Friday, January 30, 2015

Tom Petty calls similarities to Sam Smith’s ‘Stay with Me’ accidental


LOS ANGELES | U.S. rocker Tom Petty on Thursday said it was a “musical accident” that British singer Sam Smith’s breakout soul hit “Stay with Me” mirrored Petty’s 1989 hit song “I Won’t Back Down.”

Petty, 64, played down a recent credit given to him and co-writer Jeff Lynne on Smith’s Grammy-nominated hit song, saying in a statement posted on his website that he had no hard feelings toward Smith and that “these things happen.”

Britain’s The Sun newspaper reported over the weekend that Smith had settled a copyright dispute with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer over the similarity between the two songs.

“Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement,” Petty said in the statement. “The word ‘lawsuit’ was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it.”

“A musical accident no more, no less,” Petty added.

Representatives for Smith have called the agreement amicable and the similarities coincidental.

Smith leads Grammy nominees along with singers Beyonce and Pharrell with six nods. “Stay with Me” earned three nominations for the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards, including song of the year, one of the top prizes.

Petty and Lynne, however, will not be eligible to share in any Grammy wins as their writing was not considered new work, magazine Rolling Stone reported, quoting a Grammy official.

-reuters

'Falling angels' could hit $260 billion of emerging market debt


LONDON - After a golden decade of improvement, credit ratings for a swathe of developing economies risk falling back to "junk", with huge potential costs for up to a tenth of outstanding emerging market bonds.

Many mainstream investment and pension funds have rules preventing them from holding debt unless it is classified as investment grade by at least two of the big ratings agencies, and a number of countries are at risk due to problems ranging from tumbling commodity export prices to political instability.

Russia this week became the first of the major economies to lose its investment grade status from Standard & Poor's, falling out off the top ratings category for credits deemed to have a low risk of default for the first time in a decade.

If Moody's and Fitch follow, conservative investors barred from owning junk securities must sell their holdings. JPMorgan estimates this means they may ditch $6 billion in Russian government rouble and dollar debt.

Russia may have company. Almost $260 billion worth of sovereign and corporate bonds - nearly a tenth of outstanding emerging market (EM) debt - is in danger of being relegated to junk, according to David Spegel, head of emerging debt at BNP Paribas, who calls such credits "falling angels".

What's more, almost $1 trillion of debt is rated BBB or BBB minus - the two lowest investment grade ranks after which junk or "high yield" status awaits.

"After a year of political upheaval and collapsing commodity prices, the sky is alight with EM falling angels," Spegel said.

TABLE of emerging markets ratings.

In 2010, for the first time, a majority of bonds in the EMBI Global index of emerging market debt became investment grade 11EML. But now a fifth of emerging market governments rated by S&P carry negative outlooks; the agency calls emerging markets the "weak link" in the global ratings picture.

If there is a series of downgrades, the entire index could shift lower again, Spegel warned, adding: "The EM benchmark index is at risk of becoming a falling angel."

Ratings models compiled by analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch show downgrade risks in Brazil, Russia, Turkey, South Africa and Indonesia.

Some of these, such as energy importers which benefit from falling oil prices and countries making economic reforms, may avoid relegation.

However, ratings tend to move up and down in tandem, BofA noted. It cited negative credit revisions in the 1980s, upgrades in the early 1990s, downgrades in the late 1990s and another round of upgrades this century. Two-thirds of emerging economies are investment grade, up from 42 percent a decade ago, it added.

"Investors may well view initial downgrades not as isolated events but as the beginning of a new trend," BofA said.

INDEX EJECTION RISK

Russian, Turkish, Brazilian and South African local bonds - among the handful of emerging market names included in the Barclays Global Aggregate index - risk ejection from the $2 trillion benchmark if they are downgraded.

Falling angels which lapse into junk status will also drop out of the investment grade portion of the EMBIG index which has up to $7 billion benchmarked, JPMorgan says.

"The big worry is for countries in the low investment grade range, such as Russia and Brazil. Falling into the junk bond range cuts you off from the largest segment of bond buyers," said Peter Marber, head of emerging debt at Loomis Sayles.

That's especially so in the case of big insurers and banks which are extremely sensitive to ratings due to tighter regulations on capital reserves and asset quality, he noted.

Also, company ratings tend to be constrained by the sovereign, Marber said, adding: "So if we see countries downgraded into high-yield status, it may trigger automatic corporate downgrades which would dramatically restrict access to international capital."

All this will raise capital costs for borrowers, adding to pressures caused by the possibility of higher U.S. interest rates and Treasury yields which will suck funds out of emerging markets.

Exactly how much emerging bond yields will rise is impossible to calculate. But BofA/Merrill reckons a one-notch downgrade to junk tends to produce a 40-60 basis point increase in yield and credit default swap spreads.

BNP's Spegel calculates that for every 10 falling angels, spreads over U.S. treasury bond yields on the CEMBI EM corporate debt index will widen by 125 basis points and sovereign spreads will blow out 241 bps.

On the plus side, though, some risk is already priced in. Russian and Kazakh bonds for instance trade as though they were several notches into junk.

Also ratings don't much matter to dedicated emerging market funds and increasingly to some institutional investors who may base allocations on asset managers' analysis, rather than solely on ratings.

Wayne Bowers, EMEA and Asia chief investment officer at Northern Trust, says many big investors have built in the flexibility to hold different kinds of emerging assets in recent years. Also, he notes, while some countries' outlook has darkened, others will benefit from reforms and cheaper oil.

"People usually understand EM is not a low-risk asset class." Bowers said. "You will find the return profile of the broader indexes can offset the negatives... It's not just focused on countries that are fragile but also those that benefit from falling oil prices."

source: interaksyon.com

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Trouble falling asleep may signal high blood pressure


Trouble sleeping, especially trouble falling asleep, may be associated with high blood pressure, according to a new study from China.

This is the first study to show that certain people with insomnia are at risk for high blood pressure, said co-authors Dr. Xiangdong Tang of Sichuan University in China and Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas of Penn State University College of Medicine, in a statement to Reuters Health.

Insomnia with increased alertness during the day, or hyperarousal, is associated with increased chronic secretion of stress hormones like cortisol, which may lead to hypertension, they wrote.

The authors studied about 300 adults, including more than 200 chronic insomniacs who’d had trouble sleeping for at least six months. They all spent one night in the Sleep Medicine Center of West China Hospital and took a sleepiness/alertness test the following day.

At night, they were allowed to sleep as they normally would, in sound, light and temperature-controlled rooms. The next day, they were given four 20-minute nap opportunities throughout the day. Researchers measured their “sleep latency,” that is, the amount of time it took for the nappers to actually fall asleep, if they were able.

Researchers also took their blood pressure readings in the evening and in the morning.

Normal sleepers were no more likely to have high blood pressure even if they took longer to fall asleep for a nap.

For chronic insomniacs, the longer it took to fall asleep when they tried to nap during the day, the more likely they were to have high blood pressure, even after accounting for age, gender, weight and height, diabetes, and use of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine.

Compared to normal sleepers who fell asleep quickly, people with insomnia who took more than 14 minutes to fall asleep during the day were three times as likely to have high blood pressure readings or a doctor’s diagnosis of hypertension, the authors report in the journal Hypertension.

People who fell asleep in less than 14 minutes, regardless of whether or not they had insomnia, had no increased risk of high blood pressure.

