hollywoodtone.blogspot.com New video pokes fun at online privacy issuesAs more and more leaks are made public, the visible extent of the spying apparatus seems to be growing. To poke fun at the NSA's seemingly endless reach, and to highlight how Google knows what you are searching for via its search engine, ShopPrivate.org filmed a man with a megaphone reading over people's shoulders and announcing what they just typed. As can be expected, people were at first shocked, and then either began laughing or got really angry, the latter especially justifiable when searches about pregnancy and warts were spoken out loud. One guy in particular really wasn't happy, as can be viewed at the end of the clip. hollywoodtone.blogspot.com New video pokes fun at online privacy issues
Friday, February 28, 2014
New video pokes fun at online privacy issues hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
Written By ADMIN; About: New video pokes fun at online privacy issues hollywoodtone.blogspot.com on Friday, February 28, 2014
EU-U.S. trade talks face growing hostility, ministers warn hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com EU-U.S. trade talks face growing hostility, ministers warn
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com EU-U.S. trade talks face growing hostility, ministers warn
By Robin Emmott
ATHENS (Reuters) - Free-trade talks between the United States and the European Union are in danger of being derailed by populist groups opposing everything from globalization to multinationals, EU ministers and business leaders said on Friday.
The rise of anti-EU parties, reports of U.S. spying in Europe and accusations that a trade pact would pander to big companies have combined to erode public support for a deal that proponents say would dramatically increase economic growth.
"We are grappling with people who are anti-European, who are anti-American, who are anti-free trade, who are anti-globalization and who are anti-multinational corporations," Finland's minister for Europe and trade, Alexander Stubb, told his EU counterparts and business leaders at a meeting in Athens.
"We have an uphill battle to make the argument that this EU-U.S. free-trade agreement is a good one," he said in remarks that were broadcast to reporters.
With the euro zone's economy barely out of a two-year recession, EU governments see a trade deal with the United States as the best way to create jobs. They say a pact encompassing almost half the world's economy could generate $100 billion in additional economic output a year on both sides of the Atlantic.
The European Union and the United States already trade almost $3 billion in goods and services each day, and by deepening economic ties, the pact could create a market of 800 million people where business could be done freely.
The EU's trade chief Karel De Gucht conceded that, outside business circles, there was little public awareness about the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which is often known by its initials as "T-TIP".
"When we talk about T-TIP, some people think it is an extraterrestrial," De Gucht said.
Nils Andersen of Danish shipper A.P. Moller-Maersk, who was among chief executives invited to the debate, said there was a danger of voters being "hijacked by populist statements".
YES OR NO?
Public support is crucial because the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress must ratify the agreement once it is made.
EU lawmakers have already shown a willingness to reject deals they think do not have enough public support - for example the global Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) thrown out in 2012.
U.S.-EU trade talks initially enjoyed a warm reception when they were launched in July last year.
But European consumer and green groups said a deal letting firms operate freely in both the EU and the United states might let companies bypass EU safety and environmental standards.
The talks have also been overshadowed by widespread distrust of Washington caused by reports the United States bugged EU offices and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone.
In the United States, President Barack Obama's efforts to speed up agreement on the deal, by renewing a 'fast-track' trade promotion authority, have faced resistance from members of his own Democratic party, some of them skeptical about the benefits of unfettered free trade.
The 'fast track' authority, which expired in 2007, would allow Obama to present the trade to Congress for a simple 'yes/no' vote, avoiding the risk of lawmakers picking it apart clause by clause and delaying its chances of becoming law indefinitely.
De Gucht said the EU's tight regulation in the sensitive issue of genetically modified food would not change, even if Brussels and Washington did sign an accord.
Some Europeans are worried about what impact GM crops and products - often dubbed "Frankenstein Food" - might have on health and the environment.
"We are not dumbing down our standards," De Gucht said. "I will not agree to put hormone beef on the European market or change our laws on genetically modified organisms."
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com EU-U.S. trade talks face growing hostility, ministers warn
Pakistan's 2,000 km march for 'missing' nears end hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pakistan's 2,000 km march for 'missing' nears end
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pakistan's 2,000 km march for 'missing' nears end
After 2,000 gruelling kilometres on the road, a band of families led by a 72-year-old marching in protest over missing relatives reached the edge of the Pakistani capital on Friday.
They are the relatives of people who have disappeared in Pakistan's troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, allegedly at the hands of the country's security services.
The marchers, led by a retired banker known as Mama (uncle) Qadir, hope to present a petition to UN officials in Islamabad and meet foreign diplomats to raise awareness of their cause.
"We want to tell (the world) that people are being kidnapped every day in Baluchistan, districts are being bombarded and almost every day we are receiving mutilated bodies," Qadir told AFP on the road close to Rawalpindi, Islamabad's twin city.
"We have no more hope in the Pakistani government, which is why we want to talk to international organisations, so they can apply pressure."
Aamir Qureshi, AFP
In this photograph taken on February 24, 2014 a group of Baluch people, led by Mama (uncle) Qadir push a hand cart carrying the pictures of their missing loved ones as they walk along the Grand Trunk Road in the town of Dina
image:176430:0::0
Qadir's son Jalil Reki, a member of the Baloch Republican Party, which is suspected of links to the armed insurgency, was found shot dead in 2011 after going missing.
The marchers set out from the Baluchistan capital Quetta last October, walking the first 700 kilometres to Karachi, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, before turning northwards to Islamabad, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas.
On Friday they reached the edge of the capital and on Saturday they will complete their marathon trek in front of the city's press club.
"We hope to be heard, but if we are not we will evaluate the situation and who knows, maybe we will march to Geneva," Qadir said.
Baluchistan, the size of Italy and rich in copper, gold and natural gas, is Pakistan's largest but least populous province.
It is also the least developed, which has exacerbated a long-running ethnic Baluch separatist movement that wants more autonomy and a greater share of its mineral wealth.
Aamir Qureshi, AFP
In this photograph taken on February 24, 2014 a group of Baluch people, led by Mama (uncle) Qadir, pose with pictures of their missing loved ones as they walk along the Grand Trunk Road in the town of Dina
image:176431:0::0
The latest armed insurgency rose up in 2004 and separatist groups still regularly attack Pakistani forces.
Rights groups accuse the military and intelligence agencies of kidnapping and killing suspected Baluch rebels before leaving their bodies by the roadside.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than 300 people have suffered this fate -- known as "kill and dump" -- in Baluchistan since January 2011.
The security services deny the allegations and say they are battling a fierce rebellion in the province.
The Supreme Court has also been investigating cases of missing people in Baluchistan, issuing warnings to the government to recover these people.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pakistan's 2,000 km march for 'missing' nears end
Wall Street little changed after GDP revision hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Wall Street little changed after GDP revision
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Wall Street little changed after GDP revision
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened little changed on Friday, with the S&P 500 coming off a record close and after the U.S. government slashed its estimate for fourth-quarter economic growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 9.38 points, or 0.06 percent, to 16,263.27, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 1 point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,855.29 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 8.221 points, or 0.19 percent, to 4,327.154.
(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Wall Street little changed after GDP revision
Man Utd team with Google to put faraway fans pitchside hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Man Utd team with Google to put faraway fans pitchside
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Man Utd team with Google to put faraway fans pitchside
LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester United have joined forces with technology giant Google to allow a handful of soccer fans around the world to follow next month's clash with Liverpool as if they were pitchside at Old Trafford.
To heighten the sense of being at the game, images of the fans will appear live on the digital advertising hoardings at the stadium during the Premier League game on March 16.
Their pictures will be streamed using the Google+Hangout system -- a video chat function.
Google described the move as an "experiment into what the future of supporting your team could be", although the initiative will be limited to only around 10-20 fans this time.
United fans are being asked to share a picture on Google+ with the tag "#MUFrontRow" to show their support and the participants will be chosen from this group.
English champions United claim to have more than 650 million global followers.
(Writing by Keith Weir, 44 20 7542 8022)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Man Utd team with Google to put faraway fans pitchside
Jansrud and Streitberger in downhill skiing dead heat hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Jansrud and Streitberger in downhill skiing dead heat
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Jansrud and Streitberger in downhill skiing dead heat
Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud and Austrian Georg Streitberger finished in a downhill dead heat at the World Cup event in Kvitfjell, Norway on Friday.
Both racers clocked 1min 05.72secs, on a shortened course due to adverse weather conditions, while American Travis Ganong claimed the final place on the podium at 0.12secs back.
