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12/25/2013
Airbus solution to lost luggage (video)
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US malls: holiday shopping season (video)
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12/15/2013
Uruguay legalizes marijuana (video and article)
Uruguay, a country of 3.3 million that is one of the most liberal in Latin America, has become the first nation to legalize the production, sale and smoking of marijuana, - a pioneering social experiment that will be closely watched by other nations debating drug liberalization.
Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a maximum of 40 grams each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are Uruguayan residents over the age of 18 and registered on a government database that will monitor their monthly purchases.
When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or as much as 480 grams, and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year.
Registered drug users should be able to start buying marijuana over the counter from licensed pharmacies in April.
The bill gives authorities 120 days to set up a drug control board that will regulate cultivation standards, fix the price and monitor consumption.
Uruguay's attempt to curb drug trafficking is followed closely in Latin America where some regional leader see the legalization of some narcotics as a possible way to end the violence spawned by the cocaine trade.
Rich countries debating legalization of pot are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an "experiment" that could provide an alternative to the failed US-led policies of the long "war on drugs".
Uruguay's leftist president, Jose Mujica, defends his initiative as a bid to regulate and tax a market that already exists but is run by criminals.
"We've given this market as a gift to the drug traffickers and that is more destructive socially than the drug itself, because it rots the whole of society," the 78-year-old former guerrilla fighter said.
President Mujica has yet to convince a majority of Uruguayans that it is a good idea. According to a recent opinion poll by Equipos Consultores, 58 per cent of Uruguayans oppose legalizing pot..
Critics say legalization will not only increase consumption but also open the door to the use of harder drugs than marijuana, which according to government statistics is used by 8 per cent of Uruguayans on a regular basis.
"Competing with drug traffickers by offering marijuana at a lower price will just increase the market for a drug that has negative effects on public health," said Senator Alfredo Solari of the conservative Colorado Party.
"This development in Uruguay is of historic significance," said Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, a leading sponsor of drug policy reform partially funded by Soros through his Open Society Foundation.
"Uruguay is presenting an innovative model for cannabis that will better protect public health and public safety than does the prohibitionist approach," Nadelmann said.
The International Narcotics Control Board, which oversees international treaties on drugs, has warned that the law violates the Single Convention of Narcotic Drugs, adopted in 1961 by Uruguay and 185 other countries.
But following decades of drug-related violence throughout Latin America, a number of former leaders from the region have endorsed the plan.
Senator Roberto Conde, of the ruling Broad Front, insisted that the law will do nothing more than recognize what is already happening around the country.
'Marijuana is the illegal drug that is most consumed, fundamentally by young people, one that is perceived as extremely low risk and is easily obtained,' he said.
The government has accompanied the law with a publicity campaign featuring the slogan, 'All drug consumption has risks.'
DRUG LAWS AROUND THE WORLD
The Netherlands is well known for its liberal policy on cannabis, and the capital Amsterdam is full of 'coffee shops' where residents and tourists can smoke weed, although production is still illegal.
The Netherlands, Canada and Israel have legal programs for growing medical cannabis but do not allow cultivation of marijuana for recreational use.
Switzerland, Spain and Canada are among the many other states where the drug has been decriminalized for personal use, with official efforts directed against dealers and producers instead.
Last year the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington both voted to make the sale and use of marijuana legal - however, as it is still banned under federal law, the long-term functioning of the states' laws are uncertain.
In addition, 18 other American states allow the use of medical marijuana.
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Xmas miracle = Good marketing + Technology (video)
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Mandela tribute (Video)
A South African chain store has laid on one of the most
touching tributes to Nelson Mandela in the form of a flash mob.
Woolworths teamed up with the Soweto Gospel Choir, who posed as shoppers and store workers at the Parkview store in Johannesburg. The choir then began a rendition of Asimbonanga [We have not seen him], a song written during Mandela's incarceration as a call for his freedom.
Asimbonanga [we have not seen him]
Asimbonang' uMandela thina [we have not seen Mandela]
Laph'ekhona [in the place where he is]
Laph'ehleli khona [in the place where he is kept]
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang 'umfowethu thina [we have not seen our brother]
Laph'ekhona [in the place where he is]
Laph'wafela khona [in the place where he died]
Sithi: Hey, wena [We say: hey, you]
Hey, wena nawe [Hey, you and you]
Siyofika nini la' siyakhona [when will we arrive at our destination]
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12/08/2013
Amazon's drones (video & article)
Amazon.com is testing drones for future deliveries, CEO Jeff Bezos said on the CBS TV news show 60 Minutes Sunday.