About half of insomniacs and a third of the normal sleepers took more than 14 minutes to fall asleep during the day, Tang and Vgontzas wrote in the statement.

People who have trouble sleeping should ask their doctors about their blood pressure readings, they wrote.

“Insomniacs who have either short sleep at night or show signs of hyperalertness during the day are at risk for hypertension,” they wrote. “This is similar to someone who has other risk factors such as obesity, high lipids, smoking, etc.”

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for high blood pressure for all adults over the age of 18 every year or so, regardless of sleep patterns, USPSTF chair Dr. Michael LeFevre noted in an email to Reuters Health.

Blood pressure screening causes few major harms, LeFevre said.

“However, many people who have high blood pressure in (a doctor’s) office setting do not have sustained high blood pressure outside of a medical setting,” he said. “Making the diagnosis of hypertension based only on office readings may lead to unnecessary treatment.”

Blood pressure measurements should be repeated outside the doctor’s office during the course of the day to confirm high blood pressure before diagnosing hypertension, he said.

Most people will need help from a doctor or sleep expert to start falling asleep more quickly, Tang and Vgontzas wrote.

source: interaksyon.com

Pacquiao’s friend disputes Floyd-Manny confrontation during NBA meetup: ‘Sobrang bait ni Mayweather’


A close friend of Manny Pacquiao denied reports that the Filipino ring icon was confronted by pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather during their much talked-about meeting in an NBA game.

“‘Yung mga gumagawa dyan ng storya, that’s not true na inaway daw. That’s not true walang ganun,” Bernard Cloma, who was part of Pacquiao’s entourage when he visited Miami to judge Miss Universe this week, said in a radio interview.

Citing anonymous sources, Ben Thompson of fightyhpe.com earlier wrote that Mayweather told Pacquiao to “stop lying” as they met for the very first time at halftime of the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat last Wednesday.

Mayweather was reportedly referring to Pacquiao’s claims about having already signed contracts about their much-anticipated megafight and just waiting for the American’s signature to finalize the bout.

Cloma was with Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee watching the game and posted on Instagram the encounter of the two boxing rivals.




Cloma also said that after the game Mayweather even went to Pacquiao’s hotel where they had a long conversation.

“Pumunta si Mayweather dito sa hotel ni Manny. Nagkuwentuhan sila nang matagal,” Cloma said, adding that Mayweather was courteous all throughout his meeting with Pacquiao.

“Sobrang bait niya. Hanga ako kay Mayweather, ang bait niya,” Cloma said. “Bakit siya pupunta sa hotel diba after ng kaninang game?”

Pacquiao and Mayweather are expected to announce this week if their megafight projected to set record-setting revenues will push through.

source: interaksyon.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Google super-fast US Internet service spreads


SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s super-fast Internet service — up to 100 times quicker than basic broadband — is heading for four more US metropolitan areas as the technology titan ramps up pressure on cable service giants.

A Google Fiber program launched nearly five years ago will expand to 18 cities in the Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham areas.

“We can’t wait to see what people and businesses across the southeast US do with gigabit speeds,” Google Fiber vice president Dennis Kish said in a blog post announcing the expansion Tuesday.

Google Fiber is live in Kansas City, Provo and Austin.

Google is meanwhile working on a new generation of applications designed to capitalize on Internet speeds available using Fiber, but did not disclose details.

“Today, we aren’t the only ones talking about gigabit broadband,” Kish said.

“From the White House to main street, a chorus of new voices is standing up for speed.”

Some US telecommunications firms stepped up with higher-speed Internet plans of their own after Google started weaving Fiber into cities.

Expansion of the Fiber program comes amid media reports that Google is getting ready to sell wireless telephone services directly to US consumers after reaching deals with carriers T-Mobile and Sprint.

The move would have a big impact on the US wireless industry, potentially resulting in price cuts and improved speeds.

Google is already in a powerful position in the wireless world, with its Android operating system running on more than 80 percent of the world’s mobile phones.

US cellphone service is currently dominated by Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

source: interaksyon.com

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Microsoft profit falls on sluggish Windows, currency pressure


SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp on Monday reported a fall in its quarterly profit that was in line with Wall Street forecasts, as sluggish personal computer sales dampened demand for Windows software and the company struggled with the impact of the strong U.S. dollar.

Shares of the world’s largest software company, which have surged to 14 year highs in the past few months, fell 3 percent in after-hours trading, to $45.63.

“While currency is a headwind for Microsoft and other large international companies, we would characterize the headline numbers as good enough, although some bulls may have been hoping for a bigger beat,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.

Microsoft’s flagship Windows business has been under pressure for three years as PC sales have declined, although the market appears to be stabilizing in recent months.

Currency shifts against the strong U.S. dollar also crimped profit in the fiscal second quarter, ended Dec. 31, although Microsoft did not specify by how much. Microsoft gets almost three-quarters of its revenue from overseas, but a significant amount of that is still in U.S. dollars.

“Overall, the only surprise I think was in commercial licensing, where we had a little bit of a headwind from foreign exchange as well as macro conditions in China and Japan,” the company’s chief financial officer, Amy Hood, said in a phone interview with Reuters.

Commercial licensing is chiefly sales of Windows and Office to business customers, which is Microsoft’s biggest revenue generator.

Microsoft reported profit of $5.86 billion, or 71 cents per share for the latest quarter, compared with $6.56 billion, or 78 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Sales rose 8 percent to $26.47 billion, largely due to the acquisition of Nokia’s phone handset business last year.

Analysts had expected revenue of $26.3 billion and earnings of 71 cents per share, on average, including some restructuring costs.

source: interaksyon.com

Marian Rivera’s secret to younger-looking skin


MANILA, Philippines - Having a sexy body is essential to superstar Marian Rivera, now Mrs. Dingdong Dantes, but maintaining fantastic skin is an entirely different story. “Having beautiful skin is very important to me, especially now that I am fond of posting in social media and Instagram.  And of course, I want Dong to fall in love with me every day,” Marian shares.

So, what’s her secret? It’s Belo Nutraceuticals Collagen Powder Drink that she takes twice a day — one in the morning, usually mixed with her coffee, and the other for dinner with her soup or juice.

”Dr. Belo keeps telling me to drink collagen,” says Marian. ”I followed her advice and after only two weeks of drinking her collagen powder drink, I already noticed that my skin felt smoother and more moisturized.”

Because of this product, she now feels and looks younger, her skin more supple and firm.

As Dr. Vicki Belo described to Marian,  youthful skin is like a brand-new sofa – firm such that when you sit on it, you are pushed back up, unlike with an old sofa, where you simply sink down.  Collagen is like springs that enhance the structure and firmness of the skin.

”I feel very honored to endorse such a breakthrough product that changes how we look at skin care,” Marian gushes.

Belo Nutraceuticals Collagen Powder Drink provides remarkable anti-aging benefits that start from within and further give the skin an abundance of strength, elasticity, and resilience.  What makes it different from other collagen drinks is that it contains hyaluronic acid, a moisture magnet that improves skin hydration, absorbing 1,000 times its weight in water molecules.

The collagen powder has a neutral taste. One sachet a day, dissolved in your favorite hot and cold beverage, be it coffee or tea, milk or yogurt, is all you need to keep your skin hydrated and firm.