Veteran Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal came home fifth at .37secs to slash his World Cup overall deficit to 13 points behind Austrian slalom specialist Marcel Hirscher.
Svindal's result however is enough to guarantee him the World Cup globe of downhill winner for the season.
"It brings me great happiness to celebrate my first victory in downwhill. I drew the number one bib and everything went well," said Streitberger.
Daniel Sannum Lauten, AFP
Georg Streitberger competes in the Ski World Cup men's downhill on February 28, 2014 in Kvitfjell, Norway
image:176424:0::0
Lillehammer native Jansrud was equally satisfied after drawing a late start number.
"With my number (15), I can be happy with my race. The weather was getting worse and worse." said the Norwegian.
Jansrud, who won Olympic super-G gold at Sochi earlier this month and also downhill bronze at the Black Sea resort, picks up only his second World Cup victory while Streitberger picks up win number three.
Jansrud also won Olympic silver in the giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The previous downhill to finish in a dead heat was at Bormio in December 2012 when Italian Dominik Paris and Hannes Reichelt posted identical times.
DANIEL SANNUM LAUTEN, AFP
Kjetil Jansrud competes in the Ski World Cup men's downhill on February 28, 2014 in Kvitfjell, Norway
image:176425:0::0
The piste, that was used for the 1994 Olympics based in Lillehammer, has been kind to both winning skiers with both men winning super-G races, Jansrud in 2012 and Streitberger in 2008.
A second downhill is scheduled for Saturday and a super-G the following day which could give Svindal the necessary advantage to surpass Hirscher in the overall rankings.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Jansrud and Streitberger in downhill skiing dead heat
Turkey 'frees key suspects in corruption probe' hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Turkey 'frees key suspects in corruption probe'
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Turkey 'frees key suspects in corruption probe'
A Turkish court on Friday released five people, including the sons of two ministers, who were detained on corruption allegations in mid-December in a high-profile probe that has rocked the government, local media said.
The private NTV channel said that Baris Guler, the son of the former interior minister, as well as Kaan Caglayan, the son of the ex-economy minister, and Azerbaijani businessman Reza Zarrab, were among those freed.
NTV said the suspects were let go because the necessary evidence had been collected.
Guler and Caglayan had been charged with acting as intermediaries for giving and taking bribes, while Zarrab was suspected of forming a ring that bribed officials to disguise illegal gold sales to sanctions-hit Iran via state-owned Halkbank.
The men walked free two weeks after Suleyman Arslan, the former chief executive of Halkbank who was also caught up in the police raids, was released. He was accused of corruption, fraud and money laundering in connection with illegal gold sales to Iran.
The graft scandal has struck at the heart of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, posing the biggest challenge yet to his 11 years in power. The crisis has prompted a cabinet reshuffle and the two ministers whose sons were implicated in the scandal have resigned.
Adem Altan, AFP
Demonstrators chant slogans as they protest against Turkey's Prime Minister and his ruling AKP party in Ankara, on February 27, 2014
image:176422:0::0
Erdogan has accused supporters of exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who wields considerable influence in the judiciary and police, of launching the probe as part of a plot against his government ahead of local polls in March.
Erdogan has retaliated by sacking or reassigning hundreds of police and prosecutors believed to have links to Gulen.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Turkey 'frees key suspects in corruption probe'
China Eastern to buy 70 Airbus A320NEO for $6.4 billion hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com China Eastern to buy 70 Airbus A320NEO for $6.4 billion
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com China Eastern to buy 70 Airbus A320NEO for $6.4 billion
(Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd <600115.SS> <0670.HK> has ordered 70 A320neo aircraft, marking a big victory for Airbus <AIR.PA>, which has been actively marketing the upgraded variant of its popular A320 jet to Chinese carriers.
It is the first order by a Chinese airline for the plane. The European aircraft maker has been in discussion with Chinese carriers to sell hundreds of A320neos, company China president Eric Chen had told media last September.
The $6.37 billion deal will also help boost the competitiveness of the China Eastern, one of the country's top three airlines, by increasing its capacity by about 13 percent, the carrier said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.
The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered from 2018 to 2020 and will be used to service short and medium routes, China Eastern said.
China Eastern also said it signed a separate deal with Airbus to sell back seven used A300-600 jets.
Airbus, which expects China to overtake the United States as the world's largest domestic market by 2032, has invested heavily in the country. It manufactures the existing variants of the A320 at a factory in Tianjin.
(Reporting by Hong Kong and Singapore newsrooms; Editing by Matt Driskill)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com China Eastern to buy 70 Airbus A320NEO for $6.4 billion
Top investors cut emerging Europe equities as Ukraine turmoil escalates: Reuters poll hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Top investors cut emerging Europe equities as Ukraine turmoil escalates: Reuters poll
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Top investors cut emerging Europe equities as Ukraine turmoil escalates: Reuters poll
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's top investors cut exposure to emerging European equities to a five-month low in February as they fretted over a spillover from tensions in Ukraine and Russia, Reuters polls showed on Friday.
Concerns over China's economic slowdown also prompted fund managers to trim their Asian equity holdings to a four-year low and instead boost euro zone equity weightings to the highest since June 2011.
The monthly polls covering 50 leading investment houses in the United States, Japan and Europe were taken between February 12 and 27, when three months of protests in Ukraine culminated in the overthrow of Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich, leaving an unstable political situation.
Central European assets have been under pressure as investors fear a possible default in Ukraine's sovereign debt and the prospect of military conflict involving Russia.
However, overall equity holdings stood at 51.1 percent, holding near a one-year high, underscoring investor confidence in the U.S.-led global economic recovery.
"Despite the current emerging market weakness, an overall improving economic environment for 2014 should be supportive for risk assets in the next quarters," said Boris Willems, strategist at UBS Global Asset Management.
"Nonetheless, investors should accept higher volatility, as negative news might weigh heavier on market sentiment."
Emerging European equity holdings fell to 1.8 percent, after hitting a four-year high of 2.4 percent last month.
Emerging Asian equity holdings fell to 6.0 percent, the lowest since at least January 2010. In contrast, continental European weightings rose for a third month in a row to 18.9 percent, the highest since June 2011.
"The case for emerging market currencies and equities is not compelling yet as the momentum of growth expectations remains negative and tapering in the U.S. may continue to undermine carry trades," said Chris Paine, director of asset allocation at Henderson Global Investors.
Fixed income holdings fell to 35.5 percent, levels not seen since April 2012. Within the asset class, North American allocation fell to 34.3 percent, the lowest since May 2010.
CAUTION IN U.S., EUROPE
U.S. investors pushed their equity holdings to a four-month low of 56.2 percent of their model portfolios. The biggest declines came in the percentage of assets invested in Japanese stocks, which fell to 4.6 percent of assets. <US/ASSET>
Continental European investors cut their equity holdings in emerging Europe to 1.9 percent, their lowest since September 2012. The weighting of debt holdings in the region stood at 1.4 percent, rising for the first time in three months. <EUR/ASSET>
Japanese fund managers raised equity holdings to a 2 1/2-year high of 46.1 percent, favoring U.S. shares. They cut their bond allocations to 46.8 percent, the lowest since October 2011. <JP/ASSET>
British investors slashed their bond holdings to 22.8 percent from 24.2 percent in January, their lowest level since at least May 2012. Allocation to emerging European equities halved to 1 percent. <GB/ASSET>
(Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly and Joshua Franklin in London, Rahul Karunakar in Bangalore, David Randall in New York and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Susan Fenton)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Top investors cut emerging Europe equities as Ukraine turmoil escalates: Reuters poll
Yanukovych insists 'not overthrown', will fight on hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Yanukovych insists 'not overthrown', will fight on
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Yanukovych insists 'not overthrown', will fight on
Deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych insisted Friday in his first public appearance since fleeing to Russia that he had not been overthrown and would continue to fight for the future of Ukraine.
Yanukovych told reporters in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don that he had been "compelled to leave" Ukraine after he received threats to his security.
"I have not been overthrown by anyone, I was compelled to leave Ukraine due to an immediate threat to my life and the life of those close to me," he said, sitting at a desk alongside a senior editor from the ITAR-TASS news agency in front of three Ukrainian flags.
"I intend to continue the fight for the future of Ukraine against those who try to saddle it with fear and terror."
