relatively recent nature of its rise.Just a decade ago

the tightening race, Obama still benefits from an improved economic outlook in Michigan.The poll found 58% of likely voters say Michigan's economy has bottomed out and is starting to improve. That's up from 49% in January and 39% in November.Though Obama's favorable rating dipped to 50% Swiss Replica Watches from 52% in January, his job approval rating inched up to 44% from 43%.Romney, who is looking increasingly likely to be the GOP nominee in November, had a 41% favorable rating. That's up from 39% in both January and November.Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is benefiting from the improved economy even more than Obama. Voters gave Snyder a 48% favorable rating, up from 46% in January and 39% in November."People are seeing that reinvention is taking place in a positive way," Swiss Watch said Snyder spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher.In the U.S. Senate race, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Lansing Democrat, had a 45% favorable rating, down from 52% in January and 47% in November.Former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Holland, who leads the GOP race to challenge Stabenow, had a 28% favorable rating. That compares with 29% in January and 26% in November.Of the poll respondents, 38% described themselves as Democrats and 37% as RepublicansFacebook took steps Monday to bolster its mobile strategy, acquiring popular photo-sharing application Instagram for about $1 billion Swiss A Lange & Sohne in cash and stock.The purchase, the social network's largest and the most expensive by far for a smart-phone app, gives Facebook a company that's adept at producing mobile apps as well as a passionate community of more than 30 million users. It also neutralizes a potential competitive threat from the San Francisco startup, whose 28-year-old co-founder has talked about building a large global business. The move comes on the eve of an expected initial public offering Swiss Jaeger LeCoultre from Facebook that could value the Menlo Park company at $100 billion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that the deal was unusual for a company that traditionally has bought startups primarily for their engineering talent. The price tag makes it one of the priciest startup acquisitions ever, in the same league as Google's purchase of YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006.The acquisition came before Instagram began generating any significant revenue. While it planned to eventually include some form of advertising inside the app, the company had yet to implement Swiss Watches Panerai any.That didn't stop Instagram from closing a new $50 million round of funding just last week that valued the company at $500 million, according to tech websites All Things D and TechCrunch."This is an important milestone for Facebook because it's the first time we've ever acquired a product and company with so many users," Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. "We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all."Instagram proved irresistible to the social-networking giant because of its shared interest in top-notch photo-sharing experiences, Zuckerberg said Replica Swiss Watches Panerai . Facebook users upload 250 million pictures to the site a day, and the function is seen as a crucial tool for retaining a large audience on mobile devices. "This is a step forward for Facebook," said Ray Valdes, an analyst at Gartner, a market-research firm. "They're moving into becoming a Web conglomerate like Google."Facebook's smart phone and tablet apps, while widely