The idea is to deliver packages as quickly as possible using the small, unmanned aircraft, through a service the company is calling Prime Air, the CEO said.
Bezos played a demo video that showed how the aircraft, also known as octocopters, will pick up packages in small yellow buckets at Amazon's fulfillment centers and fly through the air to deliver items to customers 30 minutes or less after they hit the buy button online at Amazon.com.
The company is currently testing a drone model with a range of 10 miles that can handle products under five pounds, which is nearly 90% of the company's offerings.
However, putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some years. Amazon must develop the technology further and wait for the Federal Aviation Administration 's rules and regulations.
Bezos estimates the service will be running in four years.
"One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today," the company said.
This is the latest futuristic effort by Bezos, who was an e-commerce pioneer in the 1990s and more recently popularized the e-reader — while pursuing personal projects such as private spaceflight and a 10,000-year clock built inside a mountain.
"We'll be ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place," Amazon said Sunday. "Safety will be our top priority, and our vehicles will be built and designed to meet commercial aviation standards."
edited from USA Today
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The idea is to deliver packages as quickly as possible using the small, unmanned aircraft, through a service the company is calling Prime Air, the CEO said.
Bezos played a demo video that showed how the aircraft, also known as octocopters, will pick up packages in small yellow buckets at Amazon's fulfillment centers and fly through the air to deliver items to customers 30 minutes or less after they hit the buy button online at Amazon.com.
The company is currently testing a drone model with a range of 10 miles that can handle products under five pounds, which is nearly 90% of the company's offerings.
However, putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some years. Amazon must develop the technology further and wait for the Federal Aviation Administration 's rules and regulations.
Bezos estimates the service will be running in four years.
"One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today," the company said.
This is the latest futuristic effort by Bezos, who was an e-commerce pioneer in the 1990s and more recently popularized the e-reader — while pursuing personal projects such as private spaceflight and a 10,000-year clock built inside a mountain.
"We'll be ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place," Amazon said Sunday. "Safety will be our top priority, and our vehicles will be built and designed to meet commercial aviation standards."
edited from USA Today
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12/01/2013
A giant Louis Vuitton's headache (article)
President Vladimir Putin's administration spoke out in favor of removing a gigantic Louis Vuitton suitcase on Red Square on Wednesday, following public outcry about its placement in the historical heart of the Russian capital.
The installation, which blocks the view of the Spasskaya Tower, the Kremlin walls and Saint Basil's Cathedral from certain angles, was intended to honor the 120th anniversary of the GUM department store, located across from the Kremlin, with a six-week exhibition of Louis Vuitton's luggage.
Proceeds from the exhibition were going to be donated to the Naked Heart Foundation, a children's charity founded by Russian model Natalia Vodianova, who is dating the son of Bernard Arnault, the CEO of Louis Vuitton MoСt Hennessy.
Despite the good intentions behind the pavilion, Muscovites did not appreciate its presence on Red Square. Both the Kremlin and opposition parties, factions that rarely agree on anything, are united by their disgust with the infamous suitcase.
Outrage began as workers completed the installation on Red Square on Tuesday. By Wednesday afternoon, they began dismantling the structure
Several Communist deputies criticized the Kremlin for allowing the suitcase — which is 9 meters tall and 30 meters long — to be set up on Red Square.
"This is a sacred place for the Russian state," said Sergei Obukhov, a member of the Communist Party Central Committee. "There are some symbols that cannot be trivialized or denigrated."
Ordinary Russians apparently share Obukhov's feelings about the unique nature of Red Square, which was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1990.
"This is an embarrassment for our country," said Ruslan, a Moscow pensioner who enjoys taking midday walks through Red Square. "We sell ourselves to everybody. All we think about is business, business, business," he added, frantically waving his arms at the giant Louis Vuitton suitcase.
According to the Communist Party's website, a group of deputies sent inquiries to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for clarification on how the suitcase ended up on Red Square in the first place.
Mikhail Kusnirovich, the primary shareholder in Moscow's GUM department store, said the government gave all required approvals for the exhibition to take place on Red Square.
Louis Vuitton explained in a statement that the suitcase also had historical ties to Russia, claiming that the gigantic trunk was modeled after luggage that belonged to Prince Vladimir Orlov, a cavalry officer close to Tsar Nicolas II. However, Louis Vuitton's history lesson failed to convince Russians of the intrinsic value of 19th-century luggage.