Belo Nutraceuticals Collagen Powder Drink is available at Belo Medical Group clinics, Watsons, Mercury Drugstores, and other leading online stores nationwide.

source: philstar.com

Monday, January 26, 2015

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega is Miss Universe 2014


For the first time in 56 years, Miss Colombia is Miss Universe.

Living up to her frontrunner billing, 22-year-old Paulina Vega bested 87 other hopefuls on her way to winning the coveted crown in the 63rd edition of the prestigious beauty pageant held Sunday, January 25 (Monday, January 26, Manila time) in Doral, Florida.

Vega, a business administration student at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, seemed destined for victory right from the start as her name was the first to be called when hosts Thomas Roberts and Natalie Morales announced the Top 15 semi-finalists.

It was smooth sailing from there for the sweet-faced Latina as she ultimately topped a formidable field of beauties that included runners-up Miss USA Nia Sanchez, Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha, surprise finalist Miss Netherlands Yasmin Verheijen and Miss Jamaica Kaci Fennell, who drew the loudest applause.

However, Vega’s coronation was marred by the loud and prolonged booing at the Florida International University Arena in Doral after Miss Jamaica was called as the fourth runner-up.

The last time Colombia won the crown was in 1956 when Luz Marina Zuluaga took home the title.

Vega spoke proudly of her country, and said in the question round Colombia “has been a role model for the rest of the world.”

“We are persevering people, despite all the obstacles, we keep fighting for what we want to achieve. After years of difficulty, we are leading in several areas on the world stage.”

Vega won highest possible score of 9.9 in every presentation at the Miss Universe Colombia contest, according to the pageant’s website.

The five-foot-nine model from Barranquilla is the granddaughter of legendary tenor Gaston Vega and 1953 Miss Atlantico, Elvira Castillo.

The 63rd edition of the Miss Universe pageant selected the pageant’s 2014 winner after the Miss Universe organization failed to stage the event last year.

Ten judges were tasked to select this year’s winner, including Cuban-American music mogul Emilio Estefan, Cuban soap opera star William Levy and Philippine boxing great Manny Pacquiao.

The contest, owned by Donald Trump, is watched by about 600 million worldwide, pageant officials say.

There was some criticism of the $2.5 million contribution that the city of Doral made to the pageant, as local politicians were divided over whether the promotion for the city near Miami is worth that money.

The Miss Universe contest started out in 1952 as a local “bathing beauty” competition organized by a swimwear company in Long Beach, California.

Today, the competition is more than a beauty pageant and contestants “compete with hope of advancing their careers, personal and humanitarian goals and… seek to improve the lives of others,” according to the Miss Universe website.

Miss Philippines Mary Jean Lastimosa fell short of her bid to win the country’s third Miss Universe title as she was able to make it as far as the Top 10. Lastimosa’s semifinals finish broke the Philippines’ string of runner-up placements that started with Venus Raj in 2010 and was followed by Shamcey Supsup, Janine Tugonon and Ariella Arida.

Lastimosa’s loss was a big letdown for Filipino pageant fans as she was considered a frontrunner in fearless forecasts leading up to the pageant’s coronation night.

In a statement furnished to Interaksyon, the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Incorporated still congratulated the 27-year old North Cotabato native for her performance in pageant.

“Title or no title, her participation in Miss Universe’s global discussions on peace, cultural exchange and other charity initiatives has beautifully showcased the Filipina’s beauty, intellect and compassion,” the statement read.

(With a report from Agence France-Presse)

source: interaksyon.com

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Philippines vs. Colombia showdown looms in Miss Universe


It sounded like Stella Marquez Araneta displayed her bias for her native country when she picked Miss Colombia Paulina Vega as the “biggest competition” of Miss Philippines Mary Jean Lastimosa in the coming 63rd Miss Universe beauty pageant.

But the observation of the controversial Binibining Pilipinas founding madam is spot-on. As pageant experts post their final predictions with only hours to go before the coronation night, Paulina, 22 and MJ, 27, could be on a collision course with destiny as both seek Miss Universe’s crowning glory to put an end to their respective countries’ title drought.

MJ hopes to become the Philippines’ third Miss Universe since Margie Moran last won the title in 1973, while Paulina is seeking to become her country’s only second Miss Universe after Luz Marina Zuluaga first won it for Colombia in 1958.

They hold the number 1 and 2 spots in Missosology’s Final Hot Picks for Miss Universe.

In choosing Paulina as their top pick, the reputable pageant analysis says Miss Colombia is “that ethereal beauty that screams royalty and class.”

“What makes Paulina stand out is her ability to project herself as an elegant woman onstage. Her beauty is also top notch and her body has the correct proportions. In overall, she is a perfect package. Her presence is undeniable and she has a very strong showing at the preliminaries.”

Missosology concedes that MJ is “in it to win it” and praised both her “divine body figure” and “top-notch catwalk”.

“She is by far the most superior among the 88 contestants when it comes to the runway and she will nail way higher scores when finals night comes,” the site added.

In the Final Prediction of Miss Universe fan site MissUniversePageant Hotspot, Paulina figured in the Top 10, but it was MJ who made the Top 5.

“Paulina seemed to stay in the limelight as a frontrunner and if we look back at the past winners, most of them weren’t frontrunners. So that can be a let-down too for her. Now, to pop the question up—it’s a YES for the placement, and NO for the crown,” the site said about Miss Colombia.

“If they didn’t crown the other four Filipinas due to lack of one or two aspects, then we guess it’s the right time for a Filipina to win…If she doesn’t place, we’ll surely cut someone’s throat. DEFINITELY YES for the placement, and she could PROBABLY snatch the crown,” the site posted about MJ.

Both girls also figured prominently in other fearless forecasts. In Ranker.com, which ranked MJ as No. 1, Paulina is No. 6.

Miss Colombia is likewise included in the unranked Top 10 of the pro-Latina Latin Times which is no surprise but MJ is also right there.

The Jamaica-based Daily Veritas also had the two ladies in their Top 16 predictions with Paulina ranked No. 2 and MJ ranked as No. 8.

Even the UK-based betting odds aggregate Nicer Odds had the two in their radar with Paulina having the second highest betting odds of 4/1 while MJ has the sixth highest likelihood of winning the pageant with a 9/1 odds.

Of course, the actual outcome of Miss Universe will still be up to the pageant’s panel of judges to determine. And as formidable as both Paulina and MJ look right now, there are other top contenders for the coveted crown, including Miss USA Nia Sanchez, Miss Brazil Melissa Gurgel, Miss Spain Desiree Cordero Ferrer and Miss Venezuela Migbelis Castellano.

Incidentally, Paulina and MJ also share one designer in common: Alfredo Barraza who, like Marquez Araneta, is of Colombian nationality. Barraza has been repeatedly slammed for his designs for Miss Philippines for years.

source: interaksyon.com

Euro, stocks fall as anti-austerity party wins Greek election


TOKYO - The euro skidded to near an 11-year low and U.S. stock futures fell on Monday as Greece's Syriza party promised to roll back austerity measures after sweeping to victory in a snap election, putting Athens on a collision course with international lenders.

The euro fell to as low as $1.1135 on the vote outcome, not far off an 11-year low of $1.1115 touched on Friday when the common currency took a battering after the European Central Bank unveiled a bond-buying stimulus program last week.