Yanukovych, who fled after being impeached by parliament on Saturday, savaged the anti-Kremlin and pro-EU forces who have now taken power.
"Power in Ukraine has been taken by nationalist, pro-fascist young people who represent the absolute minority of people in Ukraine."
"This is anarchy, terror and chaos," he added.
But Yanukovych, 63, speaking in Russian, said he wanted to apologise for leaving Ukraine in its current state.
"I am ashamed. I want to say I apologise to the Ukrainian people for what happened in Ukraine and that I did not have the strength to keep stability."
He blamed the "irresponsible policies" of the West for the crisis in the country and said he would not take part in "illegal" presidential election planned by Ukraine's new leadership for May 25.
Yanukovych said he spoke by telephone to Russian President Vladimir Putin after arriving in the country but had not yet met with the Kremlin chief.
He said such a face-to-face meeting was planned in the future. Yanukovych said he was surprised that Putin had not yet spoken out on Ukraine since his flight.
Yanukovych said he had arrived in Russia "thanks to a patriotically-minded young officer" without giving further details. He said he would only return to Ukraine once his personal security was assured.
Yanukovych said he could understand the anger of citizens in Ukraine's pro-Russian region of Crimea against the new Ukrainian authorities.
"I consider that what is happening in Crimea is an absolutely natural reaction to the bandit-like takeover that happened in Kiev."
He said he still saw himself as the Ukrainian president and as such believed that Crimea must remain part of Ukraine.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Yanukovych insists 'not overthrown', will fight on
TSX may open higher, helped by data, Mega Brands hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com TSX may open higher, helped by data, Mega Brands
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com TSX may open higher, helped by data, Mega Brands
(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index looked set to open higher on Friday following slightly stronger than expected quarterly growth data, which helped offset worries surrounding Ukraine's political situation.
Shares of Mega Brands Inc <MB.TO> were also expected to rise after Toymaker Mattel Inc said it agreed to buy Mega Brands for about $460 million, including debt, to expand its construction and arts and crafts offerings.
(Reporting by Mononshila Deka in Banagalore and Jeffrey Hodgson in Toronto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com TSX may open higher, helped by data, Mega Brands
Canada economy grows 2.9 percent in fourth quarter, more than expected hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Canada economy grows 2.9 percent in fourth quarter, more than expected
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Canada economy grows 2.9 percent in fourth quarter, more than expected
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's economy grew at a greater-than-expected annualized rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 after expanding by 2.7 percent in the third quarter, Statistics Canada data indicated on Friday.
Market operators had predicted fourth quarter growth of 2.5 percent.
Statistics Canada also revised up its growth figures for the first two quarters to reflect that exports of crude oil and crops were greater than it had initially estimated.
Statscan now says first quarter growth was 2.9 percent compared to an initial 2.3 percent, while second quarter growth was 2.2 percent rather than 1.6 percent.
For 2013 as a whole, real gross domestic product grew by 2.0 percent from 2012 after increasing by 1.7 percent year-on-year in 2012.
Gross domestic product in December fell 0.5 percent from November after five consecutive monthly increases. Traders had expected a 0.3 percent drop, in part because of unusually cold weather that hit retail sales.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Canada economy grows 2.9 percent in fourth quarter, more than expected
US economic growth revised down to 2.4% in Q4 hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com US economic growth revised down to 2.4% in Q4
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com US economic growth revised down to 2.4% in Q4
The US economy grew more slowly than previously thought in the 2013 fourth quarter, largely due to weaker consumer spending, official data released Friday showed.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product growth in the final quarter was at an annual rate of 2.4 percent, revising its initial estimate of a 3.2 percent GDP expansion.
Analysts had expected a downward revision, but forecast a less sharp drop to 2.6 percent.
The report showed the world's largest economy had significantly lost momentum even before a series of weaker economic data in January and February, which some say are due to severe winter weather in much of the country.
The economy grew at a robust rate of 4.1 percent in the third quarter.
Most of the fourth-quarter growth revision came from weaker than first estimated growth in consumer spending, which drives the bulk of US economic activity. Spending was revised down to 2.6 percent from the prior estimate of 3.3 percent.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com US economic growth revised down to 2.4% in Q4
Oil-rich Norway may divest from fossil fuels hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Oil-rich Norway may divest from fossil fuels
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Oil-rich Norway may divest from fossil fuels
Oil-rich Norway said Friday in an ironic twist that it would consider pulling its enormous state oil fund out of overseas investments in fossil fuels.
Norway, where oil revenue accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy, has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, which has invested the nation's oil wealth in a range of stocks, bonds and other vehicles -- including major oil and gas companies.
An independent panel of experts will report back to parliament in 2015 on the likely consequences of the fund -- which is worth almost $840 billion (610 billion euros) -- divesting from coal, oil and gas businesses, the rightwing ruling coalition said Friday.
It was not clear whether any pull-out would affect all fossil fuel extraction companies, or whether it would also include power companies.
"It is important to look at this issue from every angle before going ahead with changes," said Svein Flaatten, finance spokesman for the conservative party.
Alf Ove Hansen, Scanpix/AFP
The world's largest natural gas platform Aasgard-B being towed on April 17, 2000 from Kvaerner Rosenberg Shipyard near Stavanger on the first stage of its journey to its North Sea destination
image:176415:0::0
Norway's Government Pension Fund, as it is officially known, owns about 1.3 percent of global market capitalisation.
Its top 10 stock holdings include almost 29 billion kroner ($4.8 billion, 3.5 billion euros) in Anglo-Dutch multinational Shell, 22.1 billion kroner in BG and 20.2 billion kroner in BP.
Despite its misleading name, the fund is in fact intended to shore up the Scandinavian nation's welfare state into the future.
In December the opposition Labour Party first sparked a debate on the fund going greener when it proposed selling off its investments in "dirty" coal-based energy.
Several financial experts have claimed that the "oil fund", as it is commonly called, is doubly exposed to investment risks.
A price drop in the fossil fuel sector would mean less state money poured into the fund and also lower returns on the stock market, as oil and gas account for 8.4 percent of the fund's stock holdings.
A large proportion of state revenue in Norway is derived from oil and gas production, and the state also owns a coal mining operation on the Arctic Svalbard archipelago.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Oil-rich Norway may divest from fossil fuels
Viral video: Baby refuses to leave mother after birth hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Viral video: Baby refuses to leave mother after birth
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Viral video: Baby refuses to leave mother after birth
A mother had given birth to a baby by Cesarian section, but every time the medical staff tried to take the baby away for cleaning and checking over. the child continued to cling to the mother.
While there is not much information available on the video, what we see is taken from behind the Spanish-speaking mother's head in the hospital ward in Mexico. The baby has apparently been born by Cesarian section and the nurse is trying to take the baby for all the necessary cleaning and health checks. Whatever they try, the baby continues to cling to the mother's face and cries if they try to separate him or her from the mother. The nurse then cleans the baby in place, cuddled up to the mother. The video was posted on February 25 and this particular version on YouTube is already well on the way to its first million views.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Viral video: Baby refuses to leave mother after birth
Italy cancels 'Google tax' on web companies hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Italy cancels 'Google tax' on web companies
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Italy cancels 'Google tax' on web companies
ROME (Reuters) - Italy has dropped a planned internet tax sometimes dubbed the "Google tax", in one of the first measures enacted by the new government of Matteo Renzi, an official said on Friday.
The former government of Enrico Letta passed a law on the tax last year, but promptly delayed the date it would come into effect until July. The European Commission warned that it could break EU rules before it was approved in parliament.
The tax, designed to ensure firms that advertise and sell in Italy do so only through companies with a tax presence there would be cancelled, Graziano Delrio, Renzi's chief of staff, told a press conference.
(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Italy cancels 'Google tax' on web companies
Pearson logs 2013 profits, but shares slump on outlook hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pearson logs 2013 profits, but shares slump on outlook
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pearson logs 2013 profits, but shares slump on outlook
Publisher Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, said on Friday that net profits rallied last year, but gloomy forecasts and US woes sent its share price plunging.
Profits after taxation soared to £538 million last year, from £311 million in 2012, Pearson said in a results statement.
However, adjusted operating profit fell six percent to £871 million amid weak US sales.
And it forecast earnings per share will stand at between 62 pence and 67 pence this year, adding that pressures in its biggest markets were "expected to persist, impacting revenues and margins" in 2014.
Earnings per share meanwhile fell to 70.1 pence in 2013 from 82.6 pence a year earlier.
