European equities markets were mostly lower Friday after the US gross domestic product was reported only 2.4 percent higher in the second quarter, close to expectations but well below the revised 3.7 percent growth in the first quarter.

The FTSE 100 was down 1.05 percent to 5,258.02 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.25 percent to 9,948.72.

United Utilities Group (LSE: UU) led gains on the 100, adding 4.37 percent, followed by fellow water utility Severn Trent (LSE: SVT), which was up 2.34 percent, while Pennon Group (LSE: PNN) was also up 2.34 percent and Northumbrian Water Group (LSE: NWG) gained 0.7 percent.

Over on the 250, engineering services group Bodycote (LSE: BOY) added 4.87 percent to lead all gains in London.

Most retailers lost ground, led by automobile retailer Inchcape (LSE: INCH), which dropped 6.5 percent and led declines on the 250, but home furnishings retailer Dunelm Group (LSE: DNLM) added 4.86 percent to lead a few gainers in the sector, while funeral services group Dignity (LSE: DTY) was up 3.08 percent.

The energy sector was mostly down, with Salamander Energy (LSE: SMDR) leading the way with a decline of 6.23 percent while wind turbine gearbox manufacturer Hansen Transmissions International (LSE: HSN) dropped 4.88 percent, but BG Group (LSE: BG) led three gainers in the sector as it added 0.84 percent.

Essar Energy (LSE: ESSR), with interest both in oil and in power generation, dropped 3.45 percent to lead declines on the 100.

British Airways (LSE: BAY) added 1.67 percent despite reporting that its fiscal first quarter loss was bigger than its loss in the same quarter last year due to strikes and closures because of an ash cloud over Europe earlier in the year.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.07 percent to 1,046.14 while the CAC-40 fell 0.24 percent to 3,642.14 and the IBEX dropped 1.5 percent to 10,499.8, but the Dax added 0.22 percent to 6,147.97.

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower on concerns ahead a report on the US gross domestic product, due later in the day, which is expected to show that the US economy slowed down in the second quarter.

The Nikkei 225 was down 1.64 percent to 9,537.3 in Tokyo, while the Topix index fell 1.37 percent to 849.5 and the Mothers market dropped 1.35 percent to 398.48 after reports that Japan’s unemployment rate grew to 5.3 percent in June from 5.2 percent in May and that factory output in Japan dropped by 1.5 percent in June from May, against an expected gain of 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306) dropped 0.92 percent while Mizuho Financial Group (TYO: 8411) was down 1.4 percent on concerns about the economy.

On the other hand, consumer lender Acom (TYO: 8572) added 5.8 percent after reporting that its operating profit more than doubled in its fiscal first quarter.

Some exporters were hurt by a strengthening yen.

Camera and copier maker Canon (TYO: 7751) dropped 0.79 percent while consumer electronics manufacturer Sharp Corporation (TYO: 6753) fell 2.17 percent, but Sony (TYO: 6758) and Panasonic (TYO: 6752) were both higher on improved full-year outlooks, citing better than anticipated sales of flat-screen televisions.

Sony added 3.6 percent after it upped its full-year profit forecast by 20 percent from previous estimates, while Panasonic was up 6.04 percent after it improved its outlook by 70 percent.

Shares related to semiconductors were lower as Advantest (TYO: 6857) fell 1.89 percent and Tokyo Electron (TYO: 8035) was 2.73 percent lower.

Industrial robot manufacturer Fanuc (TYO: 6954) dropped 3.59 percent.

Elsewhere in the region the Hang Seng was down 0.3 percent to 21,029.81 in Hong Kong while the Straits Times Index fell 0.33 percent to 2,987.7 in Singapore, the Shanghai Composite was 0.4 percent lower to 2,637.5, Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.49 percent to 7,760.63, the Kospi fell 0.65 percent to 1,759.33 in South Korea and India’s Sensex was down 0.69 percent to 17,868.29.

The Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.63 percent to 4,507.4 in Australia, while the S&P/ASX200 was 0.68 percent lower to 4,493.5.

New York markets were mixed at just past 12:30 p.m. local

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It’s been awhile since I blogged about my effort to cut down on my energy costs by joining the EcoEnergy grant program. I have done quite a few things around the house, mostly air sealing and caulking but I recently just finished the biggest part of the project. I had my basement walls and headers Spray Foam Insulated. I don’t really have any ideas on the energy saved, that will come this winter. Already I notice a huge reduction in the musty smell down here. It’s pretty much non-existant.

Here are a few photos of the project. I used steel framing but I think wood would have been cheaper and more efficient.

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In my previous article on My Latest Take On Hosted vs Non-Hosted Ecommerce Solutions, I recommended two hosted shopping cart solutions, Volusion and BigCommerce, that do not charge any transaction fees for using their service. Not being charged a percentage of your sales is nice because you can run your store at more or less a flat monthly rate(not taking into account credit card fees) that does not scale proportionally to your revenues.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for trial accounts with both Volusion and BigCommerce and decided to compare the two services.

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Who first coined the phrase, “Necessity, the mother of invention?”

• George Farquhar
• Emily Dickinson
• William Shakespeare
• Thomas Edison
• William Ramsay

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Answer tomorrow.

Hi,

Chris Jackson from Chicago here.

I thought about making a quick blog post here to let everyone know about the program I used to make thousands working from home. This is no fluff. It really worked. If you have a couple of minutes, keep reading.

Most online programs are quite risky. Some people end up earning a couple of thousand dollars but they suddenly lose everything after 3 or 4 months. That’s the truth. It happens with most people who initially succeed.

But I got a way to stop that. You can keep earning the money even after 3-4 months – actually as long as you keep working.

As a way to help you brothas, I’ll provide complete details in a moment. Keep

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