"I am against the commercialization of historical places," Alexei Pushkov, a United Russia deputy, said in a telephone interview. "There are many other places in Moscow where a giant suitcase would garner interest without causing public outrage."
Gorky Park and the All-Russian Exhibition Center are now potential candidates to host the Louis Vuitton exhibition.
"Anywhere but on Red Square" seems to be the common theme of the complaints.
For some, the square is a sacrosanct place of worship. It is home to St. Basil's Cathedral, whose multicolored domes serve as the iconic image of Russia abroad and is also a burial site. Lenin rests beside the despised suitcase, which is six meters longer than the Soviet leader's mausoleum. The Kremlin Wall Necropolis, a few steps from the Louis Vuitton trunk, is the resting place of Soviet dignitaries and heroes, including Yuri Gagarin and Leonid Brezhnev.
"The problems caused by the Louis Vuitton suitcase fits into the framework of pseudo-patriotic hysteria and anti-Western sentiments in Russian society," said Vladimir Slatinov, a political analyst at the Institute for Humanitarian and Political Research. "It is difficult to imagine that this could have happened two or three years ago."
The "J" - Kawasaki 's futuristic motorcycle (video)
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11/25/2013
London's Tube plan
A plan to run an all-night Underground service at the weekend may help London narrow the gap with New York's all-night metro service.
The proposed round-the-clock service was warmly welcomed by night-time businesses in London. Richard Dickinson, chief executive of New West End Company, which represents stores in the entertainment district, said: “It will increase London’s competitive edge. Shopping and social habits are changing and nearly half of West End shoppers are international and accustomed to a late-night shopping culture, so this change will really enable the economy to continue to grow."
Big venue owners say they will gain from the potential to hold later events. Jeremy King, communications director at the O2, London’s biggest concert arena, said: “Our visitors will be able to spend more time in the bars and restaurants.” The venue will also be able to host more events that start later, such as boxing, where the main bout often does not start until past midnight.
Even London’s cabbies were relaxed about the impact. Mark Williams, a cab driver for 12 years, said: “I think it’s great for Londoners. I don’t think it will harm my trade. And it will deter people from using illegal minicabs.”
All-night trains might also reduce disorder on the streets. The West End Commission said 225,000 people go to Leicester Square alone on an average Saturday night. At closing time, when transport can be thin on the ground, they are more likely to get into a fight or be robbed or assaulted.
Reuben Harley, chief executive of Eclectic, a chain of bars with outlets across the capital said: “It’s good for the late-night economy”
All Tube stations will remain staffed during operating hours and there will be more people to help customers navigate the system and use ticket machines.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
The proposed round-the-clock service was warmly welcomed by night-time businesses in London. Richard Dickinson, chief executive of New West End Company, which represents stores in the entertainment district, said: “It will increase London’s competitive edge. Shopping and social habits are changing and nearly half of West End shoppers are international and accustomed to a late-night shopping culture, so this change will really enable the economy to continue to grow."
Big venue owners say they will gain from the potential to hold later events. Jeremy King, communications director at the O2, London’s biggest concert arena, said: “Our visitors will be able to spend more time in the bars and restaurants.” The venue will also be able to host more events that start later, such as boxing, where the main bout often does not start until past midnight.
Even London’s cabbies were relaxed about the impact. Mark Williams, a cab driver for 12 years, said: “I think it’s great for Londoners. I don’t think it will harm my trade. And it will deter people from using illegal minicabs.”
All-night trains might also reduce disorder on the streets. The West End Commission said 225,000 people go to Leicester Square alone on an average Saturday night. At closing time, when transport can be thin on the ground, they are more likely to get into a fight or be robbed or assaulted.
Reuben Harley, chief executive of Eclectic, a chain of bars with outlets across the capital said: “It’s good for the late-night economy”
All Tube stations will remain staffed during operating hours and there will be more people to help customers navigate the system and use ticket machines.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
- Shopping
The move will help London’s West End retailers compete on a global scale because it will bring the shopping culture more into line with late-night habits of many of the capital’s international visitors,
- Bars
Bars and restaurants welcomed the decision and not only because of the extra trade it promises. The incidence of fights and theft in the West End is higher when people leave licensed premises at the same time to go home.
- Londoners
London residents will be freer to stay out late without fear of a difficult journey home. For those living close to late-night Tube stations, however, the noise of those returning will no longer end around midnight and may persist through the night.
- Entertainment
Late-night Tube running will allow events to start at a later time and audiences to linger over dinner around the venues.
