Target said its new program relies on shoppers using their Facebook accounts. However, shoppers can only redeem the offers they choose in Target's U.S. stores, not online.

With Cartwheel, shoppers select the deals they want online and then bring a barcode - either on paper or on a mobile phone - to a Target store to get the discounts. Shoppers can see what offers their Facebook friends have chosen, and earn more offers by having their Facebook friends sign up.

This service comes as traditional retailers try to keep shoppers buying from them rather than from Amazon.com Inc and other online-only retailers, especially as shoppers use their smartphones to compare prices.

Twenty percent of cellphone owners research products using their phones before they buy, and 18 percent of them compare prices on their phones before making a purchase, according to Bill Tancer, general manager of global research for Experian Marketing Services.

Cartwheel follows efforts such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc letting shoppers in some of its U.S. stores scan their goods with their iPhones while they shop and then more quickly proceed through a self-checkout lane. Sears Holdings Corp's "Member Assist" program gives its loyal shoppers the ability to get personalized shopping advice from in-store personnel without even stepping foot in a Sears or Kmart store.

"It is very fascinating to see the very different approaches that retailers are taking to achieve the same goals," said Carol Spieckerman, president of newmarketbuilders, a retail strategy firm.

Retailers are using digital tools to better cater to shoppers who love to comparison shop while in their stores. Target and other retailers offer free WiFi, and at one of its Minnesota stores Best Buy Co Inc has tested its "Page a Blue Shirt" service that lets customers summon a store associate with a click on a store iPad.

For chains such as Kmart, Target and Walmart, such issues are increasingly important as their businesses have evolved since each opened its doors in 1962. Their stores used to be one-stop shops for everything from books and movies to photo developing. As such services have waned in popularity with the rise of digital books, movies and photo sharing sites, the chains are doing what they can to figure out new ways to make their stores more attractive to shoppers and, ultimately, more profitable.

CARTWHEEL'S BETA ROLLOUT

Starting on May 8, Target is opening Cartwheel to the public in a beta test, and asking for feedback as it makes changes. The service will initially be advertised on Target's website, through Facebook and in emails to Target's best shoppers and card holders.

Target did not rule out the possibility of allowing Cartwheel offers to be redeemed on its website someday.

Target said it worked in a close partnership with Facebook Inc for about a year. While Facebook has worked on the project, Cartwheel is owned by Target. For now, Target has no plans to extend it to other social sites such as Pinterest.

Linking offers through Facebook will let the retailer know exactly what Facebook can or cannot accomplish for it. While Twitter can be useful to promote timely, limited offers, Facebook is "the dominant platform" for connecting with shoppers and, in turn, with their connections, Spieckerman said.

Target sees the program as a way to extend the trips shoppers take into parts of the store they might normally skip, in order to pick up a promoted item. An app coming in June will let shoppers scan a photo of an item's barcode to quickly see if an offer is available on that item.

Shoppers using Cartwheel can choose from hundreds of deals on items such as Target's own Threshold home goods and name brand goods such as M&Ms candy and Coca-Cola soft drinks. The weekly, monthly and quarterly deals include discounts from 5 percent off to as much as 40 percent off of certain goods, and differ from other Target offers in circulars or coupon booklets.

Shoppers can share the deals they are picking with their Facebook friends, but offers on more discreet items - from bras to Tums - will not be visible to others.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago, additional reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

"The visit will highlight the fundamental importance of the U.S.-UK relationship - a relationship through which together we address a broad range of shared global and regional security concerns," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australia's central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low 2.75 percent Tuesday in an effort to boost economic growth as a mining boom cools and the strong Australian dollar erodes business profits.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement following the bank's monthly board meeting that economic growth was below trend in the second half of 2012 and continued to be that way in 2013. Australia's long-term trend growth rate is around 3.25 percent a year.

"Employment has continued to grow but more slowly than the labor force, so that the rate of unemployment has increased a little, though it remains relatively low," he said.