The news sent Pearson shares sliding 7.19 percent to 998.65 pence in morning deals on London's flat FTSE 100 index.
Pearson, which has widespread publishing interests notably in educational publishing, added that sales grew two percent to £5.18 billion, aided by its focus on digital learning and emerging markets.
The results were also hit by an accounting charge for the merger of the group's publishing interests under the Penguin brand, and the Random House brand of Germany's Bertelsmann.
"2013 profits (were) reduced by (the) accounting impact of the Penguin Random House merger, lower margins in North America, sustained investment, and revenue mix," the group said in the earnings release.
Pearson, which generates about 60 percent of its sales in North America, had already warned in January that 2013 profits would be hurt by weak sales across its US education business and restructuring charges.
"We are in the middle of what we believe will be a short, but difficult, transition -- one that through our combined investment and restructuring programs will drive a leaner, more cash generative, faster growing business from 2015," said chief executive John Fallon.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pearson logs 2013 profits, but shares slump on outlook
Second best year for Norway's sovereign wealth fund hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Second best year for Norway's sovereign wealth fund
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Second best year for Norway's sovereign wealth fund
Norway's huge sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, reported last year the second best performance of its history, the country's central bank said Friday, virtually making every Norwegian a millionaire.
The so-called oil fund is fed by the state's oil revenues and invested outside the country to prevent an overheating of the national economy.
Started in the 1990s, it had a 15.9 percent financial return, or 692 billion kroner (83.5 billion euros, $115 billion) in 2013 helped by a 26.3-percent rise in profits from share investments, which represent 61.7 percent of its portfolio.
Its value at the end of 2013 amounted to 5,04 billion kroner, almost making all of Norway's 5.1 million residents millionaires in the local currency, at least on paper.
Despite the fund's misleading official name -- the Government Pension Fund of Norway -- the state is actually saving it to guarantee the continuation of its generous welfare benefits in the future.
Odd Andersen, AFP/File
People pass Picasso's mural art work "The Fisherman" (left) on the government quarter's 'Y building' in Oslo, Norway on August 6, 2013
image:176411:0::0
Yngve Slyngstad, the oil fund's chief executive, said 2013 was "a good year" in terms of financial performance.
Bond investments (37.3 percent of the portfolio) gave no return, while real estate investments in Europe and the US, turned in 11.8 percent.
According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the Norwegian fund is the largest in the world, followed by a fund owned by the United Arab Emirates.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Second best year for Norway's sovereign wealth fund
Putin's 'biker brothers' to roar across Ukraine hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Putin's 'biker brothers' to roar across Ukraine
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Putin's 'biker brothers' to roar across Ukraine
A group of Russian bikers called the Night Wolves that regularly rides with President Vladimir Putin is heading to Ukraine to back pro-Russian protests, its leader said Friday.
Putin has ridden a Harley-Davidson with the bikers and called them his "brothers". He is said to be close to its long-haired leader, Alexander Zaldostanov, nicknamed "the Surgeon".
The patriotic group opposes Ukraine's European integration and the protest movement that has taken power in Kiev. Its website says its members are "ready to die like warriors".
"Tomorrow people are organising an action called Russian Spring," Zaldostanov told the RIA Novosti news agency, saying the event would start from the town of Popasnaya in eastern Ukraine.
"The column will start at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and ride across the whole eastern part of Ukraine," he said, adding that he himself was going to the Crimean port of Sevastopol, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based.
The overwhelmingly Russian-speaking peninsula of Crimea has emerged as a flashpoint in Ukraine after the ousting of president Viktor Yanukovych, with many residents openly hostile to the new authorities in Kiev.
The bikers' leader said members also planned to deliver "humanitarian aid" to Sevastopol on four-wheeler bikes.
Putin has several times appeared at bike rallies with Zaldostanov, a towering figure who wears studded leather and ties his long hair back in a pony tail.
Last year, Putin personally decorated Zaldostanov with a state honour after the group helped restore a monument symbolic of Soviet war heroism in the southern city of Volgograd.
In 2011, Putin, riding a Harley-Davidson, led a column of the bikers at a rally held on a former Soviet warship in the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk.
The club has its own Kiev branch, which says its aim is to "spread Russian influence around the world".
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Putin's 'biker brothers' to roar across Ukraine
Philippine Muslim peace deal to be inked 'end of March' hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Philippine Muslim peace deal to be inked 'end of March'
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Philippine Muslim peace deal to be inked 'end of March'
The Philippine government and Muslim rebels will sign a peace deal to end one of Asia's longest and deadliest insurgencies "by the end of March", Malaysia's prime minister said Friday after meeting his Filipino counterpart.
Prime Minister Najib Razak said President Benigno Aquino invited him to witness the ceremony when "the comprehensive agreement is due to be signed by the end of March".
An official in the office of Aquino's adviser on the peace negotiations confirmed the signing was targeted for the end of next month though no exact date has been set.
"The successful conclusion of the Mindanao peace process... makes possible the empowerment of all the peoples of Mindanao," Aquino told reporters referring to the southern Philippine state where a decades-long rebellion has killed more than 150,000, mostly civilians.
Mark Navales, AFP
This file photo taken on January 29, 2014 shows Philippine soldiers patrolling a rice field during a clearing operation against members of a Muslim renegade faction, near the village of Ganta, in Maguindanao province
image:176406:0::0
Aquino was speaking to reporters in Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya on his first visit to the neighbouring country.
The Philippine government and the 12,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) completed negotiations last month for a power-sharing arrangement with the nation's Muslim minority in the south.
Muslim-majority Malaysia hosted the negotiations.
The deal aims to end an insurgency that began in the 1970s, killed tens of thousands and left large parts of the fertile southern Philippines mired in violence-plagued poverty.
Richele Umel, AFP/File
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels guard a checkpoint in Sultan Kudarat, on the southern island of Mindanao, on February 11, 2013
image:176407:0::0
But even Aquino's peace chiefs have warned that the toughest stages, including implementing the deal, are yet to come after 18 years of stop-start negotiations.
They also include stamping out threats from renegade guerrillas and getting the support of hostile politicians and the nation's highest court.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Philippine Muslim peace deal to be inked 'end of March'
Philippine Azkals face Malaysian Tigers Saturday with new Coach hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Philippine Azkals face Malaysian Tigers Saturday with new Coach
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Philippine Azkals face Malaysian Tigers Saturday with new Coach
The Philippine Azkals will be facing the Malaysian Tigers in a friendly game Saturday night with new coach Thomas Dooley, who will lead the Philippine National Football Team to the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup competition in Maldives starting May 19.
Dooley replaced Michael Weis, who was instrumental in improving the Philippine ranking from 162 in July 2011 to 127 in the latest FIFA rankings. During his three-year stint with the Azkals, Weis led the team to the semi-finals of both AFC Challenge Cup and Suzuki Cup. The FIFA international friendly game in Malaysia is part of Azkals' preparation for the upcoming 2014 AFC Challenge Cup scheduled for May 19-30, 2014 in Maldives. The Maldives games will be the last of a series of five tournaments in the AFC Challenge Cup as the the football body prepares for the bigger and expanded Asian Cup. The Azkals and the Malaysian football team have figured in past games in their respective home courts. The Azkals won over Malaysia 1-0 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in 2012 while both teams ended with a scoreless game in the same year in Malaysian home court. Read more: On March 5, the Philippine team will face Azerbaijan in another friendly. A few days before the Azkals' first friendly, Dooley called up at least 23 players who will make up the team in the upcoming friendly. The list include veteran players in the Azkals team as well as comebacking and new members. Chieffy Caligdong, who remains in the injured list may not see action this Saturday and will likely be replaced by veteran defender Rob Gier. The Younghusband brothers, Phil and James are expected to be fielded by Coach Dooley along with Marwin Angeles, Amani Aguinaldo, Misagh Bahadoran, Jeffrey Christiaens, Jason De Jong and Mark Hartmann of Global FC. They will be joined by other Azkals veterans including Ed Sacapaño, Juani Guirado, Patrick Reichelt, Marwin Angeles, Amani Aguinaldo, Misagh Bahadoran, Jeffrey Christiaens, Jason De Jong, Mark Hartmann, OJ Porteria and Chris Greatwich. The others in the list include comebacking players Anton Del Rosario, Ruben Doctora, Nate Burkey and Simon Greatwich. First timers in the team include, Kenshiro Daniels, Andrew Liauw and Nick O’Donnel of Kaya FC and Filipino-Swiss Martin Steuble. The Philippine Azkals will figure in at least five friendlies before settling in the main competition in Maldives from May 19-30, 2014. The game will be held at the at Selayang Municipal Council Stadium in Kuala Lumpur starting at 8:45 p.m. At stake in the Maldives games is a slot in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Philippine Azkals face Malaysian Tigers Saturday with new Coach
Pope urges sympathy for failed love in divorce debate hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pope urges sympathy for failed love in divorce debate
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pope urges sympathy for failed love in divorce debate
Pope Francis on Friday said couples whose marriages fail should be "accompanied" and not "condemned", wading into a debate on divorce that is testing his promise to put the Church in touch with modern life.
