Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193557032?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Starbucks to open 50 stores in India this year
MUMBAI, India?? Starbucks aims to open 50 outlets in India by year's end, through a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, the companies said Monday.
Tata Starbucks Ltd., as their venture is known, hopes to capitalize on the rising aspirations ? and fattening wallets ? of many Indians, who are eager to partake of the global latte life.
"What we are seeing is an evolution in lifestyles," said R.K. Krishnakumar, vice chairman of Tata Global Beverages. "In some ways the distinctions between the developed world and the developing world are blurring."
He said the partners would initially invest 4 billion rupees ($80 million), with the first outlet to open in Mumbai or New Delhi by September.
Long known as a nation of tea drinkers ? despite a rich tradition of coffee in the south ? India has embraced coffee house culture with a vengeance.
Last year, India had 1,600 cafes, up from just 700 in 2007, according to Technopak Advisors, which expects India's $170 million cafe market to grow 30 percent a year, adding up to 2,700 more outlets over the next five years.
"We're going to move as fast as possible in opening as many stores as we can so long as we are successful and so long as we are embraced by the Indian consumers," said John Culver, president of Starbucks China and Asia Pacific.
Unusually, the stores will be cobranded "Starbucks Coffee: A Tata Alliance."
The companies will also develop a tea for the Indian market under the Tata Tazo brand.
Last January, Starbucks signed an agreement with Tata Coffee, a unit of Tata Global Beverages, to source and roast coffee beans in India.
The alliance with Tata could help ease one of the main burdens for retailers in India: the high cost of real estate.
Krishnakumar said the joint venture would open outlets at properties owned by group companies, for example at the Taj chain of luxury hotels.
Culver said the company would also look at opening outlets in shopping malls, office parks, universities, airports and train stations.
The alliance will also help Tata Global Beverages expand its international footprint. All coffee beans for the cafes in India will be sourced from Tata Coffee, which also hopes to ramp up exports to regional Starbucks outlets, Krishnakumar said. He said other Tata Beverage brands, like Himalayan water, should also find their way into Starbucks outlets globally.
Culver said Starbucks did not consider trying to go it alone in India, despite the government's recent decision to allow foreign companies to operate single-brand retail outlets without a local partner. A storm of populist fury forced New Delhi to pull back a parallel proposal that would have allowed multi-brand retailers, like Wal-Mart, to open retail outlets with local partners.
"We never considered 51 percent," Culver said. "When we looked at the opportunity to enter India, understanding the complexities of the market and the uniqueness that is India, we wanted to find a local business partner."
Starbucks currently operates over 17,000 stores in 57 countries.
Its India venture will face competition from existing players like Cafe Coffee Day, which dominates the market.
Technopak founder Arvind Singhal said India's flourishing cafe culture has less to do with coffee than a social need for clean, safe gathering places for young and old alike, who often live in cramped quarters.
"India doesn't have too many places for people of any age to just go out," he said. "It's not about a coffee culture. It's a gathering place where people can sit and meet."
He added that Starbucks' entry, however much delayed, is likely to fan competition and speed the proliferation of coffee shops. It could also help boost flagging investor confidence in India. "It's almost like an endorsement that India's still a good story," he said.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46191868/ns/business-world_business/
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Neeson's "Grey" wins box office weekend (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Survival story "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson in a battle against weather and wolves led the box office pack with a better-than-expected $20 million in ticket sales over the weekend.
"The Grey" knocked last weekend's winner, "Underworld: Awakening," to second place. The vampire and werewolf sequel starring Kate Beckinsale brought in $12.5 million from Friday through Sunday at domestic theaters, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.
In "The Grey," Neeson returns to an action role as a man who leads a team of plane crash survivors who must fight harsh weather and a fierce pack of wolves in the Alaskan wilderness.
The movie played at 3,185 North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters and earned a per-theater average of $6,279, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.
Distributor Open Road Films acquired the film for about $5 million and had projected up to $12 million in debut weekend sales. The film beat that forecast because "it doesn't look like every other movie out there. In a crowded marketplace, I think it's important to be distinctive," said Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg.
Katherine Heigl's new comedy, "One for the Money," finished in third place with $11.8 million, topping industry forecasts of less than $10 million for the film, which is based on a best-selling book by Janet Evanovich. Distributor Lions Gate Entertainment said readers who loved the book helped the movie beat expectations.
"We think the audience that showed up are not frequent moviegoers. They're just huge fans of Janet Evanovich," said David Spitz, head of domestic distribution for Lions Gate.
In the film, Heigl plays a cash-strapped woman who joins a bail-bond business and must track down a wanted man who happens to be an ex-boyfriend. Audiences surveyed by exit polling firm CinemaScore game the movie a B-minus on average.
OSCAR BOOST
The weekend's other new movie, crime drama "Man on a Ledge," landed in fifth place. The film was distributed by Lions Gate's newly acquired Summit Entertainment unit as release dates and marketing plans were set well before the studios combined earlier this month.
"Man on a Ledge" took in $8.3 million, within studio forecasts. The movie features "Avatar" star Sam Worthington as a fugitive who threatens to jump from a hotel ledge.
"Red Tails," a drama about black fighter pilots in World War Two, brought in $10.4 million to land in fourth place in its second weekend in theaters.
Also this weekend, a crop of films capitalized off last week's Oscar nominations.
"The Descendants," starring George Clooney as a father dealing with a family crisis, expanded to 2,001 theaters from 560 and gained 176 percent from last weekend. The movie took in $6.6 million, lifting its domestic tally to $58.5 million since its release last November. The movie has added $27 million in international markets for a worldwide total of $85.5 million.
Black-and-white silent film "The Artist" increased its weekend sales by 40 percent from a week earlier, bringing in $3.3 million after adding 235 more screens. To date, the film has grossed $16.7 million domestically.
Family film "Hugo," which led the Oscar nominations with 11, also jumped 143 percent to $2.3 million. Its total sales to date stand at $58.7 million domestically.
Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc, released "The Grey." The film unit of Sony Corp distributed "Underworld: Awakening." "Red Tails" and "The Descendants" were released by divisions of News Corp's Fox Filmed Entertainment. Privately-held The Weinstein Co released "The Artist," and Viacom Inc unit Paramount Pictures distributed "Hugo."
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Xavier Briand and Bill Trott)
(This story corrects spelling of Ortenberg in paragraph 5)
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Azarenka routs Sharapova to win Australian title (AP)
MELBOURNE, Australia ? Victoria Azarenka started celebrating, then suddenly did a double-take to ask her coach, "What happened?"
The answer: She had just produced one of the most lopsided Australian Open final victories to capture a Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking for the first time.
Azarenka routed three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in 1 hour, 22 minutes on Saturday night, winning 12 of the last 13 games after dropping her first service game and falling behind 2-0.
