REBECCA’S DUMPLINGS WILL HOST CHINESE NEW YEAR LUNCHEON TO BENEFIT THE CHESTER COUNTY FOOD BANK

West Chester, PA – Rebecca Li Jordan, the chef behind a new taste sensation sweeping the region, will share her mouthwatering dumplings and other traditional dishes at a Chinese New Year luncheon on Saturday, February 6th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Artisan Exchange in West Chester. Costs range from $7.50 to $20 and proceeds will benefit the Chester County Food Bank. Guests may enjoy lunch on site or take home one or more servings. Registration is not required and walk-ins are welcome.

Jordan, who launched Rebecca’s Dumplings last year, has experienced early acclaim from numerous audiences, including the Food Network. She was born in Nanjing in Eastern China. A family tradition was making dumplings, which took an entire weekend. “We went to the market early in the morning to purchase fresh ingredients and then spent all day Saturday preparing hundreds of pork and vegetable dumplings,” she reminisces. “Everything was made by hand. My job was to flatten the dough.”

Years later, Jordan delighted her husband Jim and two children, Rachael and James with the delicious dumplings. “We used to go on dumpling hunts seeking the best tasting products and quickly discovered that mine were better than anything offered in China Town. For years, I made them for friends and family and decided that it was time to let the world have a taste.”

Early success of the budding business proves she is right. The Chinese New Year Luncheon will introduce even more people to Rebecca’s Dumplings. The products are: Original Pork, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free Pork, Gluten-Free Vegetarian, Breakfast and Cheese Steak. The celebration of the Year of the Monkey menu will also include other family favorites including Chinese ribs, Rebecca’s Dumpling Soup, gluten-free Chinese noodles and various fresh vegetable dishes.

Rebecca’s Dumplings are created by hand at the Artisan Exchange commercial kitchen at 208 Carter Drive in West Chester. To keep up with demand, staff has grown from one to four in just a few months. For more details on products or the Chinese Year New Year Luncheon, visit http://www.rebeccasdumplings.com, Facebook or call 610.570.6487.

Rebecca’s Dumpling Soup – Serves Four

Ingredients

3 Cups pre-cooked beef, pork or chicken stock

½ Shitake mushroom, sliced

1 Cup fresh spinach (You can add more if you prefer.)

8 pieces of Rebecca’s Dumplings of your flavor choice

½ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Combine the three cups soup stock and three cups water. Heat to a temperature of 180 degrees. Add the mushrooms and cook for two minutes. Stir in the spinach and Rebecca’s Dumplings. Cook for one minute. Add the salt. Turn off the stove. Cool the soup briefly and serve.

Alcoa May Close Or Sell Some Aluminum Plants To Cut Costs

Alcoa Inc. may close or sell 14 percent of its smelting capacity and 16 percent of its refining capacity in a move to lower costs in the face of falling aluminum prices and higher production in China.

New York-based Alcoa, which has significant operations in Pittsburgh, said it will review high-cost operations across its global system of aluminum production facilities over the next 12 months.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7914995-74/aluminum-capacity-percent#ixzz3TcpomCh1
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Iron Ore Price Decline Hurts U.S. Steel’s Cost Advantage Over Rivals

U.S. Steel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

U.S. Steel Corp.’s cost advantage over competitors from owning its iron ore mines is shrinking as the price of the commodity used to make steel sinks to a four-year low.

Analysts said iron ore’s decline to $70 a metric ton puts pressure on the Downtown-based steelmaker because competitors will benefit from lower raw material costs that U.S. Steel has long enjoyed. That pressure will mount as steel prices follow iron ore prices lower, especially helping competitors with lower production costs such as Nucor Corp., U.S. Steel’s chief rival.

“The U.S. Steel guys are going to have to work real hard to separate the revenue declines from external forces,” said John Tumazos of Very Independent Research of Holm-del, N.J. “Everything they’ve done in the last two years to cut costs was necessary, but everything points to more cost cuts.”