- Workers
Though the plan extends hours only on Friday and Saturday, employees who work night-time shifts or early in the morning will benefit, particularly low-income groups who live far from their place of work.
- Taxis
Although there are worries about loss of trade, many drivers say it will not affect the preference of many people on a night out for black cabs over the Tube.
11/22/2013
11/18/2013
Europe’s tallest residential tower
Tom Ryan, an Irish property investor, will build a 75-storey skyscraper on the site he acquired for £100m on Thursday in the business district to the east of the City of London. The tower will be 7 meters higher than Canary Wharf’s tallest office building. The acquisition is the first in what sources say will be a series of UK property investments by Mr Ryan. Market sources in Ireland were perplexed at the deal.
The 240-metre 'Hertsmere Tower' will cost more than £850m (€1bn) to build and will be completed by 2018
The scheme is one of a string of high-rise housing developments under construction across the capital, including the Heron in the City and One The Tower at St George’s Wharf in Vauxhall.
Savills, one of the UK’s leading estate agents, says that London is facing an affordable housing crisis and sky-high rents and, at the same time, an oversupply of high-value homes because waves of foreign investment are flowing into the capital’s housing market. Four-fifths of purchasers of London’s prime property are foreign and two-thirds of buyers are investors rather than owner-occupiers.
Mr Ryan, however, will have to overcome some hurdles before he can start building. Though the site has planning permission for a 242-metre mixed-use scheme containing offices, a hotel and shops, he will have to ask Tower Hamlets council to allow a housing development instead. Stuart Robinson, of property advisers CBRE, says it will be difficult for the council to turn down his request.
The Hertsmere Tower will be priced as prime real estate – upwards of £1,000 a square foot. There will be space for 714 apartments covering more than 500,000 sq ft, said Richard Berridge, chief operating officer of Ryan Corporation UK.
“Canary Wharf is one of the few places in the UK where you can build a tall building. It’s time for a very good residential building of a very high standard; that is something that has been lacking there until now” Mr Berridge said.
Hertsmere Tower will overtake Europe’s tallest residential building, the Sky Tower in Wroclaw, Poland, which is 212 metres tall. But it will not outstrip Europe’s overall tallest building, The Shard at London Bridge, which is 308 metres and is primarily office, restaurant and hotel space.
Hertsmere is the first British scheme for Mr Ryan, who has invested in several other countries, Mr Berridge said. Ryan Corporation would not provide details of Mr Ryan’s past developments.
edited from Financial Times and Daily Mail
11/10/2013
Statoil Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall.
Edberg, who reached the final and lost a thrilling Albert Hall clash to Pat Rafter in 2009, will join Rafter, John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic and Tim Henman in the ever-popular pre-Christmas tennis event played 4th - 8th December.
"I am very excited to be coming back to play in the Statoil Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall," said Edberg. "It is one of the most beautiful arenas in the world and I feel very lucky to have the chance to play against John McEnroe and the other great champions in front of a great crowd in London."
Edberg was one of the most dynamic serve-and-volley experts in tennis, and he is still supremely fit. The Swede won six Grand Slam singles titles and reached World No.1 in both singles and doubles over his career.
He will take on McEnroe, Mats Wilander and Henri Leconte in the legends tournament, with Henman, Ivanisevic, Rafter, Mark Philippoussis and Fabrice Santoro contesting the ATP champions event.
They will be joined by Mansour Bahrami and a host of stars in doubles in an event that is now in its 17th year.
The Statoil Masters Tennis is part of the ATP Champions Tour - a circuit of former World Number One tennis players, Grand Slam singles finalists and Davis Cup winners.
Tickets for the Statoil Masters Tennis can now be purchased by calling the box office: +44 (0) 20 7070 4404, or by visiting the tournament's official website: www.statoilmasterstennis.com
Statoil was formed by the 2007 merger of Statoil with the oil and gas division of Norsk Hydro.
As of 2013, the Government of Norway is the largest shareholder in Statoil with 67% of the shares, while the rest is public stock. The ownership interest is managed by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The company is headquartered in Stavanger and has branch offices all over Norway.
Disney to release new 'Star Wars' film on December 18, 2015
The next movie in the "Star Wars" franchise will arrive in theaters on December 18, 2015,
Walt Disney Co purchased "Star Wars" producer Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in 2012 and promised at least three more films in the series, one of the biggest movie franchises of all time.
"This is one of the most important movies we have in the next few years, and the date will allow the creative team the time to make a great film," Disney chief executive Bob Iger said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Thursday.
The pre-Christmas date will put the film's release in the prime holiday movie season. The previous six films were all released in May, in time for the summer movie season.