U.S. stock futures fell 0.6 percent while the Nikkei futures also dropped about 0.5 percent from the local close on Friday on heightened concerns the Greek election results could lead to renewed instability in Europe.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras was set to become prime minister of the first euro zone government openly opposed to bailout conditions imposed by European Union and International Monetary Fund during the economic crisis.

"The euro will be sold on any rally. But such an outcome was already expected to a certain extent and I expect the pace of its decline is likely to slow," said Osao Iizuka, the head of FX trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Indeed, the broad consensus in the markets is that any renewed tensions over Greece is unlikely to hurt broader investor sentiment much beyond an initial shock.

Unlike at the height of the debt crisis in 2011-12, European banks now have limited exposure to Greece and European policymakers have frameworks to deal with indebted countries, analysts say.

"At the moment, the market believes that if there is any (debt) restructuring it would only involve the official sector and for now, the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone even with the incoming government is small," Sebastien Galy, senior foreign exchange analyst at Societe Generale in New York also said.

The ECB's plan to pump more than a trillion euro to the banking system in the coming year and a half is underpinning risk sentiment, which boosted European share prices to seven-year highs on Friday.

In addition, investors also expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to steer clear of stating any firm date for it plans to raise rates after its two-day policy meeting from Tuesday.

Elsewhere, oil prices also started the week weaker, with U.S. crude futures falling 1.6 percent to $44.87 per barrel, near 5 1-2/year low of $44.20 hit earlier this month.

The death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah added to uncertainty over the plans of the world's biggest crude exporter.

source: interaksyon.com

Friday, January 23, 2015

Internet will ‘disappear’, Google boss tells Davos


DAVOS, Switzerland — Google boss Eric Schmidt predicted on Thursday that the Internet will soon be so pervasive in every facet of our lives that it will effectively “disappear” into the background.

Speaking to the business and political elite at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Schmidt said: “There will be so many sensors, so many devices, that you won’t even sense it, it will be all around you.”

“It will be part of your presence all the time. Imagine you walk into a room and … you are interacting with all the things going on in that room.”

“A highly personalised, highly interactive and very interesting world emerges.”

On the sort of high-level panel only found among the ski slopes of Davos, the heads of Google, Facebook and Microsoft and Vodafone sought to allay fears that the rapid pace of technological advance was killing jobs.

“Everyone’s worried about jobs,” admitted Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook.

With so many changes in the technology world, “the transformation is happening faster than ever before,” she acknowledged.

“But tech creates jobs not only in the tech space but outside,” she insisted.

Schmidt quoted statistics he said showed that every tech job created between five and seven jobs in a different area of the economy.

“If there were a single digital market in Europe, 400 million new and important new jobs would be created in Europe,” which is suffering from stubbornly high levels of unemployment, he said.

The debate about whether technology is destroying jobs “has been around for hundreds of years”, said the Google boss. What is different is the speed of change.

“It’s the same that happened to the people who lost their farming jobs when the tractor came … but ultimately a globalised solution means more equality for everyone.”

Everyone has a voice


With one of the main topics at this year’s World Economic Forum being how to share out the fruits of global growth, the tech barons stressed that the greater connectivity offered by their companies ultimately helps reduce inequalities.

“Are the spoils of tech being evenly spread? That is an issue that we have to tackle head on,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft.

“I’m optimistic, there’s no question. If you are in the tech business, you have to be optimistic. Ultimately to me, it’s about human capital. Tech empowers humans to do great things.”

Facebook boss Sandberg said the Internet in its early forms was “all about anonymity”, but now everyone was sharing everything and everyone was visible.

“Now everyone has a voice … now everyone can post, everyone can share and that gives a voice to people who have historically not had it,” she said.

Schmidt, who said he had recently come back from the reclusive state of North Korea, added he believed that technology forced potentially despotic and hermetic governments to open up as their citizens acquired more knowledge about the outside world.

“It is no longer possible for a country to step out of basic assumptions in banking, communications, morals and the way people communicate,” the Google boss said.

“You cannot isolate yourself any more. It simply doesn’t work.”

Nevertheless, Sandberg told the assembled elites that even the current pace of change was only the tip of the iceberg.

“Today, only 40 percent of people have Internet access,” she said, adding: “If we can do all this with 40 percent, imagine what we can do with 50, 60, 70 percent.”

Even two decades into the global spread of the Internet, the potential for opening up and growth was tremendous, she stressed.

“Sixty percent of the Internet is in English. If that doesn’t tell you how uninclusive the Internet is, then nothing will,” said the tycoon.

The World Economic Forum brings together some 2,500 of the top movers and shakers in the worlds of politics, business and finance for a four-day meeting that ends on Saturday.

source: interaksyon.com

Jazz icon Nina Simone in spotlight at Sundance premiere


PARK CITY | The opening night of the Sundance Film Festival saw a moving documentary about jazz icon Nina Simone — whose director trumpeted her as a model for a new generation of civil rights activists.

“What Happened, Miss Simone?” was greeted with a standing ovation at a gala screening at the film festival, which runs through February 1 in the Utah ski resort of Park City.

Drawing on previously unreleased footage and recordings, the movie traces Simone’s life from her youth as a classically trained pianist to crossover blue/soul/jazz “I Love You Porgy” songstress and 1960s black power figurehead.

Including extensive interviews with her daughter and close friends, it then recounts her downward spiral and battles with domestic abuse and mental illness, leading eventually to her diagnosis with bipolar disorder.

“She struggled with demons, from inside and out,” said Oscar-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus, a Sundance veteran whose previous movies include “The Farm: Angola, USA” (1998) and “Love, Marilyn” (2012).

“Her life was a reflection of the legacy of racism in America but also of the extraodinary power that a righteous voice can have against even the most wicked historical legacy.”

After separating from her husband and manager Simone moved to Liberia in the early 1970s, but running out of money headed north to Europe, first Switzerland and then France, struggling to get her career back on the rails.

Ironically it was a commercial — for Chanel No 5 perfume — which resurrected her fortunes, as its use of her song “My Baby Just Cares for Me” brought Simone renewed fame from the late 1980s.

‘MISSISSIPPI GODDAM’

But much of the movie centers on the early years, and in particular her transformation from jazz singer into civil rights firebrand — despite the efforts of her abusive husband, who wanted her to keep making the hits.

It is difficult to feel the power that a song like “Missippi Goddam” — her response to the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four black children — had at the time, when it was banned from radio stations.

Speaking after Thursday night’s screening, the film’s director said Simone’s songs can still resonate for a new generation — specifically protestors following a recent spate of white-on-black killings in America.

“If we had voices like Nina Simone today, (they could express) the pain and the passion of the movement, that’s been building I think on the streets in the past six months.

In a later-life interview in the film, a disillusioned Simone laments that there was no civil rights movement, and therefore no place for her earlier songs.

“I think that’s one of the saddest moments for me in the film, because I think we can all see the place of these songs today,” said Garbus, urging new artists to “appropriate those songs to take them, and to continue them and to … let the music mean something again.”

The evening ended with a tribute from Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated singer John Legend, who sang three Simone tunes including “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”

Simone ended up based in Paris after her late-career comeback, and continued to perform in the 1990s — her last album, “A Single Woman,” was released in 1993. She died in 2003, aged 70.

“What Happened, Miss Simone?” is due out soon, on streaming video service Netflix.

source: interaksyon.com

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Marilyn Manson still bleak, but now has the blues


NEW YORK | Marilyn Manson thrived on shock value as the Goth rocker and self-proclaimed Antichrist Superstar rose in the 1990s. Now approaching middle age, Manson’s vision is no less violent but he has found a more subtle musical outlet — the blues.