Under CEO Mario Longhi’s leadership, the Downtown-based steelmaker has closed mills, saved $500 million by halting an iron ore expansion project in Keewatin, Minn., relinquished control of its money-losing Canadian unit and saved $495 million under its Carnegie Way initiative to cut costs and return to profitability.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7191828-74/steel-ore-iron#ixzz3JosqYOZp
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Armstrong Starts $41M Expansion Of Dillerville Road Plant

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Armstrong World Industries formally started an expansion Friday of its Lancaster floor plant, so it can begin making luxury vinyl tile there.

The $41 million project, announced by the company in October, is expected to create 60 jobs.

Shipping of luxury vinyl tile from the city plant is expected to begin in mid 2015.

The product made in the 1067 Dillerville Road plant will replace product made for Armstrong by a manufacturer in China.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/business/local_business/armstrong-starts-m-expansion-of-dillerville-road-plant/article_da8d7aa2-c0c0-11e3-8ebf-001a4bcf6878.html

Economic Slowdown Widespread

INDICATOR: January Industrial Production and Import/Export Prices

KEY DATA: IP: -0.3%; Manufacturing: -0.8%/Imports: +0.1%; Nonfuel: +0.3%; Exports: +0.2%; Farm: -0.5%

IN A NUTSHELL: “The current economic slowdown, that hopefully can be blamed on the weather, is widespread.”

WHAT IT MEANS: January can be a cruel month and this year it is especially so. Job gains were mediocre, unemployment claims are above where we would like to see them, retail sales were pathetic and not surprisingly, manufacturers reacted by cutting back production sharply. Industrial production was off moderately in January but only because utilities had to produce massive amounts to heat our homes, offices and plants. Manufacturing output tanked as fifteen of the nineteen industry groups posted declines.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/economics_in_a_nutshell/Economic-slowdown-widespread.html#BofjoT0tjMWvuhFk.99

Arrest Of N.S.A. Leaker Seen As Easier Than Transfer to U.S.

HONG KONG — The request from the United States that Hong Kong detain Edward J. Snowden, who has been accused of stealing government secrets, before it seeks his return to America is likely to set off a tangled and protracted fight, with Mr. Snowden and his legal advisers having multiple tools to delay or thwart his being surrendered to American officials.

Mr. Snowden’s exact location was unclear Saturday, though he was believed to be hiding in a safe house in Hong Kong after leaving a hotel room two weeks ago upon revealing that he was the one who had leaked details of American surveillance efforts to the media.  Hong Kong police officials would not comment Saturday about Mr. Snowden’s whereabouts.

Stephen Vickers, who oversaw police criminal intelligence in Hong Kong before Britain returned the territory to China in 1997, said Saturday that the Hong Kong police had certainly figured out where Mr. Snowden was hiding and should be able to detain him once Hong Kong government lawyers determined that the charges Mr. Snowden faced in the United States were also legal offenses in Hong Kong.

“I have no doubt whenever the government decides to take action, they will pick him up fast,” said Mr. Vickers, who now runs a risk consulting firm.

Read more:   http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/world/asia/arrest-of-nsa-leaker-seen-as-easier-than-transfer-to-us.html?hp&_r=0

Financing For Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-95 Connector Concerns Auditor General

Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Friday that an unusual plan to finance construction of the I-95/Pennsylvania Turnpike connection “raises alarms” and may prompt an investigation by his office.

DePasquale said he was especially interested in why an entity was created to broker the deal, in which wealthy foreign investors would lend the turnpike $200 million in exchange for possible permanent residence in the United States.

DePasquale said his office was legally bound to wait until a transaction is completed before launching an audit, so “it may be several months or longer” before he formally investigates the turnpike plan.

“I am going to follow this situation carefully,” DePasquale said.  “It raises some alarms.  I’m not taking a position that it’s wrong yet. . . . We’ll wait till the issue is ripe for an audit.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20130511_Financing_for_turnpike_I-95_connector_concerns_auditor_general.html#KbbfJ65OCH8owKzj.99