"When love fails, and it fails many times, we have to feel the pain of that failure, accompany the people who have felt the failure of their love," the pope said during the daily mass he holds in the Vatican.
"Don't condemn them! Walk with them!" he said, adding: "We have to be so close to the brothers and sisters who have suffered the failure of love in their lives".
The main issue is whether divorcees who re-marry should be allowed to take part in the most sacred point of Catholic mass, Holy Communion, which is forbidden under current rules that in practice are often not observed.
Changing that doctrine could in turn alter Church rules on marriage annulments and raise broader questions about the institution of marriage, prompting lively exchanges between traditionalists and reformers.
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in France, told Vatican radio that a meeting of cardinals from around the world in the Vatican this month devoted "80 to 90 percent" of the time to discussing the issue.
German Cardinal Ludwig Mueller, head of the Church's doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has said the current rules are "impossible to change" and that people should stop thinking of marriage as "a party in a church".
Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, a member of the council of eight cardinals established by the pope to advise him, has taken a more lenient line and has asked Mueller to be "more flexible".
A survey by the Spanish-language network Univision in 12 mainly Catholic countries found that 75 percent of Europeans, 67 percent of Latin Americans and 59 percent of Americans were at odds with the Church on the issue, while in Africa 19 percent of respondents disagreed.
The issue is one of very personal anguish for many Catholic couples, who say they are being treated as second-class believers, and has led to acts of defiance.
The German diocese of Freiburg im Breisgau last year said it was authorizing re-married divorcees to receive Holy Communion on a case by case basis -- prompting a quick rebuke from the Vatican.
The issue would affect millions of Catholics around the world, with around a quarter of Catholic marriages ending in divorce in the United States alone.
Some theologians and clergymen have called for changes to facilitate the annulment of marriages in cases in which it could be argued that the wedding took place under social pressure or was not fully understood.
Re-marrying would then be allowed under Church rules and the couple would be allowed to take Holy Communion.
Another possibility could be the Orthodox model, which allows some divorcees to re-marry in church and take Holy Communion but gives only a blessing for the second marriage and does not consider it a sacrament.
Francis mentioned the Orthodox solution as a "parenthesis" on the plane during his return from a visit to Brazil and it was raised again by some cardinals in their consistory this month in which they said it could happen following "a period of penitence".
The issue is likely to dominate a synod of world bishops planned for later this year and another one in 2015, which Francis has said should focus on families.
The divorce debate was raised in an unprecedented questionnaire sent out to dioceses worldwide to find out the approach taken by parishes on many issues, including same-sex couples and pre-marital cohabitation.
Vatican expert Henri Tincq, writing on the website Slate.fr, said the divorce issue is particularly complex on a theological level since "a sacrament is given by God and can never be taken back".
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Pope urges sympathy for failed love in divorce debate
Ukraine currency rebounds from record low; euro at 2014 high hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Ukraine currency rebounds from record low; euro at 2014 high
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Ukraine currency rebounds from record low; euro at 2014 high
Ukraine's hryvnia currency rebounded on Friday from record dollar lows after the crisis-hit nation's central bank slapped a daily limit on cash withdrawals and reached out to the IMF amid simmering international tensions.
The fast-moving Ukrainian crisis weighed on many European stock markets, which pulled lower amid fears of a potential wider conflict in the region.
Investors also digested a mixed session in Asia after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen provided an upbeat view of the US economy -- and hinted the central bank could ease up on its stimulus taper if the growth outlook weakens.
In a crisis measure, Ukraine's central bank capped cash withdrawals to 15,000 hryvnia (1,095 euros, $1,400) per day, in the latest sign of the desperate state of national finances and a run on bank accounts.
The news came one day after Ukraine requested financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as Kiev struggles to emerge from a bloody political crisis amid heightened tensions with Russia.
The national hryvnia currency rose to 9.1800 against the dollar, having plunged to a historic low of 11.3075 on Thursday.
Bas Czerwinski, ANP/AFP
A man holds 5 euro banknotes in Amsterdam on May 2, 2013. The euro jumps to $1.3813 -- its highest level so far this year -- as stronger-than-expected eurozone inflation dampens talk of a rate hike next week
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"Although the move by the central bank to limit foreign currency withdrawal seems to have propped up the currency, we think that the global show of support for Ukraine, especially from the US, and the IMF loan request are the bigger drivers of hryvnia strength today," said analyst Kathleen Brooks at trading site Forex.com.
"Capital controls tend to be currency negative, while having the US on your side when you face a formidable force like Russia is likely to have a bigger impact.
"A pullback from record lows versus the dollar is to be expected, especially now that imminent bankruptcy looks like it has been avoided."
- Ukraine slams 'Russian invasion' -
Kiev meanwhile on Friday accused Russia of staging an "armed invasion" of Crimea and appealed to the West to guarantee its territorial integrity after pro-Kremlin gunmen took control of the peninsula's main airport.
With this in mind, London's benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index fell 0.13 percent to stand at 6,801.10 points in midday deals. Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.10 percent to 9,579.36 points and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.52 percent to 4,373.63.
"European markets are still in a consolidation pattern as optimism over the an accelerating global economy is currently being neutralised by uncertainty coming out of the Ukraine," said trader Markus Huber at London-based brokerage Peregrine & Black.
"In the United States, focus will be on revised Q4 GDP figures expected to be coming in much weaker than the first reading."
He added: "Towards the end of trading today ahead of the weekend it will be interesting to see who will keep the upper hand, with some (investors) possibly reducing their risk exposure due to the unrest in the Ukraine."
- Euro hits 2014 high -
Elsewhere, the euro jumped to $1.3813 -- its highest level so far this year -- as stronger-than-expected eurozone inflation dampened talk of a rate hike next week from the European Central Bank (ECB).
That compared with a level of $1.3710 late in New York on Thursday.
Eurozone inflation stood at 0.8 percent in February from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday.
Market expectations had been for a reading of 0.7 percent.
"The higher-than-expected inflation numbers reduce the chances of an ECB rate cut at next week’s meeting and we maintain the view that on balance the central bank will keep rates on hold," said ABN Amro economist Nick Kounis.
The European single currency rose to 82.50 British pence from 82.15 pence on Thursday. The pound gained to $1.6735 from $1.6688.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to $1,328.16 an ounce from $1,332.25 on Thursday.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Ukraine currency rebounds from record low; euro at 2014 high
Lippi 'signs to stay at China's Evergrande for three more years' hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Lippi 'signs to stay at China's Evergrande for three more years'
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Lippi 'signs to stay at China's Evergrande for three more years'
World Cup winning Italian manager Marcello Lippi has signed a contract extension to coach Guangzhou Evergrande for three more years, the Chinese club announced Friday, days after reports said he had turned down an offer.
Lippi, who lead Italy to glory in 2006, will remain coach of the Chinese and AFC Champions League title holders until November 2017, Evergrande said on a verified account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
Evergrande broke China's 23-year Asian title drought when they clinched the continental club championship in November, with the Italian at the helm.
"We believe the successful contract extension for our world class coaching team with Lippi at its core will help maintain our leading position," it said in the posting.
It did not give a value for the contract.
The announcement came after reports in state media quoted club president Liu Yongzhuo as saying the Italian, 65, had decided to leave at the end of the season because he was "tired".
Lippi joined deep-pocketed Evergrande in May 2012 and has led them to two Chinese Super League titles, a Chinese FA Cup and the AFC crown.
Separately, China's football association on Friday unveiled 57-year-old former Lyon and Marseille boss Alain Perrin as manager of its underperforming national football team, after signing a contract with him earlier this week.