"It's a dream come true," she said. "I have been dreaming and working so hard to win the Grand Slam, and being No. 1 is pretty good bonus. Just the perfect ending and the perfect position to be in."
Azarenka had won 11 straight matches, including a run to the Sydney International title, and reached her first Grand Slam final. Her previous best performance at a major was a semifinal loss to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year. Sharapova had all the experience, being in her sixth major final and having won three ? dating to her 2004 Wimbledon title.
But it didn't unnerve the 22-year-old Azarenka, the first woman from Belarus to win a singles major. She's also the seventh different woman to win a Grand Slam since Francesca Schiavone won the 2010 French Open, and the fifth different winner in as many majors.
Azarenka became only the third woman to earn the No. 1 spot after winning her first major title. She moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the rankings, helped by Caroline Wozniacki's loss in the quarterfinals.
The third-seeded Azarenka set up championship point with a stunning forehand, her 14th clean winner, and sealed it when Sharapova netted a backhand.
She dropped to her knees at the baseline with her hands over her face. She got up, held her hands up and jogged over to her coach, Sam Sumyk, in the stands to celebrate.
"The best feeling, for sure," Azarenka said. "I don't know about the game. I don't know what I was doing out there. It's just pure joy what happened. I can't believe it's over."
And she paid special credit to her grandmother, "the person who inspires me the most in my life."
Azarenka has been a distinctive presence at Melbourne Park as much for her shrieks and hoots with each shot and seemingly boundless energy as for her white shorts, blue singlet and lime green head and wrist bands.
Against Sharapova, she maintained the frenetic movement that has been the hallmark of her performance in Australia, her 25th consecutive major. She won the Sydney International title last weekend and is on a 12-match winning streak ? the first player since 2004 to win a WTA tour event the week before winning a major.
"She did everything better than I did today. I had a good first couple of games, and that was about it," Sharapova said. "Then she was the one that was taking the first ball and hitting it deep and aggressive. I was always the one running around like a rabbit, you know, trying to play catch-up all the time."
Sharapova also won only three games in a 2007 final loss to Serena Williams, who also conceded only three games in the 2009 final against Dinara Safina.
When Sharapova won the first two games, there was no indication of how lopsided the match would be. Azarenka took control after holding for the first time, breaking Sharapova at love and then holding again on a three-game roll.
Sharapova held, finishing off with an ace, to level the score at 3-3 in the first set but then didn't win another game.
Azarenka started dictating the points, coming to the net at times, hitting winners from the baseline and forcing the 24-year-old Russian to the extremes on both sides of the court. Sharapova seemed barely able to move by comparison, and had 30 unforced errors in the match.
The second set was completely lopsided and lasted only 36 minutes, with Sharapova winning only 12 points.
"As in any sport, you have your good days, you have your tough days and you have days where things just don't work out," said Sharapova, who has now been on the losing end of two of the most lopsided scorelines in a final at Melbourne Park.
In the men's doubles final, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied Bob and Mike Bryan their record 12th Grand Slam title, beating the American twins 7-6 (1), 6-2.
The 33-year-old Bryans were attempting to secure their place as the most decorated doubles team since the Open Era began in 1968. They remain tied at 11 major titles with Australian duo Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.
On Sunday, defending champion Novak Djokovic takes on Rafael Nadal in a men's singles final featuring the top two players in the rankings. Djokovic won three of the four majors last year and beat Nadal in six finals in 2011 among his 70 match wins for the season.
Azarenka had her best season in 2011, winning 55 of 72 matches to finish the year at No. 3.
There was a time when she'd momentarily flirted with the idea of quitting the sport during a quick trip home to Minsk after a loss at Doha. But she was quickly set straight by her family, including her grandmother, who had reportedly worked three jobs until the age of 71.
She couldn't get through to her family immediately "because my phone is freaking out right now," but she texted them from the court.
"I made a pretty smart decision, not walking out, right? That was pretty special," she said. "There's always ups and downs, now I'm up."
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Video: Costa Concordia passengers offered $14k
The company that owns the Costa Concordia is offering $14,000 to cover the cost of cruise tickets and travel expenses but many passengers have declined the deal. NBC?s Brian Williams reports.
>>> the company that owns the costa concordia is looking to cut a deal with passengers who were forced to abandon ship before it capsized off the coast of italy, looking to lessen the wave of class action lawsuits that are likely headed its way, the company is offering passengers a $14,000 settlement rye now, in addition to a refund plus travel expenses . as you can imagine, a lot of passengers decided to take a pass on accepting the deal.
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46169831/
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
J.Lo gripes at 'Idol' judges: Your hearing is bad!
Michael Becker / Fox
Judges Steven Tyler, J.Lo and Randy Jackson weren't on the same page for the first time this season on Thursday, and Lopez wasn't shy about hiding her frustration.
By Craig Berman
RECAP
?American Idol? took its show on the road to Texas for Thursday?s episode, by way of the International Space Station.
Sadly, the astronaut in charge of kicking off the show gave a conventional introduction and didn?t go with a riff on ?Star Trek.? After all, he could have said: ?Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the 'Idol' auditions. ?Its four-week mission: to explore strange new cities, to seek out new talent and folks who got cut in previous years, to boldly go where every ?Idol? season has gone before.?
That would have been fitting for an episode that was in turns both nostalgic and wacky. It was as filled with clich?s as any ?Star Trek? episode, complete with the egotistical folks on the bridge.
Yes, it?s true. The bickering judges were back! Finally!
After two weeks of constant 3-0 votes, we finally had an incredulous J.Lo find herself on the wrong end of a series of 2-1 decisions. She was the only supporter of Rachael Turner, Reagan Wilson and Cheyenne James, but somehow resisted the urge that all viewers felt to reach through the screen and whack Randy Jackson in the head for mocking her. But she was able to get in a dig after James sang. "If I had two people who were hearing correctly right now, they would have said yes and then we would be putting you through to Hollywood and you might make it very very far," J.Lo told the hopeful.
Then she was the only no vote for Linda Williams, a contestant notable mostly because she said she was going to pee on herself.??
?They?re sending the good singers home and they?re letting the bad singers through,??Lopez griped (accurately).
After everyone?s hair and makeup were refreshed, J.Lo said, ?I don?t wanna fight.?
Steven Tyler answered, ?Then say you?re sorry."
Here?s a tip: That never works to end an argument with a beautiful woman, as my wife could tell you because I've tried that line on her many, many times with no success.
We also got some old-school, really terrible singers. Phong Vu, for example, is a worthy heir to season three?s William Hung. He didn?t make it to Hollywood, but should contact Hung?s agent and see if he can get the same record deal that Hung got. Isn?t it about time for a new cover of ?She Bangs??
And Alejandro Cazares, who implored the judges to ?grant me the power to bring revolution to the world.? Please. They don?t have the authority to drink anything that?s not in a Coke cup. Do?you think they have the power to create a revolution?