“The Pale Emperor,” Manson’s first album in three years which was released Tuesday, moves beyond the searing aggression of the distorted guitars and synthesized minor chords that helped define him as he became one of rock’s most controversial stars.

The opening track on the new album, “Killing Strangers,” starts with the heavy thump of bass and drums familiar to longtime fans but is immediately followed by a guitar that owes more to Mississippi Delta bluesmen than to the arena heavy metal that was Manson’s most obvious influence.

But the two genres are hardly strangers, as heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath created the band’s sound from blues roots.

Manson strikes a new balance in songs such as “The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles” and “Cupid With a Gun,” with the melancholic expressivity of the blues playing off the thundering darkness of the metal rhythm section.

Manson, in interviews ahead of the release of “The Pale Emperor,” said he was drawn to the gritty quality of the blues, and wanted to shake up his sound for his ninth studio album.

“The redneck in me comes out in my voice, and it’s got some old blues mixed with the very hard elements,” Manson, who grew up in a working class family in Ohio, told the British metal magazine Kerrang!

While saying he wanted to preserve strong qualities in his past music, the singer who relishes his shock value feared that he had become too predictable.

“If there’s no chaos, things are just linear. There always has to be someone who wrecks the game plan that everybody has,” Manson told the magazine.

NO MORE CIRCUS ATMOSPHERE

Manson has sowed plenty of chaos during his career.

His tour for his 1996 album “Antichrist Superstar” was full of angry passion, with Manson — decked out in horror film-like makeup — scandalizing many Christians by tearing apart copies of the Bible on stage.

The singer came under intense attack after the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, where the teenage gunmen were reported to have listened to his music.

Manson, who has said that his views on organized religion were inspired by Nietzsche, steadfastly denied responsibility for the killings and insisted that US society needed a scapegoat.

Manson, who recently turned 46, has not changed his worldview. On “Killing Strangers,” he once more belittles society for a selective condemnation of violence, singing, “We’re killing strangers, so we don’t kill the ones that we love.”

His theological views come out again on “The Devil Beneath My Feet” as he sings, “Don’t want your God and his higher power” and, using an expletive, “Don’t need (someone) looking down on me.”

Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, attributes his persona in part to his childhood as, in a seemingly ordinary church-going family, he would observe his grandfather sneaking out to indulge in bestiality pornography. But Manson was close to his mother, whose death last year affected him.

With the music pared down, Manson hinted that his more sensational stage persona may also be on its way out.

“That P.T. Barnum aspect of Marilyn Manson has sort of evaporated,” he told Rolling Stone, referring to the circus legend.

source: interaksyon.com

Wall Street ends flat as hope for ECB move increases


NEW YORK - U.S. stocks closed little changed on Tuesday after the International Monetary Fund reduced its growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016, increasing speculation central banks would take more aggressive policy moves to spark economic improvement.

The lower forecasts implied less demand for fuel through 2016, contributing to another fall in crude oil, although some bullish results from major energy companies kept the sector afloat. The S&P energy index eked out a gain of 0.09 percent.

The IMF cut its forecasts for both years by 0.3 percentage points and advised advanced economies to maintain accommodative monetary policies to avoid increases in real interest rates as cheaper oil increases deflation risk.

The European Central Bank is expected to announce a bond buying program on Thursday to boost the region's flagging economy.

"Any sense at all that the ECB disappoints, you will see the markets correct rather harshly," said Ken Polcari, Director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.

"You can speculate all you want and investors can take the market higher all they want, but until the ECB comes out and says it, you are not really going to know."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.66 points, or 0.02 percent, to 17,515.23, the S&P 500 gained 3.12 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,022.54 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.46 points, or 0.44 percent, to 4,654.85.

U.S. crude settled down 4.7 percent to $46.39 per barrel, after hitting an intraday low of $45.89, while Brent settled down 1.8 percent at $47.99.

Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Inc warned that a fall in drilling activity would hurt 2015 results, though the companies also reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits. Halliburton rose 1.8 percent to $39.83 while Baker gained 1.2 percent to $57.26.

Johnson & Johnson fell 2.6 percent to $101.29 as the biggest drag on both the Dow and S&P 500 after adjusted earnings beat expectations but revenue missed forecasts.

Morgan Stanley reported a drop of 81 percent in revenue from trading fixed-income securities, currencies and commodities, though earnings rose on a sharp drop in legal costs. Shares dipped 0.4 percent to $34.75.

FXCM Inc plummeted 87.3 percent to $1.60 on volume of over 91 million shares, its most active day ever. The retail foreign exchange laid out details of a rescue loan after $200 million of losses on last week's shock removal of the cap on the Swiss franc.

After the closing bell, Netflix shares surged 12.1 percent to $391 after posting a quarterly revenue increase of 26.3 percent, while IBM lost 1.6 percent to $154.51 after its results.

NYSE declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,894 to 1,207, for a 1.57-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,639 issues fell and 1,128 advanced, for a 1.45-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and 17 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 70 new highs and 109 lows.

Volume was moderate, with about 7.2 billion shares traded on U.S. exchanges, roughly in line with the 7.29 billion average so far this month, according to BATS Global Markets.

source: interaksyon.com

Hollywood’s indie film pool prepares for the Amazon plunge


LOS ANGELES | When Amazon Inc announced on Monday its move into the movie business, the Internet retailer sent a ripple through Hollywood’s pool of independent film.

It’s a pool where the major studios don’t swim much any more and where projects get stuck for years for lack of financing. But from its waters also spring many acclaimed films, best picture Oscar nominees like “Selma” and “Whiplash” and quite a few commercial successes.

With plans to produce 12 films per year with budgets ranging from $5 million to $25 million, for theatrical release and streaming on Amazon Prime video 4-8 weeks later, a digital company is creating a new art-house studio and getting films into consumers’ hands and living rooms faster.

“It’s a great business,” said Mark Gordon, the veteran Hollywood television and film producer behind movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and the new Steve Jobs biopic.

“By financing a movie they feel good about and knowing where their second window is going to be, there is a huge opportunity for them and the rest of the creative community.”

Amazon’s announcement came as a surprise, but the Seattle-based company had already built up its credibility among Hollywood’s creative types, most notably with its television series “Transparent,” which won two Golden Globes last week, its first major awards since starting Amazon Studios in 2010.

“They have clearly been able to do it on the episodic side, I see no reason why they can’t do it on the feature film side,” said Franklin Leonard, founder of the Black List, a site where unproduced screenplays are shared with filmmakers and producers.

“The real challenge will be getting filmmakers in the door who want to make films for Amazon and giving those filmmakers the freedom to make the films that become ’12 Years a Slave’ or ‘Birdman’,” he said.

Amazon has already drawn Woody Allen to make a new TV series, his first foray onto the small screen.

WINK TO STRUGGLING FILMMAKERS

Most of Hollywood’s big studios largely abandoned the dramatic film business to concentrate on action adventure blockbusters and sequels, where there is less risk among a built-in fan base and more likely financial reward.


News of a new, deep-pocketed buyer in the independent sphere would always be welcome, but Amazon’s decision to hire a big name in the independent film world to head up Amazon Original Movies drew special praise.