Filming of the new movie, currently called "Star Wars: Episode VII," will take place in England and will begin in spring 2014. It will be directed by J.J. Abrams, who is best known for directing the most recent films in the "Star Trek" science fiction series.
Lawrence Kasdan will team with Abrams to write the screenplay. Kasdan co-wrote the screenplays for the second and third "Star Wars" films, "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi."
Original cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are in talks to appear in the upcoming film.
The first "Star Wars" was created by director George Lucas and released in 1977. Since then it has grossed more than $4.4 billion at the worldwide box office.
edited from Reuters
11/08/2013
11/03/2013
NY Mayor Bloomberg's 2014 plans
(Reuters) - A golfing holiday and learning to speak Spanish "like a native" are at the top of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's list of activities he will pursue when his term ends in December, he said in an interview published on Wednesday.
"Look, I will stay involved in the cases I care about. I will try to tighten gun-control laws, combat climate change and improve public health, he told Forbes magazine. Exactly how, I don't know," Michael Bloomberg, 71, said in the interview with Forbes.
Bloomberg made his $ 31 billion fortune with Bloomberg LP, the financial data and news company, but will not return to running the company.
"I can tell you what I won't do. I won't become a professional investor. I won't teach. I won't become a consultant.. I won't go back to Bloomberg LP and I won't start a new company. Am I clear?"
He plans to give his entire fortune away through his foundation, citing both Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, and former U.S. president Bill Clinton as models, and will continue to fund political candidates who support his beliefs on tightening gun-control and reforming education.
Bloomberg will become the chairman of the Serpentine Gallery in London, a city where he will spend more time after leaving office and where he owns at least one home. Bloomberg Place, the largest building development underway in the city's financial district, will become the European outpost of his company and foundation.
The mayor will attend the inauguration of his successor on January 1. The next day, Bloomberg, who frequently flies to his home in Bermuda at weekends, said he will take his "first vacation in 12 years" with friend Diana Taylor to play golf in Hawaii and New Zealand.
adapted from Reuters
Vatican Asks Catholics for Input on Family
The Vatican is asking bishops around the world to find out what Roman Catholics think about church teachings in some controversial areas, including birth control, divorce, and same-sex marriage.
Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary-general of the Vatican's Synod of Bishops, sent out the survey October 18 and asked bishops to have the results by the end of January.
The Vatican document said there are "many new situations requiring the Church's attention," including same-sex union adoptions, polygamy, mixed or inter-religious marriage, an increase in the practice of surrogate motherhood, and "forms of feminism hostile to the Church."
It is not clear how Catholic bishops will respond to the directive.
A spokeswoman for the U.S.bishops conference, Helen Osman, said in an email Thursday "Each U.S. bishop will determine what will be the most useful way of gathering information to provide to Rome."
The Bishops Conference of England and Wales has posted a survey online that Catholics in their countries can use to answer the questions.
Included among the questions are "How is God's mercy proclaimed to separated, divorced and remarried couples?" and "How can churches respond when gays seek a religious education or Holy communion for their children?"
The results of the worldwide survey will be discussed at a Vatican synod on the family in October 2014, presided over by Pope Francis. A second meeting will be held in 2015.
adapted from Reuters and VOA
11/01/2013
10/27/2013
Cuba's currency system (audio)
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French football clubs to strike
France will soon face a weekend of strike action by the country’s football clubs in protest against a 75 per cent income tax rate.
Angrily condemning the “unfair and discriminatory” tax, Jean-Pierre Louvel, head of the UCPF, the professional football club union, declared on Thursday: “We are talking about the death of French football.”
The unprecedented strike – involving the cancellation of all matches in the final week of November – presents a new challenge for Mr Hollande, the French president, who is suffering from deep unpopularity.
The 75 per cent tax, which will take effect in 2014, will be levied on employers who must pay it for two years on all annual salaries above €1m.
The UCPF insists that the tax will have a devastating effect on French football clubs, which are mostly lossmaking and struggle to compete for players with Spanish, English, German and Italian rivals, despite the recent infusion of vast funds into Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco by deep-pocketed foreign buyers.
The clubs say the tax will cost them collectively €44m a year. They say clubs and their players paid €700m in tax and social contributions last year – more than they earned in television rights.
“We are already the most taxed league in Europe and the other leagues are already much stronger than us,” complained Mr Louvel.
Struggling clubs such as Marseille, Lyon, Lille and Bordeaux, with exposures to the tax of €4m to €8m each, see it as a further hindrance to their ability to compete with PSG and Monaco and foreign rivals.