Even the successful auditioners looked familiar. In the case of Baylie Brown, it?s because she was one of the early stars of season six as a 16-year old and made it to the group round, where one of her teammates was Antonella Barba. It doesn?t sound like she had fond memories of that, but five years later she?s back for another shot and Barba?s remembered as the girl who had risqu? pictures show up on the Internet. So maybe that was a blessing in disguise for Brown.
Skylar Laine could be this year?s Kellie Pickler. She?s the country girl who offroads and hunts deer and would be equally wacky if asked to eat sushi with Wolfgang Puck for a sketch during the finale like Pickler did. She was charming enough in her introduction to the ?Idol? voters, and could last a long time.
Then there were the traditional hard-luck cases. Kristine Osorio was the mom who bought a plane ticket to the auditions instead of paying her divorce lawyer -- good luck with that court case now. Cortez Shaw was homeless for a couple of years but sang really well and made Adele?s ?Someone Like You? into something that didn?t cause the judges to cringe.
And like every other episode, ?Idol? ended with a tearjerker. Ramiro Garcia, a worship leader whose parents were told he?d never be able to hear or speak when he was a baby, sang ?Amazing Grace? and earned a place in the next round.
Let?s just say that was a showstopper that any astronaut could have seen coming from outer space.
Was J.Lo right that Steven and Randy were sending the good singers home? Tell us what you think on our Facebook page!
Want more "Idol" during "Idol"? Follow @CraigBerman as he live tweets each show!
Related content:
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Fort Hood shooting suspect seeks to delay trial (AP)
FORT HOOD, Texas ? Defense attorneys for the Army psychiatrist charged in the Fort Hood shooting rampage want to delay his March murder trial.
A military judge set a hearing next week to consider Maj. Nidal Hasan's (nih-DAHL' hah-SAHN') request to delay the trial.
It's unclear why defense attorneys want more time or if they're proposing a new date. The high-profile military trial is expected to last about two months at Fort Hood.
Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He faces the death penalty or life without parole if convicted in the November 2009 shooting spree on the Texas Army post.
The 41-year-old Hasan remains jailed. He was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police that day.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Travel photo of the day: A golden dragon for the New Year
Peter Parks / AFP - Getty Images
Thousands of people visit a lantern festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Dragon in Shanghai on January 23, 2012. The Lunar New Year begins on January 23 and is the beginning of the Spring Festival holiday.
Monday marked the start of the Chinese New Year, which is celebrated by millions around the world. The festivities involved in the two-week long celebration make for some great photography opportunities. From dragons to lanterns to fireworks, the Chinese New Year brings not only good luck, but also stunning images. Take a look at the below slideshow for just a few examples.
You don't have to live in Asia to take part in the festivities, either. Here is a list of cities where you can celebrate in the U.S.
If you take photos of a Chinese New Year celebration, or just have photos of destinations you'd like to share, click here to submit them.
You can also join our It's a Snap Facebook community and share your photos with others by clicking here.
Peter Parks / AFP - Getty Images
Millions around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, which began on Jan. 23 and welcomes the year of the dragon.
More photos:
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Potter star looks to life without wands or wizards (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? For Daniel Radcliffe, it's time to forget Harry Potter. The 22-year-old actor, inextricably linked to the boy wizard he played throughout the movie franchise, takes on his first adult role in Victorian-era horror film "The Woman in Black."
Hitting theatres in Britain on February 10 and a week earlier in the United States, the movie is a step into the unknown for an actor who grew up on the set of one of Hollywood's most successful series.
Instead of production budgets of $250 million or more, The Woman in Black cost an estimated $17 million to make. And however big Radcliffe's fan base around the world, another billion-dollar box office looks out of the question.
James Watkins, who directed The Woman In Black, called it a "reinvention" for Radcliffe.
"I think it's the start of that, absolutely," Radcliffe told Reuters in an interview ahead of Tuesday's red carpet world premiere of the new movie.
One of the attractions of playing Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer and father mourning the death of his wife, was the obvious break with what went before.
"People haven't seen me looking like this before. People haven't seen me playing a father -- all those things are going to help separate it in their mind," Radcliffe said.
"But I think ultimately the thing that will help that reinvention is the fact that the story is so good. I think people will very quickly forget that they're watching Harry Potter."
CREEPY MANSION
In The Woman in Black, Kipps is forced to leave his three-year-old son and travel to a remote village on the east coast of England to look into the legal affairs of the recently deceased owner of Eel Marsh House, a creepy mansion cut off from the mainland when the tide rises.
He discovers a dark family secret that helps explain the appearance of a mysterious, ghost-like woman dressed in black who beckons children to an early grave.
The film is based on a novel by Susan Hill that was adapted into a successful West End play, still running in London.
Jane Goldman, who co-wrote the scripts for "Kick-Ass" and "The Debt," was brought in to translate the page to the big screen, and horror specialist Watkins directed.
Radcliffe said he did not think too hard about trying to be different from his Harry Potter character when he worked on the set of The Woman in Black and was pleased with the results.
"I think my work in this is certainly on a par with the work I did on the last Potter which I was very, very proud of."
He will soon discover if critics agree. Throughout the Harry Potter series Radcliffe earned mixed reviews, although any negative comments did nothing to deter record audiences.
And his two main stage roles -- "Equus" in 2007 and "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" in 2011 were generally well-received, particularly Equus.
Looking ahead, Radcliffe said proving he was not a one-part wonder would take time.
"It's a long road. It's not going to be one film and suddenly you're off. It's going to be a combination."
That combination will involve both stage and screen.
"In an ideal world I would like to mix them as much as possible. In March I'm filming a movie called 'Kill Your Darlings' in which I'll be playing a 19-year-old Allen Ginsberg.
"That's the next thing on the plate and after that we'll see."
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Closing arguments set in lawsuit by Garth Brooks
Country singer Garth Brooks leaves a courtroom during a civil trial at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Brooks says an Oklahoma hospital pledged to name a women's center for his late mother in return for $500,000, but a deposition unveiled Monday showed that, after filing a lawsuit, the country singer couldn't remember what he had been promised. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Matt Barnard)
Country singer Garth Brooks leaves a courtroom during a civil trial at the Rogers County Courthouse in Claremore, Okla. on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Brooks says an Oklahoma hospital pledged to name a women's center for his late mother in return for $500,000, but a deposition unveiled Monday showed that, after filing a lawsuit, the country singer couldn't remember what he had been promised. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Matt Barnard)
CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) ? Closing arguments have been scheduled in country music star Garth Brooks' lawsuit against an Oklahoma hospital he claims reneged on a pledge to name a women's center after his late mother in return for a $500,000 donation.
Both sides rested their cases Monday after Brooks concluded his testimony and two defense witnesses took the stand briefly.