"The global economy is likely to record growth a little below trend this year, before picking up next year," he said.

Australia's jobless rate rose from 5.4 percent in February to 5.6 percent in March the highest rate in more than three years.

The central bank last lowered its Official Cash Rate in December, cutting it by a quarter point to 3 percent.

The rate last bottomed out at 3 percent for six months in 2009 during the global financial crisis and recession.

Moments after the bank's announcement on Tuesday, the Australian dollar slid against the U.S. dollar, dropping to $1.0188 from $1.02337.

The currency ended Monday's local trading session at $1.0272.

Treasurer Wayne Swan had described the 3 percent rate in 2009 as an "emergency low."

But he said Tuesday that Australia's economic circumstances in 2009 could not be compared with now.

The Australian dollar in 2009 was worth only 60 U.S. cents and global demand was then plummeting.

Inflation is under control so the central bank is "in a position to deploy monetary policy, particularly when faced with the fact that we have a high dollar which in itself is a consequence of the strength of our economy," Swan told reporters.

"One of the challenges that flows from the higher dollar and our domestic strength is the squeeze on profits for business across our economy caused by that higher dollar," he said.

Despite commodity prices falling as Australia's mining boom cools, the Australian dollar remains high due to demand for government bonds which are viewed by investors as a safe haven and have higher returns compared with U.S. and Japanese government bonds.

Australia is now only one of eight countries with a triple-A credit rating on its debt from all three major rating agencies Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch ratings.

The International Monetary Fund said last month that it expects the Australian economy to return to trend growth in 2014, despite the economic damage being caused by a high Australian dollar.

The IMF kept its 2013 growth forecast for Australia at 3 percent. It raised its forecast for 2014 to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent.

The company said Wednesday that it has stopped new sales and marketing of Alert Energy Caffeine Gum "out of respect" for the agency, which said it would investigate the health effects of added caffeine in foods just as Wrigley rolled out Alert late last month. A stick of the gum is equivalent to half a cup of coffee.

"After discussions with the FDA, we have a greater appreciation for its concern about the proliferation of caffeine in the nation's food supply," said Wrigley North America President Casey Keller in a statement to The Associated Press. "There is a need for changes in the regulatory framework to better guide the consumers and the industry about the appropriate level and use of caffeinated products."

Keller said the company has paused production and sales of the gum to give the agency time to regulate caffeine-added products.

Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said Wrigley's decision to stop production for now "demonstrates real leadership and commitment to the public health." He said the company made the move after a series of discussions with the agency.

"We hope others in the food industry will exercise similar restraint," Taylor said.

Food manufacturers have added caffeine to candy, nuts and other snack foods in recent years. Jelly Belly "Extreme Sport Beans," for example, have 50 mg of caffeine in each 100-calorie pack, while Arma Energy Snx markets trail mix, chips and other products that have caffeine.

The companies say they are marketing the products to adults, but critics say that's not enough when the caffeine is added to items like candy that are attractive to children. Many of the energy foods are promoted with social media campaigns, another way they could be targeted to young people.

Major medical associations have warned that too much caffeine can be dangerous for children, who have less ability to process the stimulant than adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics says it has been linked to harmful effects on young people's developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems.

Taylor said last week that the proliferation of new foods with caffeine added especially the gum, which he equated to "four cups of coffee in your pocket" may even prompt the FDA to look closer at the way all food ingredients are regulated.The agency is already investigating the safety of energy drinks and energy shots, prompted by consumer reports of illness and death.

The only time FDA has explicitly approved the added use of caffeine in a food or drink was in the 1950s for colas. Taylor said the current proliferation of caffeine added to foods is "beyond anything FDA envisioned."

The FDA said it would look at the potential impact these new and easy sources of caffeine will have on children's health and take action if necessary. Taylor said that he and other FDA officials have held meetings with some of the large food companies that have ventured into caffeinated products, including Mars Inc., of which Wrigley is a subsidiary.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

TOKYO (Reuters) - From a phoenix-themed collection by a Japanese designer who has clothed Lady Gaga to touches of traditional Mongolian decorations, designers showing at Japan Fashion Week set their sights firmly on Asia and its huge market.