“It’s exciting, especially because it’s led by Ted Hope, who has a pretty sterling track record in terms of filmmaking and projects that he’s been involved with,” said Ned Benson, who made his directorial debut with “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” released last year.

Hope was the producer behind films like “Eat Drink Man Woman” and “American Splendor.” The latter won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Hope will be at Sundance looking at films when it opens later this week, Amazon said.

Director Wash Westmoreland, who made the drama “Still Alice,” starring Julianne Moore, for $4 million last year, said filmmakers like him could get a lift from the likes of Amazon.

“Right now, in independent film, everything is crushed down to budgets below $5 million, so you end shooting in 20 days,” he said. “In the next tier, there is such an expansion with the potential of projects that filmmakers are very eager for.”

In announcing the move Monday, Amazon Studios vice president Roy Price said: “We hope this program will also benefit filmmakers, who too often struggle to mount fresh and daring stories that deserve an audience.”

Production will start later this year.

With the news still fresh, it was hard to find skepticism in Hollywood for Amazon’s grand plans. Even its biggest competitor in the digital original content race, Netflix Inc., threw a rose its way.

“In terms of changing movie distribution, we are really allied in our view that consumers are tired of waiting so long,” Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings told Reuters.

“It may turn out that their entry is quite helpful to help both of us grow in that area.”

source: interaksyon.com

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Husband injures wife, kills man, self in Florida mall


MELBOURNE, Fla. -- A man armed with "several pockets full of ammunition" opened fire at a Florida shopping mall on Saturday, injuring his wife and killing another man before fatally shooting himself, police said.

Investigators believe a domestic dispute triggered the shooting just as stores at Melbourne Square mall on Florida's east coast were preparing to open for the day, said Melbourne police commander Vince Pryce.

Police who responded to the scene after receiving calls about a shooting could still hear gunfire when they arrived, Pryce said at a televised news conference.

Inside by the food court, they found the suspected gunman, Jose Garcia-Rodriguez, 57, of Palm Bay; his wife, Idanerys Garcia-Rodriguez, 33; and an unidentified male victim.

The unidentified man died as a result of the shooting, and the gunman was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Pryce said.

Idanerys Garcia-Rodriguez, who appeared to be the target, was in good condition at a hospital Saturday afternoon, Pryce said.

Pryce said reports that the unidentified man had tried to wrestle the gun away from Jose Garcia-Rodriguez were unconfirmed. The man's connection to the married couple was being investigated.

About 100 people were inside the mall at the time of the shooting, and police quickly evacuated them and closed the shopping center for the day.

"It was crazy," local resident Donna Evans said in a videotaped interview with the Florida Today newspaper. "All of a sudden, you just hear the 'pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop'."

Pryce said three handguns were found at the scene, as well as the ammunition Jose Garcia-Rodriguez was carrying.

The mall is expected to reopen on Sunday.

source: interaksyon.com

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Wearable devices have bright future — survey


BEIJING — A latest survey showed that wearable devices will become more popular in the Chinese market in the next five years.

For wearable health devices, 39 percent of respondents worldwide plan to buy one by 2020, but 65 percent of Chinese consumers surveyed already have an interest in buying one, according to a survey filed to Xinhua Saturday by Accenture, a consulting and technology services company.

As many as 67 percent of Chinese consumers are likely to buy wearable fitness monitors and 73 percent wants smart watches in the coming five years, more than doubled 32 percent and 27 percent in the United States.

When buying wearable and other smart devices, Chinese consumers place features and functions as the most important factors.

However, user experience is lacking at the current time, as a staggering 83 percent of those surveyed across the globe reported various problems when they use these new types of devices.

In China, the top three issues consumers face are “too complicated to use,” “set-up did not proceed properly” and “not visually or aesthetically appealing”. Only 1 percent of Chinese respondents said they did not experience any challenges at all, the survey said.

The survey was conducted online between October and November 2014, with 24,000 respondents in 24 countries, including China, Australia, Brazil, France, Turkey and the United States.

At present, wearable devices are marketed by a number of companies, including Apple Inc., China’s Xiaomi, and Samsung from South Korea.

source: interaksyon.com

Stars align for Kristen Stewart in quiet corner of film universe


LOS ANGELES | Kristen Stewart strides into the room in a power pantsuit and high-heeled pumps.

Within minutes, the actress kicks off her heels and sits cross-legged on her chair, getting comfortable to talk about the good moment in her career, a very different time from her blockbuster “Twilight” years.

Stewart has earned acclaim for her supporting roles in two arthouse films: as the daughter of a woman (Julianne Moore) suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s in “Still Alice,” opening in Los Angeles and New York this weekend; and the assistant to an aging movie star (Juliette Binoche) in “Clouds of Sils Maria,” a Cannes Film Festival favorite out in U.S. theaters this spring.

“I am thrilled. I love movies. I don’t have those nagging, regretful feelings about either of them,” Stewart said.

“It is a miracle,” she added. “Jesus, when the stars align and you are allowed to feel that way, it is why movies are made. It is why they affect people.”

Critics have taken note of what the former child actress and teen phenomenon is showing the world at 24 years of age. Variety’s Peter Debruge called her “the most compellingly watchable American actress of her generation” and A.O. Scott at the New York Times said her more recent roles “should help re-establish her as an insightful and unpredictable talent.”

‘LIKE BEING HIRED’

Stewart has known Moore since she was 12 and took on “Still Alice” because she knew Moore would deliver on the difficult role. As it happens, Moore is now the overwhelming favorite to win the best actress Oscar this year for her role as Alice.

“Her capability is astounding and motivating as all hell,” said Stewart. “I get on a set with her — and I have been acting since I was 9 — whoa, I am not there yet. I am striving; I am trying.”

Stewart’s Lydia is the untethered daughter who comes home to care for her mother, who rapidly loses her faculties at the age of 50.

“The movie is supposed to show how you deal with what you still have and you focus on what you retain rather than what you have lost,” said Stewart.



Raised in Los Angeles by parents who work in film and television, Stewart “idolizes this industry” and would love to do big franchise movies again and even be a Marvel superhero.

Looking back at her years as Bella, the lovestruck teenager entangled in a forbidden romance with a vampire in the “Twilight” movies, Stewart is nostalgic.

“I felt into it. I loved it,” she said, adding, “I got into that for absolutely the right reasons. There was never any regret.”

People in the industry have pushed her to go find stories she wants to do and start a production company to have more power over her roles. But she’s not ready for that yet.

“I like being hired,” she said. “I like the feeling of having no control over something.”

source: interaksyon.com

Stocks rally on U.S. data, euro slides further


NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks rebounded on Friday on signs the U.S. economy was on track for solid growth with consumer sentiment hitting an 11-year high, while the euro slid further against the dollar a day after Switzerland ditched its currency cap.

Crude prices rallied on the U.S. sentiment report and after the International Energy Agency said lower prices had begun to curb production in some areas, including North America. The IEA said prices might fall further, but "signs are mounting that the tide will turn."

U.S. gasoline prices fell again in December, leading consumer prices to post their biggest decline in six years, while a gauge of underlying inflation was flat. The data could make the Federal Reserve cautious about raising interest rates.

Global equity markets rebounded, with U.S. stocks capping five straight sessions of losses. European shares rose on growing expectations of economic stimulus from the European Central Bank.

Wall Street surged at the close. Major U.S. indexes rose more than 1 percent in what Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division of O'Neil Securities in New York, said had the makings of a relief rally.