Rogers County District Judge Dynda Post set closing arguments for Tuesday morning and told jurors they should expect to stay late to resolve the case.
Brooks filed the lawsuit against Integris (in-TEHG-rihs) Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in 2009, seeking a return of the donation. Colleen Brooks died of cancer in 1999.
The hospital has said the donation was an "unconditional" gift and it did nothing wrong when it didn't name the facility after her.
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Analysts: New software won't save Blackberry maker (AP)
NEW YORK ? In the trend-setting North American market, BlackBerry phones have gone from must-have messaging toys to outdated clunkers _all in the space of a few years. The new CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., the company behind the phones, says it can claw its way back to the top with new software, but analysts are deeply doubtful.
The two co-CEOs of the Canadian company resigned Sunday. The new CEO is Thorsten Heins, who was the company's chief operating officer.
Even though the company is in deep trouble and has seen its stock price fall 89 percent from the all-time high it hit in 2008, Heins said Monday that his appointment means "no seismic change" for the company. He's confident in the course laid out by his predecessors, which hinges on the software revamp.
The new software is called BlackBerry 10, and it's due in new smartphones late this year. For BlackBerry fans, it should be a welcome upgrade. It's based on QNX, an industrial-grade operating system that runs devices that need to be very reliable, like core Internet routers and anesthesia monitoring devices.
That means it's a stable platform that can give BlackBerrys a new look and new capabilities. BlackBerry 10 will have a completely new user interface, built from the ground up for touchscreen input and "very fluid," Heins said in an interview.
But it amounts to BlackBerry tossing out its own quirky, outdated software, first introduced in 1999, and adopting a slick, touch-oriented operating system, much like Android, Google Inc.'s popular smartphone software, and the software on the iPhone.
Heins said BlackBerry 10 is "extremely competitive" and insisted that RIM is "not in a catch-up race" with the makers other mobile operating systems. He emphasizes that BlackBerry 10 will offer "multitasking," or the ability to run several applications at the same time. This is something Google Inc.'s Android software and the iPhone operating system offer in a limited fashion.
Phone software developers generally stay away from full multitasking because it can shorten battery life considerably. Improved multitasking was one of the hallmarks of Palm Inc.'s webOS when it launched in 2009, but that didn't save it from obscurity.
One thing that could entice buyers: the new software will expand the choice of applications greatly, by running ones written for Android. There are hundreds of thousands of such apps, but it's unclear how many of them will run on BlackBerry 10 without modification.
The PlayBook, RIM's tablet computer, already runs an early version of BlackBerry 10. RIM had huge hopes for the device when it put it on sale in April, but quickly had to slash the price. In December, the tablets that originally cost $500 were selling for $200, below the cost of making them. RIM wrote off $485 million worth of inventory.
The PlayBook also illustrates the big challenge RIM is facing switching operating systems. It launched without an email program, apparently because it's very difficult to get QNX to work with the RIM servers that shunt emails around.
Application developers will also have to relearn their tools to write programs for BlackBerry 10, which could prove a big hurdle.
"The platform risks suffering from the same chicken and egg problem as many others_ users won't buy a device without any apps, and developers won't develop for a platform without any users," said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Ovum.
But the main problem analysts see with BlackBerry 10 is that the phones are set to come out so late. They were originally slated for early this year, but pushed to late this year. The company said that was because the right chips weren't available. When they come out, it will be more than five years since Apple released the first iPhone and set a new standard for phone software.
And even if BlackBerry 10 makes the phones more competitive, that doesn't mean it can reverse RIM's fortunes. Analyst Tavis McCourt noted that the history of phone makers who fall on hard times and try to turn things around is not encouraging.
"In fact, it is hard to think of a single successful case in the smartphone era," he wrote.
___
Associated Press writer Robert Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Altitude sickness causes Tracy Morgan Sundance collapse (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? "30 Rock" actor Tracy Morgan collapsed at the Sundance film festival over the weekend and is being treated for exhaustion and altitude sickness, his publicist said on Monday.
Spokesman Lewis Kay said initial reports that Morgan was drunk were untrue.
"From a combination of exhaustion and altitude, Tracy is seeking medical attention. He is with his fianc? and grateful to the Park City Medical Center for their care. Any reports of Tracy consuming alcohol are 100% false," Kay said in a statement.
Morgan, 43, was taken to the hospital in Park City, Utah, on Sunday while attending a charity event during the annual Sundance film festival in the ski resort.
The actor's new comedy "Predisposed" is one of the dozens of films at the festival, which champions independent movies.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/tv_nm/us_tracymorgan
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Junk food in schools gets weighty reprieve
On-site sale of sugary snacks may not feed obesity
Web edition : 5:05 pm
Controversial sales of candy, soda and other junk food in middle schools don?t weigh heavily on students? waistlines. This surprising finding ? based on a study that followed almost 20,000 kids through middle school ? suggests that obesity prevention programs should target children in their homes and communities during the preschool years, when eating habits form, researchers say.
Some scientists who study childhood obesity caution that the new investigation may underestimate a tendency for students to gain weight in middle schools that offer high-calorie alternatives to standard lunches.
Boys and girls, kids from rich families and poor ones, and students of different races displayed no greater tendency to get heavier or to become obese in middle schools stocked with sugary and fatty goodies, as opposed to schools free of junk food, say sociologists Jennifer Van Hook and Claire Altman, both of Pennsylvania State University in University Park.
Their report appears in the January Sociology of Education.
?Children may face greater risks for obesity at home than at school, even if their schools sell junk food,? Van Hook says.
Kids? eating patterns may take root well before middle school, she proposes. Also, middle school students? structured schedules may leave little opportunity to scarf junk food during the day.
The researchers? findings don?t exclude the possibility that some individuals find ways to eat enough junk food at school to gain weight, Van Hook adds.
She and Altman analyzed height and weight data for a nationally representative sample of 19,450 children who were fifth-graders from 2003 to 2004 and eighth-graders from 2006 to 2007, attending both grades in the same county. School principals provided information about foods available for purchase at their schools.
But principals usually don?t know what foods are available in their own schools? vending machines and lunch lines, raising doubts about the new study?s accuracy, says nutrition scientist Mary Story of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Van Hook and Altman lacked ?absolutely essential? data on individual kids? eating habits at school, which would directly show whether junk food availability led to weight gains, Story adds.
A more comprehensive national study conducted in 2004 and 2005 linked junk food sold in vending machines in or near school lunch areas with increased student body weight, Story says. She estimates that 40 percent of elementary and secondary school students in that study obtained enough daily calories, on average, from food other than school lunches to gain weight.
About 59 percent of fifth-graders and 86 percent of eighth-graders in the new analysis attended schools that sold junk food. Yet the overall percentage of overweight or obese students in the study sample decreased slightly from fifth to eighth grade, from approximately 39 percent to 35 percent. In 2008, an estimated 35.5 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds in the United States were either overweight or obese.