An LCI-Opinion Way poll on Thursday showed 85 per cent support for taxing the clubs and a similar level of opposition to the strike.
The issue is also clouded by the cases of PSG and Monaco. PSG was bought three years ago by an arm of the Qatar state. PSG will have to pay €20m to meet the tax levy, but its owners have means well beyond most French teams.
Monaco, owned by Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russian billionaire, and second to PSG in the league, is exempt from the tax as it is based in the low-tax principality, not on French territory. The club spent €170m on transfers in the summer, including €60m on the Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.
Mr Hollande agreed this week to meet football’s leaders next Thursday.
The cancelled games on November 29, 30 and December 1 will be replaced by “open days” at the club grounds. The matches will be rescheduled.
adapted from The Financial Times
10/20/2013
Michele Ferrero, Italy's chocolate king
(Milan) - Michele Ferrero, Italy's richest man and the owner of a global chocolate and confectionery empire, will not allow outsiders to buy his company.
In a statement on Thursday, his son Giovanni, the Chief Executive of the Ferrero group, rejected suggestions the Italian company is holding talks with Swiss competitor Nestle and said Ferrero is not for sale.
But like other family-controlled Italian companies that flourished in the postwar boom, Michele Ferrero, now 88, will soon have to discuss succession plans.
His older son Pietro, the chosen heir to run the Piedmont-based empire, died of a heart attack in 2011 while riding a bicycle in South Africa. He was 47 and his death opened the way for the ascent of younger brother Giovanni, who is less interested in running the business.
"There is certainly an issue of succession," said a financial source with knowledge of the situation. "Either the father will open up to an external management team, or he will have to sell the company."
However, other sources believe the family may decide to continue without making such changes.
The Ferrero group, also known for its Ferrero Rocher pralines and chocolate Kinder eggs, is Italy's most valuable privately owned company. With sales of nearly 8 billion euros, Ferrero is worth 18 billion euros.
Fashion house Armani, another Italian global private brand that could face a succession issue, has an estimated market worth of at least 6 billion euros.
A man of few words, Ferrero senior turned a Piedmont-based chocolate factory into a world giant. He is known for running Ferrero with an iron fist but is also loved by locals for a tendency to give back to his community and by employees for the company's generous working conditions.
Until a couple of years ago, Michele commuted daily by helicopter from his Montecarlo villa to the company headquarters in the northwestern provincial town of Alba to take an active role in the tasting and designing of new products.
The company, which nearly four years ago toyed with the idea of making a bid for British rival Cadbury, is cash-rich and not in an immediate need of financing, several bankers and people familiar with the situation said.
"While Michele is alive, it's difficult to think about a sale but not impossible," said an insider when asked about a possible tie-up with Nestle or another competitor.
Nestle, which has denied any plans to carry out a major acquisition in the short-term, already has a strong foothold in Italy. In 1988 it acquired pasta-maker Buitoni and chocolate-maker Perugina and 9 years later, mineral water group San Pellegrino.
Analysts say a merger of the Nestle and Ferraro could potentially turn the Ferrero group into Nestle's biggest single shareholder.
adapted from Reuters
A new visual effect for TV sports (video)
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10/15/2013
10/14/2013
Fly me to the moon
Britain could become the first country to fly a tourist around the moon, after an Isle of Man-based company announced that it will be ready to take passengers on private lunar expeditions by 2015.
Excalibur Almaz will charge wannabe astronauts an average of £100m for a six-eight month journey exploring deep space.
“It is like how private British companies led expeditions to the South Pacific in the 17th century,” said Art Dula, founder of Excalibur Almaz. “We’ve just gone from seafaring to spacefaring.”
The company, run by Americans, chose to be based in the Isle of Man because of the island government’s commitment to the space industry, which ministers forecast will soon make up a third of its gross domestic product. The lack of corporation tax and proximity to London are also advantages.
Excalibur Almaz biggest advantage is its second-hand Soviet spacecraft which has helped the company avoid the laborious process of developing and testing new equipment.
Mr Dula, a long-time space enthusiast, bought the kit from Russia after working as a patent lawyer in the industry. He and his business partner are the only investors in the company, which started in 2005.
The entrepreneur says the company will take passengers deeper into space than competitors such as Virgin Galactic. Sir Richard Branson’s venture will only allow tourists to orbit the earth, though its price is also less stellar, at £200,000.
Tickets for the historic first flight will cost about £150m, with the price falling to about £50m after 10 years. Adventurers will have to submit to six months of full-time training with the Californian company XCorp.
