rite Aid ditched it last week.

On a call with reporters this week, the group's CEO, Dekkers Davidson, said its members invested significant time and money to develop the alternative. They're not turning back now.

Related: Apple says it may lose Irish tax break

First Published: November 3, 2014: 9:28 AM ET


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What's next for Jon Stewart?

jon stewart

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Could what's next be a straight newscast instead of satire?

He's certainly not ruling it out.

Stewart, who was approached by NBC about moderating "Meet the Press," told New York magazine that he's contemplating his future. His "Daily Show" contract is up in a little less than a year.

He confirmed that he met with NBC News executives about "Meet the Press," but "spent most of it telling them what a crazy idea I thought it was."

When the interviewer, Chris Smith, said to him, "And the truth is that you're holding out for Brian Williams' job," Stewart jokingly responded, "That's right. No. I want to be the first male host of 'The View.'"

But then he added this: "Which is not to say that at some point maybe there will be another iteration of this conversation."

This conversation ... about leaping from Comedy Central to a network that makes the news rather than laughs about it? Potentially. Stewart has dropped hints about it before.

When Smith asked whether the 2016 presidential election might motivate Stewart to stay at "The Daily Show," Stewart said yes, but added, "part of the thing to remember is this is not the only process by which you can work material, and sometimes it's more important to step back and reconfigure a conversation than continue the same conversation because you know how to do it."

This might all be bluster ahead of contract renewal talks between Stewart's representatives and Comedy Central. But Stewart sounds like a man who's ready to try something different.

His protégé Stephen Colbert, meanwhile, already knows what's next: Colbert is ending his Comedy Central show in December and is preparing to take over "The Late Show" on CBS next spring.

First Published: November 3, 2014: 10:12 AM ET


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How one government spends your taxes

personal tax summary The U.K. government is sending out letters to tell individuals where their income tax is being spent.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Twenty-four million British taxpayers are about to find out as they receive personalized summaries that break down exactly where their hard-earned cash goes.

The program, considered one of the first of its kind by experts, aims to improve transparency and make the government more accountable for its spending.

Each person will get a chart showing, pound for pound, how the taxes they pay on their income are used.

About 25% goes towards welfare programs -- the biggest area of government spending -- including support for children and families, people with disabilities, pensioners and the unemployed.

Nearly 19% of tax money is funneled into healthcare, and roughly 5% towards defense.

"It's good for people to think about how their money is spent," said George Bull, a senior tax partner at accountancy firm Baker Tilly.

Related: Who pays the most income taxes?

A worker making £30,000 ($48,000) per year -- or slightly more than the average wage -- will see that they pay £6,781 in income taxes each year. Nearly £300 goes towards criminal justice, while £114 is spent on "culture" programs including libraries and museums. Nearly £80 goes to overseas aid.

The new initiative may upset some people who disapprove of certain types of government spending.

"You pay your taxes, the government chooses how to spend them," said Bull. "The government doesn't send these out to give you a choice about how your taxes are spent."

The smallest item outlines how much each taxpayer contributes to the European Union. For a person making £30,000, they'll pay £51 a year.

Britain's relations with Europe have become increasingly strained in recent years. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to hold a referendum in 2017 on whether the U.K. should remain a member of the EU, if he is re-elected next year.

First Published: November 3, 2014: 9:53 AM ET


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What makes a recruiter reject your resume in seconds?

Written By limadu on Minggu, 02 November 2014 | 22.16

bad resume

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Three-quarters of human resource professionals said it takes them less than five minutes to review a resume before deciding whether a job applicant makes it to the next round, according to a recent survey from the Society for Human Resource Management.

And that may be generous.

Five minutes sounded like an eternity to some of the recruiting managers who spoke to CNNMoney.

"I thought it would be a lot less. [Often] an initial screen takes 30 seconds," said Doug Arms, a vice president at staffing firm Kelly Services.

So, basically, think Tinder for talent.

Hiring managers and recruiters say there are telltale signs that help them weed out candidates at first glance. These are the resumes that can make an applicant seem, among other things, careless, immature or just not worth pursuing relative to the competition.

And here's the thing: Anyone, regardless of education or experience, can fall into these traps.

"I see it at every level for every type of job I've ever hired for," said Alison Green, an HR consultant in the Washington, D.C., area who runs AskAManager.org.

Here are seven of the biggest resume killers that hiring pros say they see all the time:

Using a ridiculous email address: Your college friends may know exactly why hairofthedogdude@yahoo.com is fitting for you, but recruiters and hiring managers may not be so amused.

"It just shoots your credibility," Arms said.

Making spelling errors and grammatical mistakes: Time to admit it, your mother was right. "If you can't be trusted to proof your resume, why should I trust you with details once you're on the job?" Arms said.

Including crazy fonts, colors and other graphics: Creativity is desirable in many jobs. But resumes that look like art projects are not.

"Keep the document simple and clear. If it takes too long for us to figure out where people work and what they do, they won't get too far," said Maryanne Rainone, managing director of Heyman Associates in New York.

Related: These resume lies are whoppers

One exception might be candidates for graphic arts jobs. Yet even in these cases the place for displaying your design skills is not the resume itself, but rather the link to the site displaying your portfolio or attachments to your work.

Not using keywords: Terms particular to the job you want and the relevant skills you have should feature prominently on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Pay attention to the words in the job description, Arms said. "Ask yourself first: 'Do I satisfy the criteria?' If so, is that reflected on your resume?"

Some employers use software to search for keywords when they are sorting through hundreds of applicants' resumes. Recruiters also use keywords to find potential candidates through LinkedIn (LNKD, Tech30) and other sites.

Kelly Dingee, director of strategic recruiting at Staffing Advisors in Maryland, suggests thinking broadly about which words to use.

If she's trying to recruit for a development officer position, for instance, she'll search not just for that job title but for words like "philanthropy," "fundraising" and "major gifts."

Stating everything but your accomplishments: Listing your day-to-day responsibilities (e.g., managing a Web site, organizing conferences) in your current and past jobs won't distinguish you from the pack.

Instead, hiring managers should be able to tell at first glance what you've accomplished (e.g., doubled sales, increased audience reach by 30%, negotiated the company's biggest deal, etc.).

Writing too much: Writing a book is an impressive feat, but your resume shouldn't read like one.

Recruiters won't read paragraph after paragraph. They'd much prefer short, bulleted points.

Forgetting to include dates: The years that you worked at every job you held should be easily scannable.

Otherwise, "it looks like someone is trying to hide something," Rainone said.

First Published: November 2, 2014: 9:34 AM ET


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