Ahead of the announcement Lippi was a favourite for the post amid speculation that he would not renew his Evergrande deal.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Lippi 'signs to stay at China's Evergrande for three more years'
N. Korea snubs South request on detained missionary hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com N. Korea snubs South request on detained missionary
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com N. Korea snubs South request on detained missionary
North Korea on Friday refused to entertain an official request from Seoul to release a South Korean missionary arrested four months ago on espionage charges.
The South's Unification Ministry said it had attempted to send a written demand for Kim Jeong-Wook's immediate release through the border truce village of Panmunjom.
But North Korean officials refused to accept the message, the ministry said.
At a government-arranged news conference in Pyongyang on Thursday, Kim, 50, said he had been engaged in a number of "anti-government" activities that he had undertaken with the support of South Korea's intelligence agency.
Foreigners arrested in North Korea are often required to make a public "confession" which can then expedite their eventual release.
Seoul dismissed the charges against Kim, saying he was involved in "purely religious activities."
Fellow activists and missionaries said Kim had been providing shelter and food for seven years to North Korean refugees living in China's northeastern border city of Dandong.
They said he had crossed the Yalu border river in October to establish the whereabouts of some North Korean refugees who had been arrested in Dandong by Chinese authorities and repatriated.
Although religious freedom is enshrined in the North Korean constitution, it does not exist in practice and religious activity is severely restricted to officially-recognised groups linked to the government.
Last week North Korea arrested an Australian missionary, John Short, 75, after he left a Christian pamphlet in a Buddhist temple.
US citizen Kenneth Bae, described by a North Korean court as a militant Christian evangelist, was sentenced last year to 15 year's hard labour on charges of seeking to topple the government.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com N. Korea snubs South request on detained missionary
Mattel to buy Canada's Mega Brands for about $460 million hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Mattel to buy Canada's Mega Brands for about $460 million
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Mattel to buy Canada's Mega Brands for about $460 million
(Reuters) - Mattel Inc <MAT.O>, the world's No. 1 toymaker, said it agreed to buy Canada's Mega Brands Inc <MB.TO> for about $460 million, including debt, to expand its construction and arts and crafts offerings.
Mattel, known for its Barbie and Hot Wheels brands, offered C$17.75 per Mega Brands share, representing a premium of 36 percent to the stock's close of C$13.07 on Thursday.
"The construction play pattern is popular, universal and has had one of the fastest growth rates over the past three years," Mattel's Chief Executive Bryan Stockton said in a statement.
Montreal-based Mega Brands makes construction toys and arts and crafts under brands such as MEGA Bloks, Rose Art and MEGA puzzles. The company said it has estimated net sales of $405 million in 2013.
Construction toys and other traditional toys have become popular among parents seeking to limit the amount of time their children spend using iPads and other electronics with screens.
Both Mattel and its U.S.-based rival Hasbro Inc <HAS.O> posted lower-than-expected results in the fourth quarter.
In contrast, Denmark's Lego, mostly known for its colorful bricks, increased sales by 10 percent in a sluggish global toy market in 2013.
Mattel said on Friday that shareholders holding 39 percent of Mega Brands, comprising its biggest, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, and the company's founding family, have agreed to vote in favor of the deal.
Mega Brands will pay a termination fee of $12 million to Mattel if it accepts an unsolicited proposal, subject to Mattel's right to match the proposal, the companies said in a joint statement.
Mattel said it plans to fund the acquisition through a combination of new debt and cash.
RBC Capital Markets is acting as financial adviser to Mattel, while Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal adviser and McCarthy Tetrault LLP as Canadian legal adviser.
Rothschild is acting as financial adviser and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is acting as legal adviser to MEGA Brands.
Mattel shares have fallen about 9 percent in the past 12 months to their Thursday close of $37.15 on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Maria Ajit Thomas in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Mattel to buy Canada's Mega Brands for about $460 million
Aurora Borealis lights up skies as far south as Essex and Norfolk hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Aurora Borealis lights up skies as far south as Essex and Norfolk
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Aurora Borealis lights up skies as far south as Essex and Norfolk
The Northern lights were seen over many parts of the UK on Thursday night, and some as far south as Essex, Norfolk and Gloucestershire were able to witness the spectacle.
AuroraWatch UK, a group run by enthusiasts and physicists at Lancaster University, has been posting updates on Twitter when the Northern Lights are visible, and where in the UK. Naturally many of the sightings were best seen in Scotland, but around 9 p.m. on Thursday night, the colourful sight began to spread south to northern England, Cumbria and Northumberland. The light display is caused by electrically charged particles from the sun coming into contact with earth's atmosphere. Usually, the ethereal display is only witness around the polar regions . In the southern polar region, the light display is known as aurora australis, and few outside Antarctica get to witness the display at all. When one sees the Northern Lights, it will generally appear as a streak of colourful light dancing and weaving spectacularly across an entire sky vista. The colours often change between reds, pinks, pale green and violet. A number of magical images of Thursday night's Northern light show in the UK can be seen here. The electrically charged particles take about three days to reach earth and when they do they cause the gas atoms in the sky to become illuminated.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Aurora Borealis lights up skies as far south as Essex and Norfolk
Asian shares mixed after upbeat Yellen testimony hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Asian shares mixed after upbeat Yellen testimony
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Asian shares mixed after upbeat Yellen testimony
Asian markets were mixed on Friday after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen provided an upbeat view of the US economy and hinted the bank could ease up on its stimulus taper if the growth outlook weakens.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 82.04 points or 0.55 percent to 14,841.07, while the Topix index of all first-section issues lost 0.47 percent, or 5.69 points, to 1,211.66.
"The market is naturally nervous about the Fed remaining steadfast about taking the training wheels off the wobbling economy," said CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith, noting Yellen's acknowledgement of signs of softness in the economy.
"Frankly, I don't think she'll take her foot off the brakes (on stimulus) unless the data give her a very strong reason to, however," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Daiwa Securities chief technical strategist Eiji Kinouchi also said: "The lack of transparency with the Ukraine political crisis and other factors are translating into a lower US Treasury yields and a weaker dollar."
Automakers were down. Honda Motor fell 1.40 percent to 3,647 yen, and Toyota slipped 1.18 percent to 5,839 yen.
, AFP
Closing levels for key Asia Pacific stock markets on February 28, 2014
image:176395:0::0
Sony rose 1.30 percent to 1,780 yen following news reports that it plans to sell its former headquarters and other properties at a premier Tokyo site that once served as the control tower for its sprawling operations.
Reaction was muted to a raft of Japanese government data showing inflation saw a year-on-year rise for the eighth straight month in January -- largely on higher energy bills -- while factory output rose 4.0 percent on-month.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 8.78 points or 0.04 percent to end at 22,836.96 on turnover of HK$76.97 billion (US$9.93 billion).
HSBC added 0.43 percent to HK$82.25 and Henderson Land Development was up 0.69 percent at HK$43.50, while Cheung Kong Holdings advanced 0.91 percent to HK$121.60. Energy giant CNOOC slipped 0.31 percent to HK$12.72 and China Mobile fell 0.27 percent to HK$73.75.
Chinese shares ended up 0.44 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 8.95 points to 2,056.30 on turnover of 95.7 billion yuan ($15.5 billion). However, the index fell 2.72 percent over the week.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, rose 1.43 percent, or 15.39 points, to 1,090.87 on turnover of 132.5 billion yuan. It dropped 3.89 percent this week.
A nearly one percent fall in China's yuan currency against the US dollar initially spooked investors in the morning, but the stockmarket later recovered.
Growing expectations that the annual meeting of the legislature starting next week will yield positive economic polices also offered support, analysts said.
But Guo Lei, analyst with Zheshang Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires: "Investors are worried about a weakening economy, especially after manufacturing data was not too good in January and property prices in areas like Hangzhou (city) and Jiangsu (province) are showing declines."
Investors' eyes are on the release over the weekend of Chinese manufacturing activity data, following a disappointing couple of months that have indicated the sector is shrinking.
Sydney was off 0.12 percent, or 6.6 points, at 5,404.8. Seoul was flat, nudging up 1.56 points to 1,979.99.
Taipei was closed for a public holiday.
- Dollar falls below 102 yen -
In Tokyo the greenback sank to 101.72 yen, compared with 102.15 yen in New York Thursday.
The euro bought 139.47 yen and $1.3712 against 140.05 yen and $1.3710.