Chinese consumers have become the world's leading buyers of luxury goods and account for one quarter of this market globally with demand growing, according to a report by consulting firm Bain & Co.

The fashion extravaganza showcasing the autumn and winter collections of 2013/14 kicked off at the weekend but Japanese brands took to the stage on Monday with Masanori Morikawa and his self-directed label, "Christian Dada".

Morikawa has created several pieces for American pop star Lady Gaga including a pink dress reminiscent of an origami crane for her 2012 "Born This Way Ball" tour.

This time he turned to Asia for inspiration with an edgy, androgynous collection titled "Fenghuang," which is Chinese for the mythical bird phoenix, pairing long, loose pants with richly embroidered lace on shirt sleeves for men and women.

Leather pants and jackets mingled with down-paneled trousers and shirts in plain, solid colors of black, white, red, blue and gold, which Morikawa said represented the nature of the phoenix.

"There's also the idea that the phoenix contains within itself both the male and the female, so we took this concept of fusion for the collection," Morikawa told reporters.

Asian influences came to the fore on Sunday as well as Mongolian designer Ariunaa Surenjav mixed modern designs with traditional raised forms on the shoulders and bunched sleeves.

"That part of the clothing design where the material goes up on the shoulder ... comes from the tradition in old Mongolia, where the local people who were noble and respected had that design," said Surenjav.

A NOD TO CHINA?

Although Morikawa said taking a Chinese title for the collection was just a reference to Chinese mythology and not a nod to the huge potential Chinese market, other designers were more open about their goals.

Conny Groenewegen, a Dutch designer who led off the runway on Sunday with clothing heavily influenced by Japanese designers, said her ambitions in Asia do not end with Japan.

"I would be very much interested to visit Shanghai and present my work over there, because I think that it is moving very fast," she told Reuters. "It's like a big youth culture over there and it has also a big, very rich history."

Although growth in China slowed last year, Bain is still forecasting growth of 4-6 percent a year for the global luxury market through 2015, after growth of 10 percent in 2012 to about $280 billion, largely driven by Chinese consumers.

With 1.3 billion consumers, many with a strong inclination for expensive brands that scream status, China remains a driving force in the luxury market.

Japan Fashion Week continues until March 24 with names such as Vivienne Tam and Hiroko Koshino also taking part.

(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Marta Kauffman, who co-created the comedy for NBC about six 20-something singles living in New York, said a reunion was never going to happen despite multiple requests over the years to bring them back together.

"I'm going to clear this up right now. No! Not happening," Kauffman told entertainment outlet E! News when asked about the rumors at a red carpet event on Tuesday.

Kauffman also ruled out a reunion of the show's characters on the big or small screen. "'Friends' was about that time in your life when your friends are your family and once you have a family, there's no need anymore," she said.

"I'd rather people go 'Oh Please, Please!' Than 'Oh, I can't believe you did that. It was horrible'," she told E! News.

"Friends," starring Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer began in 1994 and quickly became a world-wide hit. Some 51.1 million Americans alone tuned in for the May 2004 series finale to see Ross end up with Rachel following the earlier marriages of Monica and Chandler, and Phoebe and Mike.

Re-runs of the 10 "Friends" seasons are still in syndication around the world, and rumors of a possible reunion episode set for November 2014 spread like wild fire across the Internet earlier this week.

Movie studio Warner Bros, whose TV unit produced "Friends," said there were no plans for a "Friends" movie.

All six of the "Friends" actors - now in their mid 40s - have gone on to other projects in television and film, both behind and in front of the camera.

NBC is unit of Comcast Corp, and Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant)

Humans are increasingly exposed toin their daily lives, but little is known about how these lifelike machines influence human emotions.