"The market has been under complete duress for five or six days, the tone has been very ugly. Today it seems most things have calmed down, so buyers have started to step back in," he said.

The University of Michigan said U.S. consumer sentiment rose in January on employment and income gains, with spending power boosted by sliding gasoline prices.

The "outstanding" report countered fears that tumbling oil prices would curb growth, said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors in New York. He said cheaper energy will boost discretionary spending, and added that a disappointing retail sales report this week excluded online sales and gift cards and was skewered by seasonal factors.

"The psychology of the market has been horribly negative for the last couple of weeks," said Orlando. "What turned the market around today was plain and simple: the Michigan number was outstanding."

The day after the euro lost Swiss support, the single currency slid to $1.1461, its weakest since November 2003. It last traded at $1.1567, down 0.52 percent. Against the yen, the dollar was up 1.23 percent at 117.59 yen.

On equity markets, MSCI's all-country world index gained 0.76 percent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading regional companies closed up 0.99 percent at 1,407.17 points.

Swiss stocks sank again on concerns a stronger franc will hurt Swiss multinationals that depend on exports. The Swiss blue-chip index SMI closed down 6 percent.

Morgan Stanley estimated that 85 percent of Swiss company sales come from abroad.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 190.86 points, or 1.1 percent, at 17,511.57. The S&P 500 rose 26.75 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2,019.42 and the Nasdaq Composite added 63.56 points, or 1.39 percent, to 4,634.38.

U.S. Treasuries prices fell after the strong consumer sentiment and tame inflation reports sparked profit-taking on recent gains.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 15/32 in price, pushing the yield up to 1.8257 percent.

Brent crude futures for March delivery rose $1.90 to settle at $50.17 a barrel. U.S. crude settled up $2.44 at $48.69 a barrel.

source: interaksyon.com

Thursday, January 15, 2015

China’s Xiaomi challenges iPhone 6 Plus with new flagship Mi Note


BEIJING — China’s Xiaomi Inc staked its claim to Apple Inc’s crown on Thursday as the world’s third-biggest smartphone maker and most valuable tech start-up unveiled the flagship Mi Note, its challenger to Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus.

Chief Executive Lei Jun introduced the Mi Note in Beijing with a breakdown of the large-screen phone’s technical features, with multiple comparisons to Apple’s equivalent. At 2299 yuan (244 pounds) for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory, the Mi Note will retail for almost two-thirds less than the iPhone 6 Plus.

Just three years after Xiaomi sold its first smartphone, a $1.1 billion round of fundraising announced in December valued the firm at $45 billion. The privately held company has risen to become the world’s No. 3 smartphone maker and is challenging Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as well as domestic rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

Xiaomi takes efforts to play down comparisons with Cupertino, California-based Apple, though it is commonly called the ‘Apple of China’.

“The Mi Note is shorter, thinner and lighter than the iPhone,” Lei told his audience of thousands gathered in the north of China’s capital.

Lei wore a light-blue shirt, eschewing his previously favoured black top, jeans and sneakers, reminiscent of Apple founder Steve Jobs’ trademark black turtleneck and jeans.

“Xiaomi is an innovative start-up company, with a short history,” said Lei. The company has been frequently criticised for allegedly copying other tech companies, most notably Apple. “In 10 years we will have tens of thousands of patents.”

Lei also laid out Xiaomi’s strategy to connect its smartphones with Xiaomi-branded home appliances, allowing phone users to remotely control washing machines, air purifiers and surveillance cameras.

“In five to 10 years all devices will become smart devices,” he said. “If every smart device and every device at home can be seamlessly connected to the cloud, what could our life be like? It would be beautiful and easy.”

Xiaomi weathered a decline in overall smartphone sales in China last year to see revenue more than double to $11.99 billion from 2013.

The company sold more than 61 million handsets in 2014, up 227 percent from a year earlier. In China, the world’s biggest smartphone market, overall sales fell 8 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

On Monday, Reuters exclusively reported that Lei and Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed a potential investment by Facebook in China’s top smartphone maker ahead of last month’s fundraising, but a deal never materialized.

source: interaksyon.com

PNoy gifts Pope with sculpture of 'Mary, Undoer of Knots,' papal visit coins


MANILA, Philippines -- President Benigno Aquino III gifted Pope Francis during their private meeting in Malacanang with a sculpture of “Mary, Undoer of Knots,” and P50 and P500 commemorative coins issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the papal visit.

"In this sculpture, in Mary, Undoer of Knots, in His Holiness' life, and in the story of the Filipino people, we see the beauty of faith and the strength of devotion, amidst the suffering and challenges of life," he told the Pope.

The image was carved from a piece from a century-old acacia tree that once stood in the grounds of Malacanang but was felled by typhoon Glenda in July 2014.

Fred Baldemor, a multi-awarded sculptor from Paete, Laguna, hand-carved the image several months ago.

Baldemor's works can also be found at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish in Pasig City and St. Patrick Cathedral in New York and has been featured in many exhibits.

The limited edition coins were issued in commemoration of the state and pastoral visit of Pope Francis.  Both coins are legal tender and will be sold for P100 and P1,000, respectively, to cover production, packaging and other costs.

The coins are minted under a licensing agreement with the Vatican.

As a matter of policy, the BSP commemorates significant events in the country’s history through the minting of coins, medals or overprints on our banknotes. Papal commemorative coins were also issued for the 1970 visit of Pope Paul VI, and for the 1981 and 1995 papal visits of Pope John Paul II.

The 50-piso Commemorative Coin for Pope Francis is made of Nickel Brass while the 500-piso is made of Nordic Gold with gold plating.

source: interaksyon.com

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Oil prices extend slide as growing glut triggers floating storage


SINGAPORE - Oil prices slid in early Asian trade on Wednesday after touching their lowest in nearly six years the previous session, with analysts predicting further falls as oversupply plagues the market.

Oil tumbled 5 percent to near six-year lows on Tuesday, with the Brent crude international benchmark briefly trading at par to U.S. prices for the first time in three months as some traders moved to take advantage of ample U.S. storage space.

February Brent crude had dropped 40 cents since its last settlement to $46.19 a barrel by 0238 GMT. U.S. crude for February was trading at $45.60 a barrel, down 29 cents.

Analysts said prices would stay under pressure as oversupply hurts both the American WTI contract and globally traded Brent, with some traders beginning to book ships for oil storage.

"Our latest forecast calls for Brent oil to average $45 per barrel during 1Q15 (the first quarter of 2015)," Nomura bank said on Wednesday.

Oil storage trends also imply further price falls, with U.S. stocks possibly approaching 80 percent of capacity by the upcoming spring season, according to U.S.-based PIRA Energy Group.

"The last time the United States built inventories in December was in the middle of the financial crisis in 2008," the firm said.

Outside the United States, some of the world's biggest oil traders have booked supertankers to store at least 25 million barrels at sea in recent days, seeking to take advantage of the crash in crude prices and make a profit down the line.

"Once floating storage starts, there is very little support on the downside for Brent spreads," Energy Aspects said.

U.S. crude prices have been cheaper than Brent almost without interruption as soaring North American shale oil production pulled down prices while the rest of the world market remained more tightly supplied.

But with oil producer club OPEC deciding late last year to maintain its output despite slowing Asian and European economic growth and to defend its market share, including against surging U.S. competition, a glut has also appeared outside the United States, pulling down Brent prices close to U.S. levels.