In Japan official data showed consumer inflation saw a year-on-year rise for the eighth straight month in January -- largely on higher energy bills -- while factory output rose 4.0 percent on-month.
Oil prices fell. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery, eased 44 cents to $101.96 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for April slid 19 cents to $108.77.
Gold fetched $1,329.05 an ounce at 1050 GMT, compared with $1,324.17 late Thursday.
In other markets:
-- Mumbai rose 0.63 percent, or 133.13 points, to end at 21,120.12 points.
Jaiprakash Power Ventures gained 12.26 percent or 1.81 rupees to 16.57 rupees per share and Piramal Enterprises rose 7.26 percent, or 37.55 rupees, to 555.00 rupees a share.
-- Bangkok added 0.55 percent, or 7.28 points, to 1,325.33.
Siam Cement gained 2.38 percent to 430 baht, while oil company PTT rose 2.09 percent to 293 baht.
-- Kuala Lumpur closed up 0.22 percent, or 4.0 points, at 1,835.66.
Budget carrier AirAsia rose 2.8 percent to 2.55 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia added 1.4 percent to 5.67. Hong Leong Capital lost 2.3 percent to 9.36 ringgit.
-- Singapore closed up 0.45 percent, or 14.04 points, at 3,110.78.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation eased 0.21 percent to Sg$9.56, while vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 3.02 percent to Sg$39.24.
-- Jakarta ended up 1.12 percent, or 51.28 points, at 4,620.22.
Auto company Astra International gained 3.73 percent to 6,950 rupiah, while palm oil firm Wilmar Cahaya Indonesia fell 3.01 percent to 1,290 rupiah.
-- Manila closed 1.11 percent higher, adding 70.20 points, to 6,424.99.
JG Summit gained 1.63 percent to 46.90 pesos while Ayala Land rose 4.45 percent to 30.50 pesos.
-- Wellington rose 0.52 percent, or 25.70 points, to 4,990.04.
Air New Zealand was up 0.6 percent at NZ$1.775 and Metlifecare fell 0.2 percent to NZ$4.14, while Fletcher Building slipped 0.53 percent to NZ$9.42.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Asian shares mixed after upbeat Yellen testimony
Minnesota robber kicked in face, loses cellphone and a shoe hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Minnesota robber kicked in face, loses cellphone and a shoe
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Minnesota robber kicked in face, loses cellphone and a shoe
Saint Paul - Simon Hanson was not having a good night. During the course of two alleged robberies, the 28-year-old was kicked in the face and lost his phone and some clothing. His flight from police did not go well either.
At approximately 11:35 p.m. on Monday, it is alleged Hanson walked into Gulf Corner Gas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. According to witnesses, he pulled out a large butcher knife and demanded money. The clerk not only hit the silent alarm button but told Hanson what he did as he was walking towards the cash. The would-be robber then fled the store empty-handed. Having obtained no money, Hanson thought he would try another store. Twenty-three minutes later, Hanson walked into CVS Pharmacy, went behind the counter, pulled out his knife and asked the clerk, "Where are the big bills?" The clerk complied with his request, giving him $112. A customer who was having a prescription filled for his son, told his girlfriend Hanson was wearing a mask and looked like he was going to rob the store. The customer then jumped up on the counter and kicked the 28-year-old in the face.
Although Hanson made off with the money, he received a chipped tooth and lost his knife, his red jacket, and a shoe. He also dropped his cellphone during the course of his altercation with the customer. Hanson wanted his phone back so he called his number and a man answered. Identifying himself as "Si," Hanson then asked, "Dude, where's my cellphone?" The man said he found it in an alley and made arrangements to return the phone at 3:30 a.m Unbeknownst to Hanson, a pharmacy employee had found the cellphone and turned it over to police. The man Hanson talked to and arranged to meet was a cop who neglected to tell him that little fact. When police showed up at the designated meeting spot, Hanson drove away after seeing the lights and hearing the sirens. A chase that reached speeds of 80 mph ensued before Hanson was finally pulled over and arrested. Hanson told officers his tooth was chipped and he lost his cellphone during a mugging. After police told him they had seen the security video at CVS, Hanson said some people whose names he did not know wanted crack money and were threatening to kill him. At the time of his arrest, Hanson had outstanding warrants for forgery and fraud. On Wednesday, he was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery, attempted robbery, and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.
Ramsey County
Security camera from CVS Pharmancy showing customer on counter kicking robber in face
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Although Hanson made off with the money, he received a chipped tooth and lost his knife, his red jacket, and a shoe. He also dropped his cellphone during the course of his altercation with the customer. Hanson wanted his phone back so he called his number and a man answered. Identifying himself as "Si," Hanson then asked, "Dude, where's my cellphone?" The man said he found it in an alley and made arrangements to return the phone at 3:30 a.m Unbeknownst to Hanson, a pharmacy employee had found the cellphone and turned it over to police. The man Hanson talked to and arranged to meet was a cop who neglected to tell him that little fact. When police showed up at the designated meeting spot, Hanson drove away after seeing the lights and hearing the sirens. A chase that reached speeds of 80 mph ensued before Hanson was finally pulled over and arrested. Hanson told officers his tooth was chipped and he lost his cellphone during a mugging. After police told him they had seen the security video at CVS, Hanson said some people whose names he did not know wanted crack money and were threatening to kill him. At the time of his arrest, Hanson had outstanding warrants for forgery and fraud. On Wednesday, he was charged with first-degree aggravated robbery, attempted robbery, and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Minnesota robber kicked in face, loses cellphone and a shoe
Ferguson: Teacher's 'six of the best' inspired my success hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Ferguson: Teacher's 'six of the best' inspired my success
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Ferguson: Teacher's 'six of the best' inspired my success
LONDON (Reuters) - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says he owes his success to being beaten with a belt by his favorite school-teacher when he stepped out of line as a schoolboy.
Ferguson, 72, the most successful manager in British soccer history, says he now has the belt in his study at home after it was bequeathed to him by the formidable disciplinarian Elizabeth Thompson before she died.
"Six from that belt and you were in absolute agony. That was the punishment you had, in my case, usually for fighting in the playground," he said in a feature entitled "My Best Teacher" published by the Times Educational Supplement.
Ferguson, famous for being a fierce disciplinarian himself whose "hair dryer" verbal admonishments of his players are the stuff of legend, said: "Elizabeth Thomson was an inspiration to me.
"She had a raw determination about her and she improved everyone she touched.
"Mrs Thomson endeavored to make you be the best you could be. Yes, that part of me comes from her."
He says he kept in touch with her long after his schooldays ended, and while he was enjoying trophy-laden years of success at first Aberdeen and then Manchester United before he retired at the end of last season.
"When she died, I couldn't go to her funeral but months later I got a parcel. She had bequeathed her belt to me.
"Her nephew sent it with a letter saying 'You'll know more about this belt than anyone.' It's in my study now. My grandchildren are terrified of it."
Corporal punishment was banned in Glasgow schools in 1982. Ferguson went to school in the 1950s.
(Reporting by Mike Collett; Editing by John O'Brien)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Ferguson: Teacher's 'six of the best' inspired my success
Oscar favorite 'Frozen' leads red-hot animation field hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Oscar favorite 'Frozen' leads red-hot animation field
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Oscar favorite 'Frozen' leads red-hot animation field
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The first Academy Award for an animated feature film was a special honor given to Walt Disney in 1939 for the innovation of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Child actress Shirley Temple presented Disney with a full-sized gold Oscar statuette and seven miniature ones.
The studio founded by the animation pioneer, Walt Disney Animation Studios, has never won the Oscar for best animated feature, a category created in 2002. That is expected to change on Sunday, as the studio's hit "Frozen" is the favorite in a race that has become as diverse as Hollywood's animation industry.
"Frozen" will compete for Oscar gold with films that include box office hits "The Croods," a caveman comedy from DreamWorks Animation SKG, and the yellow minions of Universal Pictures' "Despicable Me 2," produced by relative newcomer Illumination Entertainment.
"It's a tremendously vibrant competitive landscape," said Illumination Chief Executive Officer Chris Meledandri.
A larger number of players creating high-quality animated films helps everyone in the business, he said, because it raises enthusiasm for the genre and brings a wider group of people to theaters beyond the typical family filmgoers.
"Audiences remain urgently interested in the medium," Meledandri said. "It continues to expand our collective audience."
