Their calculations showed that small waves of air in repeated fast pulses could steer a carpet at a speed of around one foot per second.

If scientists were to detect a 600-foot-wide asteroid ten years in advance, Yeomans says, it could be deflected with a two-ton projectile traveling six miles per second.

Second quarter 2014 ending inventory at cost per foot is expected to decline in the mid teens, or mid single-digits excluding the change in ownership terms.