Even if further research confirms the new finding, epidemiologist Daniel Taber of the University of Illinois at Chicago argues, junk food sales in schools should be curtailed. Kids can adapt to anti-obesity programs that target junk food in their homes and neighborhoods by eating more of the stuff at school, he explains.
?If schools are not part of the solution to childhood obesity,? he says, ?they will be part of the problem.?
Found in: Behavior and Humans
Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337789/title/Junk_food_in_schools_gets_weighty_reprieve
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
4 Sweet Ways to Celebrate Valentine?s Day with Your Kids
Gilt Kids' Rachel Jarrett and Melissa Keswin share some of their cute ideas
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/BMM3KlL_6Co/
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Miley Cyrus Goes Braless, Shows Off New Short Haircut (omg!)
Miley Cyrus may have left her bra at home, but there was a good reason for it -- she was preoccupied with her brand-new haircut!
On Friday, the underwear-less star, who sported a white T-shirt underneath an unbuttoned flannel and denim cut-off shorts, met up with some friends at the Los Angeles eatery Wokcano, while debuting her freshly cropped off hair.
PHOTOS: Miley's most provocative outfits
"Just got a hurrrr cut," the 19-year-old tweeted that day.
"I didn't do anything to crazy. But I did take 5 inches off!" she later added, responding to a fan via Twitter.
PHOTOS: Miley's wild life so far
Cyrus was last spotted with her longer locks when she stepped out with her boyfriend Liam Hemsworth at the 2012 People's Choice Awards, where she wowed in a David Koma dress, Neil Lane jewelry, Jimmu Choo heels and a Marchesa clutch.
PHOTOS: Liam, Jennifer Lawrence and other stars in Hunger Games sneak peek
Hemsworth, who turned 22 on January 13, is the proud owner of a new puppy, a gift from Cyrus herself.
"Meet Ziggy," the former Disney starlet wrote beneath an adorable snapshot of her man's pet, which she shared via Twitter January 12.
Tell Us: Do you like Miley's hair long or short?
Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
News Corp pays out over hacking claims (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp settled a string of legal claims over phone hacking on Thursday, and said this was not an admission that management had known about the practice or tried to cover it up.
Murdoch's News International had claimed for years that the hacking of voicemails to generate stories was the work of a single "rogue" reporter who went to jail for the crime in 2007.
However, under a wave of damning evidence last year it finally admitted that the problem was widespread, sparking a scandal that has rocked the company, the British press, police and the political establishment.
On Thursday, lawyers for victims who had reached settlements said their agreements were based on News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of some of News International's titles, acknowledging that senior management were at fault.
They said the company was now seeking to settle all the claims. "News Group has agreed to compensation being assessed on the basis that senior employees and directors of NGN knew about the wrongdoing and sought to conceal it by deliberately deceiving investigators and destroying evidence," the lawyers said in a statement.
But News International said in a "clarification" late on Thursday that despite agreeing the settlements it was not making any admission that senior staff or directors at NGN had known about the wrongdoing or tried to conceal it.
"However, for the purpose of reaching these settlements only, NGN agreed that the damages to be paid to claimants should be assessed as if this was the case," News International said.
In a London court packed with journalists and lawyers, Judge Geoffrey Vos went through each case and heard the grounds for the settlement. At the end of each statement a lawyer for News Corp confirmed the details and offered "sincere apologies."
Settlements announced in court generally ranged from around 30,000 pounds ($46,000) to 60,000 pounds, while some were not revealed. Actor Jude Law accepted 130,000 pounds after he was physically followed abroad as well as in Britain.
"It is clear that I, along with many others, was kept under constant surveillance for a number of years," Law said in a statement. "No aspect of my private life was safe from intrusion by News Group newspapers, including the lives of my children.
"I believe in a free press but what News Group did was an abuse of its freedoms. They were prepared to do anything to sell their newspapers and to make money."
The settlements may lift some immediate pressure off the group, as it will prevent lawyers from poring over further details in open court, and it could result in all cases eventually settling as the size of the payouts set a precedent.
But it could also lead to increased scrutiny of the role played by James Murdoch.
Rupert Murdoch's son James was placed in charge of News International only after the hacking, but has been accused of leading a cover-up. He has denied all knowledge of the scale of the problem and blamed many of those around him for the failings.
PAY-OUT TIME
The court was told that 36 claimants were now ready to settle, including Law, former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, politician Chris Bryant and other celebrities, while 10 cases were ready to go to court.
News Corp has already received 60 claims and police say there are almost 6,000 potential victims. The legal costs to be paid by News International will also vary hugely, lawyers said.
Lawyers for the victims said they had obtained documents from News International that revealed the scale of the malpractice, partly thanks to the fact that the 12 solicitors' firms involved had joined forces to work together.
"As a result, documents relating to the nature and scale of the conspiracy, a cover-up and the destruction of evidence/email archives by News Group have now been disclosed to the claimants," their statement said.
The long-running case blew up in July when it emerged that the voicemail of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, later found murdered, had been hacked into by the News of the World.
News Corp took the drastic step of shutting down the 168-year-old tabloid and pulled its plan to take full control of Britain's highly profitable satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
The scandal had already forced the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman, a former News of the World editor, and later prompted the resignations of senior police officials who were accused of failing to properly investigate the affair.
Three criminal investigations are under way while a judge-led inquiry into Britain's press ethics sits most days, bringing yet more attention to the conduct of the media as it seeks to draw up new regulations.
"I'm grateful to News Group for finally acknowledging, admitting and apologizing for their unlawful voicemail interception," Graham Shear, a lawyer representing victims who also had his own phone hacked, told Reuters.
"But I'm a bit frustrated that they didn't find a way to do this earlier, having previously strenuously defended my own claim and the claims on which I'm acting."
(Additional reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Peter Graff)
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US, Filipino forces plan drills near disputed area (AP)
MANILA, Philippines ? A Philippine general says U.S. and Filipino marines will hold combat drills at an actual oil rig in the South China Sea to bolster the defense of such facilities from security threats.
Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the military's Western Command, said Thursday the exercises sometime in April or March off western Palawan province should not alarm China because these will be done within Philippine territorial waters.
Sabban says the drills involve defending and retaking oil and gas rigs captured by enemies.
The planned exercises northwest of Palawan may provoke Chinese protests.
The Associated Press has learned China last year claimed new territory in or near the venue of the planned drills. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately react.
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Fleming to reprise starring role in 'Streetcar' (AP)
CHICAGO ? The Lyric Opera of Chicago plans to highlight its 2012-2013 season with a production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" starring the company's creative consultant, famed soprano Renee Fleming.
The Lyric's 68-performance, nine-opera season will open with "Elektra" and include performances of "Simon Boccanegra," "Werther," "Don Pasquale," "Hansel and Gretel," "La Boheme," "Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg" and "Rigoletto."