The company will conduct research for universities and pharmaceutical companies and allow other expeditions – including government astronauts from countries like China – to rent the space station.
adapted from The Financial Times
10/07/2013
Cristina Fernández's health: A political headache
NEWS from Argentina can resemble a David Lynch film: the more you learn, the less you understand. In the past year alone the government signed a pact with Iran to investigate a bombing in 1994 of a Jewish centre which the Iranians were suspected of executing, invited tax evaders to buy financial instruments with preferential rates of return, and puffed up growth rates so much it may have to shell out billions of dollars in GDP-linked securities.
Last weekend’s goings-on are no less bizarre. On October 5th the president, Cristina Fernández was rushed to hospital on account of an irregular heartbeat. On arrival the 60-year-old complained of a severe headache. Neurological tests revealed that Ms Fernández was suffering from a subdural hematoma, an accumulation of blood between the tissues surrounding the brain.
Such internal bleeding can be caused by trauma. Following her diagnosis, the president’s press secretary casually explained that on August 12th, the day after Ms Fernández's Front for Victory (FPV) party was drubbed in nationwide legislative primaries, she fell and hit her head. The president was briefly hospitalised but tests concluded that she was fine. The public was never informed.
That head bump is now blamed for triggering the hematoma. The vice-president, Amado Boudou, immediately called back from an official visit to Brasil.
Convalescence may put Ms Fernández out of action until after the midterm elections on October 27th. It is far from assured that Ms Fernández's health shock will win her any sympathy votes.
After the sudden death of her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, in October 2010 her popularity shot up from 36% to 55% in a month, according to Poliarquia, a pollster. The widow, dressed in black ever since, rode the sympathy wave to win re-election with an unprecedented 54% of the vote a year later.
This time may be different, however. For a start, Mr Boudou is not the ideal standard-bearer. Last year he faced allegations of illegal enrichment and influence-peddling. Prosecutors ultimately failed to provide convincing evidence of wrongdoing, but Argentines may be reminded of the imbroglio now that Mr Boudou will once again come into the spotlight.
More important, perhaps, the hematoma is Ms Fernández’s second big health scare in less than a year. Last December she underwent surgery to remove a suspected tumour. This ultimately proved to be healthy tissue but the president was still unable to work for 20 days. All this risks making her appear fragile—and lead Argentines to ask searching questions about her physical ability to govern, just as they have been about her political capacity to do so.
adapted from The Economist
JPMorgan Chase Ex Trader's extradition
US federal authorities expect that one of the former JPMorgan Chase employees facing criminal charges in connection with the bank’s multibillion-dollar trading loss in London will eventually be extradited to the United States.
The former trader, Javier Martin-Artajo, is living in Spain and fighting extradition after surrendering to police in Spain in August.
“We have a good extradition agreement with Spain,” Lorin L. Reisner, the chief of the criminal division at the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, said on Tuesday. “I expect that Mr. Martin-Artajo will return to the U.S. via the extradition process.”
Another former trader charged in the case, Julien Grout, will probably prove more elusive, Mr. Reisner said. After leaving JPMorgan’s London offices, Mr. Grout returned to his native France, which typically does not extradite its citizens. “It’s more complicated,” Mr. Reisner said .
Mr. Reisner made his remarks at a conference on white-collar crime. The conference featured panels with leading government officials and criminal defense lawyers, as well as senior lawyers from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The white-collar crime conference coincided with the first day of the government shutdown. Mr. Reisner, the federal prosecutor, described the shutdown as a “complete mess” for his already resource-constrained office. With 10 criminal trials under way in Federal District Court in Manhattan, he is spending much of his time seeking to prevent the government paralegals from being furloughed.
The Justice Department is in settlement talks with JPMorgan and is seeking more than $11 billion from the bank over its sale of questionable mortgage securities.
The investigation into JPMorgan’s trading loss in London reached a peak in August when the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, along with the F.B.I., announced charges against the two.
Both Mr. Martino-Artajo and Mr. Grout deny wrongdoing. Bruno Iksil, a third former trader, known as the “London Whale”, reached a nonprosecution deal with the government in exchange for testifying against his former colleagues.
"I quit" (video)
Marina Shifrin, a 25-year-old University of Missouri-Columbia journalism graduate, quit her job at Next Media Animation, the Taiwanese animator that makes crazy, funny and often disturbing videos.
Her "I quit" video has gone viral and received more than 14.5m hits on YouTube so far.