Feeling bad for bots

In two new studies, researchers sought to measure how people responded to robots on an emotional and neurological level. In the first study, volunteers were shownbeing treated affectionately or violently. In the affectionate video, humans hugged and tickled the robot, and in the violent video, they hit or dropped him. []

Scientists assessed people's levels of physiological excitation after watching the videos by recording their skin conductance, a measure of how well the skin conducts electricity. When a person is experiencing strong emotions, they sweat more, increasing skin conductance.

The volunteers reported feeling more negative emotions while watching the robot being abused. Meanwhile, the volunteers' skin conductance levels increased, showing they were more distressed.

In the second study, researchers use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to visualize brain activity in the participants as they watched videos of humans and robots interacting. Again, participants were shown videos of a human, a robot, and, this time, an inanimate object being treated with affection or abuse.

In one video, for example, a man appears to beat up a woman, strangle her with a string and attempt to suffocate her with a plastic bag. In another, a person does the same things to the robot dinosaur.

Affectionate treatment of the robot and the human led to similar patterns of neural activity in regions in the brain's , where emotions are processed, fMRI scans showed. But the watchers' brains lit up more while seeing abusive treatment of the human than abuse of the robot, suggesting greater empathy for the human.

"We think that, in general, the robot stimuli elicit the same emotional processing as the human stimuli," said lead study author Astrid Rosenthal-von der Ptten of the University of Duisburg Essen, in Germany. Rosenthal-von der Ptten suspects that people still have greater empathy for humans than robots, as evidenced by the stronger effect of watching violence toward the human than the robot.

Still, the study only assessed people's immediate reactions to the emotional cues, Rosenthal-von der Ptten said. "We don't know what happens after the short term," she said.

Human-robot interactions

That humans would show empathy for the robot is not surprising, because the bot looked and behaved like an animal, roboticist Alexander Reben, founder of the company BlabDroid, LLC and a research affiliate at MIT, told LiveScience. Reben, who was not involved in the recent study, himself builds small cardboard robots that tap into the human affinity for cute creatures.

Some people find the idea of humans empathizing with robots concerning. But Reben compared trends in robot development with breeding dogs for companionship. "We have been doing this for millennia," he said. "I think we're doing the same thing with robots."

Humans have been known to show empathy for robots in a variety of contexts. For instance,on the battlefield. Other research suggests that humans feel more empathy for , but not if they're too humanlike.

As robots become more and more ubiquitous, understandingwill take on increasing importance, Rosenthal-von der Ptten said.

The new research will be presented in June at the International Communication Association Conference in London.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Four in ten new parents start feeding their babies solid foods before their four-month birthday, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Physician groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommend against parents introducing solid foods until infants are about six months old.

In part, that's because early solids have been tied to obesity and other chronic conditions and because public health experts agree it's best if mothers can breastfeed exclusively for six months.

"Introducing solid foods early means that the baby gets less breast milk over the course of their infancy, and that decreases the ability to get optimal benefits, like protection against infection," said Dr. Alice Kuo, from the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities.

Kuo, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health there's been less research on when babies are developmentally ready to chew and swallow solid foods without choking - another important consideration.

"Infants should be able to sit up (and) take food off the spoon," said the CDC's Kelley Scanlon, who worked on the research.

"Sometimes if they're not ready, if they get presented with the food, they might not open their mouth or they might spit it back up."

Her team's research included 1,334 new moms who filled out questionnaires each month about what their baby had eaten in the past week. The surveys were conducted between 2005 and 2007, when AAP recommendations called for starting solid foods no earlier than four months of age.

Just over 40 percent of parents reported their babies were eating solids, such as cereals and purees, before that point.

Those parents said they thought their babies were old enough to eat solid foods, infants seemed hungry or - in the case of more than half of early solid feeders - doctors or nurses had recommended they start introducing those foods.

"There's not clear communication of the recommendations or the potential health impacts of early introduction," Scanlon told Reuters Health.

Nine percent of early introducers gave their baby solid food before one month, according to findings published Monday in Pediatrics.