"A Streetcar Named Desire" will run for four performances with Fleming reprising the role of Blanche Du Bois. Instead of a staged production, the orchestra will be on stage and the company said there will be "scenic elements, lighting and props."
The season also includes two recitals: Fleming will perform with Susan Graham on Jan. 24 and Chinese pianist Lang Lang will perform in May.
___
Online:
http://www.lyricopera.org
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Carrie Diaries to Air on The CW; Search for the Next Carrie Bradshaw is On!
Following chatter that it may become a movie, The Carrie Diaries - Candace Bushenll's prequel novel to Sex and the City - has instead been picked up as a pilot for The CW and will likely be included on that network's fall schedule.
In other words: the search for a new Carrie Bradshaw is on!
The story follows Carrie as a high school student in Manhattan and, via earlier rumors, Blake Lively was supposedly up the the iconic lead role.
But she'll be on Gossip Girl when the series premieres and is likely to test out a movie career once that show is finished. Who does that leave for Carrie? We've listed four suggestions below and are open to others. Who do you think is the best fit?
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Toshiba Portege Z830-S8302
Travelers seeking an executive-class status symbol will be tempted by Toshiba's flagship ultrabook, the Portege Z830-S8302 ($1,429 list). It puts a speedy Intel Core i7 chip into a magnesium alloy chassis that out-diets Apple's MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,299 direct, 4 stars), coming in at 2.5 pounds to the Apple Air's and most Windows ultrabooks' 2.9 pounds or so. It's packed with features ranging from a fingerprint reader to a backlit keyboard.
It's a lot more expensive than its Core i3?powered sibling, the Portege Z835-P330 ($799.99 at Best Buy, 3.5 stars). If all you need in an ultralight is Office and Outlook capability, the slower model is undeniably the, well, better buy. But if you regularly mix some photo editing or occasional video encoding with your word processing and Web surfing, or if you just want ultrabook bragging rights, you'll want to inspect Toshiba's top of the line?although you may find yourself wishing it actually weighed a few ounces more.
Design
Although the Portege's magnesium alloy frame makes its 1.6-by-12.4-by-8.9-inch (HWD) body relatively rigid?you can pick it up by a front corner with no problem?the same isn't true of its super-thin screen. Grasp the latter by the corners and it will wiggle and flex, or start typing with the Toshiba in your lap and the display will vibrate and wobble to an annoying degree. The computer doesn't really feel flimsy, but it definitely feels too flexible.
The screen looks good, though?it's a 13.3-inch, LED-backlit matte panel with the same 1,366-by-768 resolution as every other ultrabook we've tested with the exception of the 1,600-by-900 Asus Zenbook UX31-RSL8 ($1,049 list, 4 stars), with ample brightness, sharp text, and crisp colors. I also liked the Toshiba's touchpad, which works smoothly and responsively apart from two slightly stiff, fingerprint-magnet chrome buttons. The laptop's speakers produce enough volume to fill a room, albeit with sketchy and scratchy audio.
The spill-resistant keyboard is backlit for confident typing in dim rooms and on red-eye flights (the backlight by default turns off after 15 seconds without pressing a key, though you can switch it to be always on or off). It offers a first-rate layout, with Ctrl and Delete keys in their proper lower-left and top-right corners respectively, and dedicated Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys as well as cursor arrows. Its typing feel, alas, is less satisfactory?flat and shallow, with a few keys (notably the space bar and left shift) not always registering during the first hours of use. Slowing down and giving the space bar a sharp rap cured the typos, but I'd still rate the keyboard as inferior to that of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s ($1,495 list, 4 stars)?or the Toshiba Z835-P330, which showed no space-bar problems in our test.
Features
The Z830-S8302 takes a backseat to no ultrabook, however, when it comes to input/output features. Sure, others may match its 802.11n Wi-Fi networking and HDMI video port, but the Portege also has good old-fashioned Ethernet and VGA ports, because connecting to wired office LANs and conference-room projectors can still be pretty darn convenient.
Microphone and headphone jacks are on the left, next to the SD card slot that the Lenovo U300s designers forgot. There's a USB 3.0 port on the right and two USB 2.0 ports, one with Toshiba's "sleep and charge" functionality for recharging phones and other devices, at the rear. Bluetooth is present, though WiMAX is not. Intel's Wireless Display (WiDi) 2.1, which streams the Portege's screen to an HDTV set equipped with a third-party (
Like other ultrabooks, the Z830-S8302 has no optical drive for loading new software, but Toshiba makes up for that with a slew of preloaded software including links to an app store and book store; a scanty 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security; Google Chrome; a Bulletin Board app for arranging notes and other information; and a ReelTime timeline thumbnail view of recently accessed documents and files. The flagship ultrabook is backed by a three-year parts-and-labor warranty.
Considering its price premium over the Z835-P330, you might guess that the Z830-S8302 boasted more storage as well as a faster processor, but you'd be wrong?it's the same 128GB solid-state drive. That's nothing to sneeze at, though, as the SSD helped the Toshiba start up in 25 seconds and wake from sleep in just 3 seconds.
Performance
The price premium does, however, get you that Core i7 CPU?the same dual-core, four-thread, 1.8GHz Core i7-2677M found in the IdeaPad U300s?as well as 6GB of RAM instead of the usual 4GB. The difference from the Core i3 model is night and day, as the Z830 completed our Adobe Photoshop CS5 test in literally half the time (4 minutes 8 seconds versus 8:17) and pummeled its economical sibling in PCMark 7 (3,366 versus 2,496).
Actually, that PCMark 7 score was narrowly eclipsed by that of the Asus Zenbook UX31 (3,531), but in most of our other benchmarks, the Toshiba topped its rivals (including the same-CPU'd Lenovo) to become the fastest ultrabook we've yet tested. The Portege whisked through our Handbrake video encoding run in a tick under 2 minutes, roughly 10 seconds ahead of the Asus and MacBook Air. Its score of 2.32 in CineBench R11.5 was half again as much as the Lenovo's 1.55. Only its Intel integrated graphics proved predictably inadequate for serious gaming, falling just short of 20 frames per second in both Crysis and Lost Planet 2.
The only test where the high-end Toshiba lost to the value model was our MobileMark 2007 battery rundown, where the Z830-S8302's more potent components drained the sealed 47Wh battery in 6 hours 27 minutes versus 7:35 for the Z835-P330. Still, the deluxe Portege's time is a virtual tie with the Asus UX31's 6:32, and longer life than you see with either the MacBook Air or Lenovo U300s.
The ultrabook market is booming. If you're comparison shopping, $70 more will buy you the Lenovo U300s with a 256GB instead of 128GB SSD; $330 less will buy you the Asus UX31 with a perfectly capable Core i5 and a higher-resolution screen; and of course $630 less will buy you the adequate-for-most-tasks Core i3 Portege. But the Portege Z830-S8302 scores highly in performance, practicality, and sheer sex appeal, though our test unit's so-so space bar was frustrating.
