r rejecting a loan offer made last year. Then, leaders expressed concern about piling up too much foreign debt. Abdul-Aziz said last year's decision by the ruling military council to reject the loan was premature. "From a political perspective, they were aiming not to be squeezed by a foreign loan, but it was a political decision, not an economic decision," he said. The IMF delegation's three-day visit to Cairo is headed by regional director Masoud Ahmed, who will meet Tuesday with lawmakers to go over the government's economic program and discuss the terms of the loan. Along with meeting Muslim Brotherhood leaders on Monday, Ahmed also had talks with Central Bank of Egypt and Cabinet officials,http://www.honkcity.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=346782. A technical team from the IMF will visit Egypt next week as a follow-up to this week's discussions, according to IMF spokeswoman Wafa Amr. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
NEW YORK (AP) Groupon is launching an online scheduling tool so small businesses can let customers book appointments more easily. The tool launching Monday lets Groupon users book appointments for massages, haircuts, guided tours and other services they purchase deals for. Businesses can also use it to book appointments that are not sold through Groupon Inc. The Chicago-based online deals company says it is offering the scheduler free of charge to businesses that use Groupon. It will also be free for merchants that sign up in the next three months,toms the shoes, even if they haven't offered any Groupon deals. The company didn't say how much the service will cost later. Restaurants and hotels aren't eligible. Groupon said they usually have their own scheduling systems in place and the tool, called Groupon Scheduler,toms shoes coupon, doesn't support these types of businesses right now. The move is part of Groupon's long-term push to offer services and tools that would encourage small businesses to run more deals through the company. The tool is based on technology from a Canadian company it bought last fall, OpenCal. Groupon users will be able to book appointments when they buy a Groupon,http://bbs.kid8.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1314985, or wait till later. They can also change or cancel appointments online. Users can also continue to schedule with the merchant directly. The tool will let merchants track their customers,http://bbs.goldenwing.net/showtopic-82290.aspx, including what other appointments they have made and how much they spend during each visit,cheap toms. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Pre