Last year, five studios including Walt Disney Co's famed Pixar unit distributed animated films that generated $100 million or more at U.S. and Canadian theaters, six if Disney Animation Studios and Pixar are counted separately. This year, the biggest movie at the domestic box office is Warner Bros' animated "The Lego Movie," which has earned nearly $280 million worldwide in three weeks.
Another animated film, "The Nut Job" from Open Road Films, a joint venture of theater chains AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment, ranks third on domestic charts this year.
Animated films also draw crowds of moviegoers in foreign markets that are increasingly important to Hollywood. "The opportunities and interest and appetite for animation around the world is very big," DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said. "These are great stories. They are appreciated everywhere they go, and they go everywhere."
The three biggest box office hits among this year's animated Oscar contenders - "Frozen," "Despicable Me 2" and "The Croods" - have rung up more than $2.5 billion in worldwide ticket sales combined. Two smaller films, "The Wind Rises" from Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and French-language entry "Ernest & Celestine," round out the nominees.
BUILDING WITH LEGO
Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros, the studio built with the help of Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters, had not been a major player in big-screen animation since its 2006 Oscar winner "Happy Feet." A year ago, the studio announced it created an animation consortium with the goal of releasing one animated feature a year, starting with "The Lego Movie." A "Lego" sequel is now planned for 2017.
"The Lego Movie has fueled our excitement to create more animated films," said Greg Silverman, president of creative development and worldwide production for Warner Bros.
Studios gravitate toward animated films because the big ones become franchises that produce characters that yield revenues beyond the box office. On Monday, DreamWorks announced plans for live entertainment "Shrek" attractions in six cities.
The musical soundtrack for "Frozen" and Oscar-nominated anthem "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel have sold more than 1 million copies each.
With so many studios jostling for screens at the movie theaters, not every animated film succeeded. DreamWorks' 2013 release "Turbo," which generated $83 million in domestic ticket sales, forced it to take a $13.5 million impairment charge, the company said on Tuesday.
"Turbo faced one of the most competitive feature film environments we have seen," DreamWorks CEO Katzenberg said on a conference call with industry analysts.
"Frozen," which has generated more than $980 million in worldwide ticket sales, cemented a resurgence for Walt Disney Animation Studios, which despite Disney's rich history in animation became overshadowed by its corporate sibling, Pixar. The studio founded by Steve Jobs has won seven Oscars in 12 years for blockbusters including "Finding Nemo," "Up" and "Brave." This year, Pixar was shut out of the Oscar nominations for the second time in three years.
'A REAL HUNGER'
The filmmakers behind "Frozen," the story of royal sisters in an icy kingdom, sought to build on Disney's legacy of classic musical fairy tales, said Andrew Millstein, executive vice president and general manager of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The genre had fallen out of favor since 1990s Disney hits like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King."
"We felt there was a real hunger for these kind of stories," he said, ones that had a "timelessness and relevance" and were also "heartfelt, comedic, with great music."
Illumination scored its first two Oscar nominations for "Despicable Me 2," for animated feature and original song for Pharrell Williams' "Happy." The film was made for $76 million, half of what Disney spent on "Frozen."
Working with a lower budget fueled creativity, Illumination CEO Meledandri said, because the filmmakers did not need to worry about reeling in outsized box office returns. "We were able to take certain risks that we would not have been able to take if there were twice as much financial pressure on us," he said.
"Despicable 2" became a blockbuster with $970 million in global ticket sales. Comcast Corp's Universal plans to release three Illumination films through 2017, including a "Despicable" sequel and a remake of Dr. Seuss classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Once the Oscars are over, a new parade of animated offerings will begin, starting with DreamWorks' "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" on March 7. Other coming releases are DreamWorks' "How to Train Your Dragon 2," a "Rio" sequel from Fox, and "Big Hero 6" from Disney Animation.
Even DisneyToon Studios, a unit that specialized in direct-to-DVD films, is gearing up to hit the big screen again. Its "Planes: Fire and Rescue," a sequel to last year's hit film "Planes," is scheduled for release on July 18.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Edited by Ronald Grover and Lisa Shumaker)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Oscar favorite 'Frozen' leads red-hot animation field
Thai school bus crash 'kills 15' hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Thai school bus crash 'kills 15'
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Thai school bus crash 'kills 15'
At least 15 people, including 13 children, were killed when a bus carrying students on a trip to the seaside collided with a lorry in eastern Thailand Friday, police said.
The smash is the latest in a series of deadly accidents involving buses in Thailand, where roads are among the most dangerous in the world.
Forty-seven others were injured in the pre-dawn accident in Prachinburi province involving a double-decker bus and an 18-wheel truck, the authorities said.
The students, aged around 10 to 14 years old, were heading to the resort city of Pattaya from the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.
Twenty-three of those hurt are in hospital with injuries including broken arms and legs, the Public Health Ministry said.
A row of bodies covered by sheets was seen laid out by the side of the wreckage of the bus, whose top deck was crushed on one side.
Police said the bus driver had fled the scene of the crash -- a relatively common occurrence in Thailand, where safety standards are generally poor.
The cause of the accident has not yet been established but the authorities suspect human error or a mechanical problem.
"The bus's brakes may have failed or the driver might have fallen asleep," Police Lieutenant Colonel Anukarn Thamvijarn said by telephone.
A recent report by the World Health Organization said Thailand saw some 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2010 -- behind only the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and the South Pacific island of Niue.
That compares with an average of 18.5 in Southeast Asia as a whole.
Friday's accident happened on a narrow stretch of road that cannot be widened because it cuts through a national park, said Nuttapong Boontob of the non-profit Thailand Accident Research Center.
"The road is always busy with big trucks as it links the northeastern region and the eastern seaboard where there are many industrial estates," he said.
Roughly 60 percent of traffic accidents in Thailand are caused by human error, according to Nuttapong, with poor road and vehicle conditions posing additional hazards.
Bus operators are required to provide seat belts but passengers are not legally obliged to use them.
In December dozens of people were killed when a bus carrying New Year travellers plunged off one of Thailand's highest bridges in the kingdom's northeast.
At least 20 people were killed in October when a tour bus carrying elderly Buddhist devotees fell into a ravine, also in the northeast.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Thai school bus crash 'kills 15'
German court throws out lawsuits against Apple hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com German court throws out lawsuits against Apple
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com German court throws out lawsuits against Apple
A German court threw out on Friday two copyright violation lawsuits against US tech giant Apple by German firm IPCom.
"Both suits were rejected. IPCom can now appeal against the verdict," a spokesman for the court in Mannheim told AFP.
German patent-holding company IPCom had been seeking 1.57 billion euros ($2.0 billion) in damages from Apple for allegedly infringing a patent it holds on mobile technology that allows priority access to certain mobile phone calls even when a network is saturated.
IPCom acquired the patent from German engineering company Bosch in 2007.
The European Patent Office recently confirmed that IPCom owned the patent, which had been contested by several firms.
The Mannheim court also threw out a similar lawsuit by IPCom against the Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com German court throws out lawsuits against Apple
Euro zone inflation stabilizes in 'danger zone', unemployment stays high hollywoodtone.blogspot.com
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Euro zone inflation stabilizes in 'danger zone', unemployment stays high
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Euro zone inflation stabilizes in 'danger zone', unemployment stays high
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation stabilized in what the European Central Bank has called the "danger zone" in February, data showed on Friday, while unemployment remained stuck near record highs ahead of an ECB policy meeting next week.
The European Union's statistics office Eurostat estimated that consumer prices in the 18 countries sharing the euro rose 0.8 percent year-on-year this month. That was the same rate as in January and December, after readings of 0.9 percent in November and 0.7 percent in October.
ECB President Mario Draghi has warned of the risk of inflation getting stuck in a danger zone below 1 percent, but said again on Thursday that there was clearly no deflation.
February's inflation rate was stable because lower energy costs were offset by more expensive industrial goods and services.
But so-called core inflation, which excludes the most volatile components like energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, continued to inch higher, to 1.0 percent year-on-year from 0.8 percent in January and 0.7 percent in December.
Price pressures in the euro zone economy are low because unemployment remains stuck close to record highs. Eurostat said on Friday that 12 percent of the bloc's workforce was unemployed in January, unchanged from a month before.
In absolute terms, the number of people without jobs edged higher to 19,175,000 from 19,158,000 in December, it said.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Catherine Evans)
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Euro zone inflation stabilizes in 'danger zone', unemployment stays high
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