Marina Shifrin explains in a blog post titled "Journalism is dead (to me)" that she's tired of how journalism has become about clicks over quality.
"I am not saying that all journalism is bad. I am saying that most popular 'journalism' is bad. You can't blame the writers, though, we're scared into it. We're the ones writing the stories about the poor job market. That's why when we find a job that remotely carries just the slightest essence of journalism we gently bend at the waist, place our elbows upon our desk and let the Clicks have their way."
And so, she writes, she's making way for other journalists, ones willing to give up their relationships and social lives for a job.
"I work for an awesome company that makes news videos. I have put my life into this job, but my boss says quantity, speed and views are what is most important.
I believe it's more important to focus on the quality of the content. Here is a little video I made explaining my feelings"
But Next Media Animation wasn't willing to let Shifrin have the last laugh. So some days later, the company posted its own video response, mimicking the format Shifrin used in her own video and using the exact same Kanye song.
Here is Kanye West's "Gone"
Wished I had told
Ooh was (the) only one
But it's too late, it's too late
He's gone
You sweat her, and I ain't talkin 'bout a Coogi
You a big L, and I ain't talkin 'bout Cool J
See me at the airport, at least 20 Louis
Treat me like the Prince and this my sweet brother Numpsay
BROTHER NUMPSAY! Groupies sound too choosy
Take 'em to the show and talk all through the movies
Says she want diamonds, I took her to Ruby Tuesdays
If we up in Friday's, I still have it my way
Too late, we, gone - we strivin home
Gone - we ride on chrome
It's too late
Y'all don't want no prob from me
What you rappers could get is a job from me
Maybe you could be my intern, and in turn
I'll show you how I cook up summer, in the winter
Aaron love the raw dog, when will he learn
Caught somethin on the Usher tour he had to "Let it Burn"
Plus he already got three chil'run
Arguin over babysitters like, "Bitch - it's yo' turn!"
Damn 'Ye, it'd be stupid to ditch you
Even your superficial raps is super official
R-R-R-Roc Pastelle with Gucci on
With TV's in the ride, throw a movie on
Said he couldn't rap now he at the top with doobie long
Cause the dookie's on any song that they threw me on, gone
We strivin home, gone
I ride on chrome...
We strivin home, gone
Killa, I ride on chrome
Knock knock, who's there? Killa Cam, Killa who?
Killa Cam, hustler, grinder, gorilla true
Oh my chinchilla blue, blue you ever dealt with a dealer
Well here's the deal ma we goin to the dealer booth
No concealin, no ceiling I don't need a roof
10/01/2013
Hernán and Himalaya - a viral video
How about filling in the blanks with the following verbs and then watching the video below? It has already received almost 11 million views!
- causes
- doesn't want
- ends up
- has
- is
- is
- is refusing
- looks
- posted
Gentle Dog Befriends Little Boy With Down Syndrome
This …………………………. a dog called Himalaya. She …………………………. to give up on a toddler who …………………………. to play.
Little Hernán, from Buenos Aires, …………………………. Down Syndrome, which, according to comments …………………………. by his mom Ana, …………………………. him to shy away from physical contact.
But Himalaya …………………………. persistent and gentle, and Hernán…………………………. giving her what…………………………. like a hug around the 3:12 mark.
adapted from The Huffington Post
9/28/2013
Scoring drugs
MOST people agree that some drugs are worse than others: heroin is
probably considered more dangerous than marijuana, for instance. That's why a study published by the Lancet makes interesting reading.
Researchers led by Professor David Nutt, a former chief drugs adviser to the British government, asked drug-harm experts to rank 20 drugs (legal and illegal) on 16 measures of harm to the user and to wider society, such as damage to health, drug dependency, economic costs and crime.
Alcohol is the most harmful drug in Britain, scoring 72 out of a possible 100, far more damaging than heroin (55) or crack cocaine (54). It is the most harmful to others by a wide margin, and is ranked fourth behind heroin, crack, and methamphetamine (crystal meth) for harm to the individual.
Researchers led by Professor David Nutt, a former chief drugs adviser to the British government, asked drug-harm experts to rank 20 drugs (legal and illegal) on 16 measures of harm to the user and to wider society, such as damage to health, drug dependency, economic costs and crime.
Alcohol is the most harmful drug in Britain, scoring 72 out of a possible 100, far more damaging than heroin (55) or crack cocaine (54). It is the most harmful to others by a wide margin, and is ranked fourth behind heroin, crack, and methamphetamine (crystal meth) for harm to the individual.
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