Women who reported exclusive breastfeeding during their baby's first couple of months were less likely to introduce solid foods earlier than recommended compared to formula-feeding mothers, the CDC researchers found.

Kuo said the new findings are further evidence that pediatricians should tailor their messages about breastfeeding and solid foods to each particular parent and child - rather than always giving "the same spiel" about introducing solids at the four-month visit.

"The decision to start solid foods in babies has to be a compromise between what makes sense for the baby and what makes sense for the mom, who most likely is working," she said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/YzHFtC Pediatrics, online March 25, 2013.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Grindstone Pictures has picked up the rights to "Christ Recrucified," a 1948 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis ("The Last Temptation of Christ," "Zorba the Greek"), the company announced on Monday.

Grindstone CEO Vincent Miller ("Gabriela") will produce the big-screen adaptation of the novel about a Greek village's attempt to stage a traditional and intense Passion Play - a task so difficult, it is only done once every seven years. The movie, however, will take place in Mexico and will be retitled, "Christ Is Risen."

Manolios, the small town's resident rebel, is cast as God's son even though he hasn't stepped foot in a church for years. Against the expectations of town leaders, he renews his faith and, in the face of horrific events, inspires others to find redemption through rebellion, becoming less of a savior and more of a destroyer in the eyes of those who picked him to play the part.

Gil J. Botello and Vincent Baksanski are attached to write the script.

The announcement follows the astonishing ratings success of "The Bible," a Mark Burnett-produced miniseries airing on the History Channel. Grindstone hopes to market the film to the same faith-based audience, while also attracting the same broader group of adults that have made seven of nine 2013 Best Picture Oscar nominees accumulate over $100 million at the domestic box office.

"The film is being targeted to the adult drama' audience that is drawn to such mainstream but profound films as Argo' Lincoln' and A Beautiful Mind,'" Miller said in a statement.

Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which was as controversial as it was successful when released in 2004, grossed $611,899,420 worldwide.

Blood Testing for Harrington's Former Patients

In aprovided by the Tulsa Health Department on Tuesday, it was reported that more than 2,500 people have received free blood testing through that county's agencies, nearly 60 more through the Oklahoma City-County Health Department and nearly 600 others through 30 other various county health departments, bringing the.

Situation updates yesterday by both the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Tulsa Health Department revealed that of the total tested thus far, 57 people have tested positively for hepatitis C, three have tested positively for hepatitis B, and at least one person has tested positively for HIV -- all conditions that are blood-borne.

Confidential, personal notifications have begun to be made to those who tested positive and further investigation into the origins of the positive test results will begin, as is routine for any positive results of such testing, explained, director of the Tulsa Health Department.explained that questions and investigations will help to determine whether the positive tests were as a result of exposure through Harrington's actions or another method and the public will be updated as further information is available.

Dentist Waives Hearing

Harrington, the dentist whose practices are at the center of this public health dilemma, was scheduled for a hearing Friday with the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry for possible suspension of his dental license. Through his attorney, Harrington notified the board that he waived today's hearing, reported, and is now scheduled for an Aug. 16 hearing for possible revocation of his license.

Harrington voluntarily surrendered his credentials to officials March 20, and both his Tulsa and Owasso offices are closed.

Free Blood Testing Continues

For current and former patients living in the Tulsa area, free blood testing continues to be offered at the North Regional Health and Wellness Center. While walk-ins are taken, it is advised to call the Center at 918-595-4380 to schedule an appointment for testing to minimize wait time.

Current and former patients of Harrington living elsewhere in the state should contact their local county health department for testing availability.

A Patient Information hotline, 918-595-4500, is available for questions or concerns. Both English- and Spanish-speaking representatives are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m.

Bottom Line

It is too early in the blood testing process to determine how many, if any, of the people who have tested positive for blood-borne diseases acquired them through unsanitary dental practices or were exposed in another way. In the meantime, current and former patients of Harrington should continue to avail themselves of the free blood testing.