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:
COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Toshiba Portege Z830-S8302 with several other laptops side by side.
More laptop reviews:
??? Toshiba Portege Z830-S8302
??? HP Pavilion dm1-3010nr (Verizon)
??? Dell Latitude E6420 XFR
??? Lenovo IdeaPad U400
??? Gateway ID47H07u
?? more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/h7r0ozrPXyQ/0,2817,2398989,00.asp
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Group won't push California tax overhaul measure (Reuters)
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Billionaire Nicolas Berggruen's Think Long Committee for California will not press a ballot measure this year to alter the state's tax system, a move seen helping Governor Jerry Brown's plan to put a tax measure to voters.
Berggruen's bipartisan group of business and civic leaders said in a statement on Tuesday that it would put its proposal for an independent Citizens Council for Government Accountability on hold.
"It is clear from public reaction, stakeholder meetings and our own public opinion research that Californians are hungry for real reform and are more willing than ever to support a sweeping plan that is fair and will put an end to California's perpetual financial volatility and suffocating wall of debt," the group said.
"At the same time, we recognize the practical constraints of the 2012 election calendar - and have come to the conclusion that it will take more time to perfect these proposals, eliminate unintended consequences and provide every stakeholder and everyday Californians a meaningful voice in that process," the group added.
The group said it would work on language for a tax ballot measure with the goal of putting one to voters in November 2014.
The group, which includes former Governor Gray Davis, Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Los Angeles philanthropist and KB Home founder Eli Broad and former U.S. Secretaries of State George Shultz and Condoleezza Rice, has urged overhauling California's tax code to bring stability to state finances.
The Think Long Committee last year proposed cutting income tax rates while adding a sales tax on services - with an exemption for education and medical services - to broaden California's tax base.
California's government depends heavily on income taxes, especially on the volatile income taxes of its wealthy residents, to fill its coffers. When the state's wealthy are flush with capital gains, the state's revenue swells, but when financial markets slump, revenues shrink.
Despite that volatility, Brown aims to put a measure to voters in November asking them to approve temporary income tax increases for wealthy taxpayers along with an increase in the state sales tax to raise roughly $7 billion a year to bolster the state's finances.
His state budget plan anticipates voters will approve the measure, which would help fill a state budget gap for California's fiscal year beginning in July estimated at $9.2 billion. If voters reject the measure, Brown has said schools and community colleges would face nearly $5 billion in spending cuts.
Brown faces better odds of winning voter approval for his tax measure if it does not have to compete for attention with other tax plans, according to analysts.
(Reporting By Jim Christie)
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Oil above $99 in Europe amid Middle East jitters
Oil prices edged above $99 a barrel on Monday amid concerns that tensions in the Middle East could hurt crude supplies, but gains were tempered by jitters over Europe's ratings downgrade.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was up 74 cents to $99.44 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 40 cents to settle at $98.70 in New York on Friday.
In London, Brent crude was up 53 cents to $110.97 on the ICE Futures exchange.
Fears of supply disruptions due to ongoing tensions over Iran's nuclear program helped boost prices.
"The war of words between Iran and the West is likely to keep the risk premium on the oil price at a high level," said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and China, are likely to enact an embargo that would force them to seek alternative supply sources in an already tight market, supporting prices.
However, expectations that the European Union would delay an embargo on oil imports from Iran limited the gains. A decision is expected Jan. 23.
"Retail oil prices in Europe are at an all-time record high and it means that the timing for imposing an embargo on Iranian crude oil is a poor one," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. "At this stage it seems that implementation will be pushed back a few months to allow either prices to come off and/or crude oil stocks to rebuild."
A national strike in Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa and a key supplier to the United States, helped drive up prices last week, but unions said Monday they would suspend the strike after the government pledged to reinstate subsidies to lower the cost of gasoline.
Prices were also kept in check by headwinds from the declining debt crisis in Europe.
Standard & Poor's downgraded the government debt of nine countries that use the euro including France, Austria, Italy and Spain, making it harder for the European Union to raise funds to overcome massive debts. Germany's rating remained at the coveted AAA level.
A recession appears likely in Europe, and huge spending cuts will likely reduce European energy demand this year.
In other energy trading, heating oil was up 2.7 cents to $3.0542 per gallon and gasoline futures rose 1.88 cents to $2.7530 per gallon. Natural gas fell 10.8 cents to $2.562 per 1,000 cubic feet.
___
Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Iran's Khamenei Should Write a Letter, Not Close the Strait (ContributorNetwork)
COMMENTARY | President Barack Obama's overtures of peace with Iran have changed significantly in the past three years. He has gone from a president willing to offer a new beginning to the Islamic republic to a president on the verge of a military confrontation the likes of which Iran cannot possibly imagine.
Shortly after taking office in 2009, Reuters reported Obama wrote a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei offering a new beginning between the U.S. and his country, and offered to set aside 30 years of hostile feelings. That offer fell upon deaf ears, and Khamenei's reply was not encouraging. Regardless, Obama wrote a second letter and received a similar reply.
It's just further proof Iran does not want to be in the community of nations. It enjoys a status of a pariah nation -- fully intent on pursuing its own policies without regard for how the rest of the world feels. More importantly, Iran cannot afford to befriend "The Great Satan" -- less it lose a powerful propaganda tool.
Obama has taken a lot of criticism from opponents over his gesture and, it probably was for naught, but at least he tried. That's a lot more than his predecessors can claim.
There is no reason to respect anything the government of Iran does. It has proven time and again that there can be no trust and no dialogue -- most recently when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government allowed (or encouraged) the ransacking of the British embassy in Tehran. That's not what a responsible modern government does, yet it's the only way Iran seems to know how to express itself.
Tehran's latest gamble might be one that just goes too far. Its repeated threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has not fallen on deaf ears. With two U.S. naval aircraft carriers within striking distance, plus their support vessels and an assortment of warships from allied countries closing in, Iran might have found a bluff too expensive to carry out.
There is little doubt the U.S. would respond if the Strait is threatened, and Iran can be confident such a response would go far beyond sinking a few motor boats that Reuters reported are chasing American ships. Maybe now would be a good time for Khamenei to write a letter.
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An Initial Party Offering? China's communists go for an IPO of their news site.
China's Communist Party plans to sell stocks in the online version of its official mouthpiece the People?s Daily to raise money.
The ruling Chinese Communist party is using a classic capitalist scheme to raise money: An IPO.
Skip to next paragraphNot that the party (slogan: ?Serve the People?) is offering the public shares in itself. But it plans to sell stocks in the online version of its official mouthpiece the People?s Daily.
