10 tips for employing live chat profitably Knowing how and when to invite a customer to chat and which customers to chat with can turn live chat from a customer service convenience into a sales-generating tool.
By Don Davis

Baffled as to what to buy her boyfriend, Annabel accepted an invitation to chat while browsing the web site of Ted Baker, a UK apparel retailer. She soon was typing messages back and forth with Dominique, who introduced herself as one of Teds Personal Shopping Assistants.

Exchanges like this one, which took place during the holiday season, are convincing a growing number of online retailers that live chat can boost conversion rates.

Occupational Hazard: Updates on Yao, Butler, G. Wallace

In his Washington Post blog, reporter Ivan Carter reported that, after speaking with trainers and doctors, he found that "there is a real difference of opinion as to whether surgery is an effective way to repair a labral tear." He also wrote that surgery was never mentioned as an option for Butler and that the team is optimistic he will have an unspecified period of rest, which Carter speculated could be between one and three weeks. Plan on sitting Butler for at least next week and check in here as we have more updates.

Gerald Wallace, SF/PF, Bobcats: As you are probably well aware, Crash is out with a concussion suffered last Friday. According to the Charlotte Observer, the diagnosis was a Grade 3 concussion, the most severe. Grade 3 concussions are defined by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons as ones that "involve post-traumatic amnesia for more than 24 hours or unconsciousness for more than five minutes.

R32 lives up to VW's 'hot hatch' legacy

Admittedly, 250 horsepower, a six-cylinder engine and a price of more than $33,000 can seem a bit much for a small, three-door hatchback.

So is the R32. Only 5,000 are available in the States for the 2008 model year, which helps explain the $33,630 starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge.

Gas Industry 1991-2000

At that time there was still no law on securities, and existing instructions were ambivalent on the issue of the share-holder register's confidentiality, so the Narodny fund escaped prosecution. Moreover, its example was followed by other investment funds. It has not been established who was behind these activities.

1995
In January, Gazprom announced that its register of shareholders was in operation. From 1 February, Gazprombank, the Gazprom authorized depository, was to start issuing documents confirming the owners' right on shares. At that moment, the market of Gazprom securities was estimated at $70 million.

In February, Gazprom bought a 10% stake in the international consortium Interconnector, which united 8 large oil and gas companies in Western Europe and the USA.

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

A man was shot dead and another wounded in Mount Hope, police said yesterday.

Cops responding to a call of shots fired arrived at East 178th Street and Valentine Avenue at 11:56 p.m. Friday and found a 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head and a 21-year-old man who took a bullet in the shoulder.

The older man was pronounced dead at the scene. The younger man was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

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Police are asking for the public's assistance in finding siblings who vanished from Co-Op City three days ago.

Leah Miranda (top), 13, and her sister Jenesis , 9, were last seen at a third-floor apartment on Asch Loop near Adler Place at 9 p.m. Thursday, cops said.

The older girl stands 5 feet tall, weighs 100 pounds, has brown eyes and brown hair and was wearing black jeans and a black jacket.