The website?is having a hard time keeping up with the commercial competition, according to its owner People?s Daily Online Co. Ltd. in a preliminary prospectus filed with the China Securities Regulatory Commission. It gets one tenth the visitors than the most popular Chinese Web portal Sina.com, for example.?
To rectify this, the company wants to raise $83.5 million through an IPO in Shanghai to ?strengthen our marketing and expand our services and products,? the prospectus says. That way it hopes to catch up with Sina, which has tapped international capital markets by listing on the NASDAQ.
The company makes no reference to the fact that the party-owned website may owe its low profile to the stultifying nature of its content. Indeed, it mentions the ?People?s Daily journalism tradition? as one of its competitive advantages, which sounds a little dubious.
Another?selling point?it boasts, though,?is the ?preferential policy? the website enjoys; this means that the party which owns it also owns the government that makes the rules deciding who else is allowed to disseminate online news in China. Now that is a competitive advantage.?
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
S&P cuts credit ratings for France, Italy, Spain (AP)
PARIS ? Standard & Poor's swept the debt-ridden European continent with punishing credit downgrades Friday, stripping France of its coveted AAA status and dropping Italy even lower. Germany retained its top-notch rating, but Portugal's debt was consigned to junk.
In all, S&P, which took away the United States' AAA rating last summer, lowered the ratings of nine countries, complicating Europe's efforts to find a way out of a debt crisis that still threatens to cause worldwide economic harm.
Austria also lost its AAA status, Italy and Spain fell by two notches, and S&P also cut ratings on Malta, Cyprus, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The downgrades on more half of the countries that use the euro could drive up yields on European government debt as investors demand more compensation for holding bonds deemed to be riskier. Higher borrowing costs would put more financial pressure on countries already contending with heavy debt burdens.
"In our view, the policy initiatives taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone," S&P said in a statement.
Stocks fell Friday as downgrade rumors reached the trading floors of Europe and the United States. But the declines were nothing like the wrenching swings of last summer and fall, when the debt crisis threw the markets into turmoil.
The Dow Jones industrial average in New York was down 0.5 percent. Stocks fell 0.6 percent in Germany, 0.5 percent in Britain and 0.1 in France, but each of those markets closed before French Finance Minister Francois Baroin gave first word of the country's downgrade on French television.
Earlier Friday, the euro hit its lowest level in more than a year and borrowing costs for European nations rose.
Some analysts downplayed the impact of the downgrades.
"It's going to create bad headlines for a day or two," said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. But "there's no underlying new information ... This will be quickly forgotten."
Still, the cut in the French credit rating may lead bond traders to raise borrowing costs for the financial rescue fund, said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, a financial firm.
"There's a legitimate reason to be concerned," he said. "A weaker France means a weaker bailout fund."
France's downgrade to AA+ lowers it to the level of U.S. long-term debt, which S&P downgraded last summer. S&P had warned 15 European nations in December that they were at risk for a downgrade.
France is the second-largest contributor behind Germany to Europe's financial rescue fund. The fund still has a rating of AAA. That means that it can borrow on the bond market at low rates.
Borrowing costs for the French government rose before the announcement. The yield on France's 10-year government bond rose to 3.1 percent from 3 percent earlier. That is still less than the 3.36 percent rate on the same bond last week and far below the 6.6 percent that Italy has to pay to borrow money from bond investors for 10 years.
Germany, the strongest economy in Europe, pays a yield of just 1.76 percent. The United States 10-year Treasury note paid 1.85 percent Friday, down 0.08 percentage points ? a sign that investors were seeking safety in U.S. debt.
Speaking on France-2 Television, Baroin said the downgrade of France's AAA sovereign debt rating was not "a catastrophe." He underscored that France still had a solid rating.
"The United States, the world's largest economy, was downgraded over the summer," Baroin said. "You have to be relative, you have keep your cool. It's necessary not to frighten the French people about it."
Some affected countries took issue with S&P's conclusions. Portugal's Finance Ministry said there were "significant methodological shortcomings" in the agency's appraisal because it overlooked the bailed-out country's debt-reduction and economic reform efforts.
European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn called S&P's actions "inconsistent." He said countries affected by the euro crisis have taken "decisive action in all fronts of its crisis response" to push reforms and strengthen banks.
Fears of a downgrade brought a sour end to a mildly encouraging week for Europe's heavily indebted nations and were a stark reminder that the 17-country eurozone's debt crisis is far from over.
Earlier Friday, Italy had capped a strong week for government debt auctions, seeing its borrowing costs drop for a second day in a row as it successfully raised as much as euro4.75 billion ($6.05 billion).
Spain and Italy completed successful bond auctions on Thursday, and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi noted "tentative signs of stabilization" in the region's economy.
The downgrades could drive up the cost of European government debt as investors demand more compensation for holding bonds deemed to be riskier than they had been. Higher borrowing costs would put more financial pressure on countries already contending with heavy debt burdens.
In Greece, negotiations Friday to get investors to take a voluntary cut on their Greek bond holdings appeared close to collapse, raising the specter of a potentially disastrous default by the country that kicked off Europe's financial troubles more than two years ago.
The deal, known as the Private Sector Involvement, aims to reduce Greece's debt by euro100 billion by swapping private creditors' bonds with new ones with a lower value, and is a key part of a euro130 billion international bailout. Without it, the country could suffer a catastrophic default that would send shock waves through the global economy.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos met on Thursday and Friday with representatives of the Institute of International Finance, a global body representing the private bondholders. Finance ministry officials from the eurozone also met in Brussels Thursday night.
At Friday's Italian auction, investors demanded an interest rate of 4.83 percent to lend Italy three-year money, down from an average rate of 5.62 percent in the previous auction and far lower than the 7.89 percent in November, when the country's financial crisis was most acute.
While Italy paid a slightly higher rate for bonds maturing in 2018, which were also sold in Friday's auction, demand was between 1.2 percent and 2.2 percent higher than what was on offer.
The results were not as strong as those of bond auctions the previous day, when Italy raised euro12 billion and demand was strong for a sale of Spanish debt.
"Overall, it underscores that while all the auctions in the eurozone have been battle victories, the war is a long way from being resolved (either way)," said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities. "These euro area auctions will continue to present themselves as market risk events for a very protracted period."
Italy's euro1.9 trillion in government debt and heavy borrowing needs this year have made it a focal point of the European debt crisis.
Italy has passed austerity measures and is on a structural reform course that Premier Mario Monti claims should bring down Italy's high bond yields, which he says are no longer warranted.
Analysts have said the successful recent bond auctions were at least in part the work of the ECB, which has inundated banks with cheap loans, giving them ready cash that at least some appear to be using to buy higher-yielding short-term government bonds.
Some 523 banks took euro489 billion in credit for up to three years at a current interest cost of 1 percent.
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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Rome, Associated Press writer Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels and AP Business writers David McHugh in Frankfurt, Paul Wiseman in Washington and Matthew Craft in New York.
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