"The closing gap looks to be solidifying Saudi Arabia's strategy to curb shale production and protect market share," ANZ bank said.

source: interaksyon.com

Spotify rockets to 15 million paying users

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Swedish music streaming service Spotify said it now has 15 million paying subscribers, boosting claims that its revolutionary and controversial model can work.

The expanding startup said late Monday it had added 2.5 million subscribers since November amid widespread reports that the unlisted company plans to go public.

“It’s been an astronomic amount of growth in a short period of time,” music industry analyst Mark Mulligan told AFP, adding that various discount packages explained the surge.

He said this does not mean the service will keep up that kind of development, but said: “Spotify did everything it could to get right growth at the right time.”

At the end of 2014, Spotify said it had 60 million users of whom 15 million were paying subscribers, compared to 40 million active users and 10 million subscribers in May 2014.

The streaming service has become a major powerbroker in the music industry since its US launch in 2011, drawing criticism from stars like American pop star Taylor Swift and propelling lesser-known artists into the spotlight.

Spotify’s two-tier service lets users stream an extensive catalog for free with advertising, while those who subscribe pay $9-$12 a month for ad-free music listening.

Mobile and smartphone users, however, have to pay to be able to choose tracks.




Fierce competition

Although the company says 70 percent of its revenue goes to the music industry, it has come under fire for the share that ends up in artists’ pockets.

In November, Taylor Swift pulled her catalog from the service, citing low compensation.

“It’s not something (artist payments) Spotify can directly influence, but they get the blame,” Mulligan said. “Most of it lies with the rights holders, who have a big responsibility to be more transparent.”

Spotify founder Daniel Ek replied to Swift’s criticism on the company’s blog, saying that his company provides an alternative to listeners downloading music online for free.

Monday’s figures confirm previous reports that one in four Spotify users is a paying subscriber—although the company reported $80 million in losses in 2013.

Reports of the streaming provider going public are widespread even though the company has yet to turn an overall profit.

“They wouldn’t be the first loss-making music service to go public,” music startup consultant Bas Grasmayer told AFP in an email, referring to US Internet radio service Pandora which went public in 2011.

With Google’s YouTube Music Key on the market since November and Apple making no secret of its music plans, strong competitors are emerging for the Swedish startup, which declined to comment further on Monday’s figures.

“The market is more competitive than ever,” Mulligan said. “Spotify already has challenged economics, can they compete with Google and Apple? That’s what potential investors will ask themselves.”

Agence France-Presse


LGBT groups seek audience with Pope Francis during PH visit


Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) groups are seeking an audience with Pope Francis during his apostolic and state visit on January 15 to 19.

In an open letter (http://www.scribd.com/doc/252015071/Letter-to-Pope-Francis-From-Filipino-LGBT-Groups) published Thursday, representatives of GANDA Filipinas, The Red Whistle Campaign, GAYON-Albay, Pinoy FTM, CURLS-Cebu, SHINE-SOCCSKSARGEN, STRAP, Akbayan LGBT Collective, Task Force Pride, GALANG Philippines, TLF Share, Babaylanes Inc., and University of the Philippines Babaylan said they wanted to have a “constructive and meaningful dialogue” with the leader of the Catholic Church.

“(Y)ou are arriving at a moment of great challenges for the Filipino LGBT community. The widespread belief that we are accepted in the country conceals the deeply embedded stigma and discrimination that dehumanize our existence and our lives, exposing many of us to harm and danger,” they wrote.

The groups cited the murder of transwoman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in Olongapo City in October last year, where she was apparently strangled, her body marked with cuts and wounds. United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton is now facing murder charges over Laude’s death.

“Her story is a narrative familiar to many trans people who face physical abuse and hate crimes simply for identifying with the gender that they’re born with. It is a story known to lesbians who encounter sexual assaults that are meant to correct their sexual orientation and sexual behaviors,” the groups said.

At least 20 transgender people have been killed in the Philippines since 2008, according to GANDA (Gender and Development Advocates) Filipinas. 157 cases of hate crimes against members of the LGBT community, meanwhile, were recorded by Philippine Hate Crime Watch from 1996 to 2011.

The LGBT groups added in their letter to Pope Francis that there was also a rise in the number of gays, bisexuals, other men who have sex with men, and trans people living with HIV. There were more HIV-related deaths in the LGBT community as well, they said.

They attributed this to the “lack of access to sex and sexuality education and the exclusion of LGBTs from sexual health services.”

More than that, the LGBT groups said that they experienced “stigma and various human rights violations” due to “faith-based prejudices” and “interpretations of the Catholic doctrine.”

They accused Catholic leaders of promoting “homophobic and transphobic notions” which rationalized abuses against LGBT children, in particular, by their own families.

“Your Holiness… you are in the best position to dismantle faith-based stigma and the human rights violations that it fuels,” they said.

They called on the Holy Father “to openly condemn the dehumanization and human rights violations experienced by LGBTs.”

source: interaksyon.com

Monday, January 12, 2015

Facebook, Xiaomi discussed possible investment in the Chinese smartphone maker – sources


HONG KONG/BEIJING — Mark Zuckerberg and Xiaomi Inc CEO Lei Jun discussed a potential investment by Facebook in China’s top smartphone maker ahead of its $1.1 billion fundraising last month, but a deal never materialized, several people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The discussions, at a private dinner when Zuckerberg visited Beijing in October, were never formalised, three of those people said, as the two CEOs weighed the political and commercial implications of Facebook – which has been banned in China since 2009 – buying into the Chinese tech star now valued at $45 billion.

One individual with direct knowledge of Xiaomi’s fundraising said the mooted Facebook investment was “not huge”, but the talks underscore how ties between U.S. and Chinese companies have deepened as China’s tech industry matures.

A Facebook investment in Xiaomi would have raised the international profile of the popular handset maker dubbed “China’s Apple” by its fans and linked it to a U.S. social networking phenomenon with more than 1.3 billion users.

Facebook, for its part, has long harboured ambitions to expand into the world’s most populous country, potentially with partners. One of the individuals said Facebook and Xiaomi began discussing a possible investment in mid-2014.

Xiaomi’s Lei was partly put off by the potential for political fallout at home of selling a stake to Facebook while the U.S. social network is still banned in China, two of the people said, adding Xiaomi also feared a tie-up with Facebook could threaten its relationship with Google Inc, a crucial business partner. Xiaomi’s phones are built on Google’s Android operating system.

Xiaomi ultimately announced last month it raised $1.1 billion from investors including Hong Kong-based tech fund All Stars Investment; DST Global, a private equity firm that has invested in Facebook and Alibaba Group; Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC; Chinese fund Hopu Management; and Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital.

The fundraising valued Beijing-based Xiaomi at $45 billion just three years after it sold its first smartphone. The company had revenue of close to $12 billion in 2014.

Zuckerberg has eyed China as a critical piece of his vision to connect the global population. But, like Google and Twitter, the social networking giant has been blocked by China’s internet censors, who cite national security concerns.

“Facebook wants to get into China, and Xiaomi is keen to expand outside, so they both recognise the importance of working together,” said one of the knowledgeable individuals, none of whom wanted to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Xiaomi and Facebook declined to comment for this article.

The two CEOs knew each other previously and deepened their relationship last year. In October, Zuckerberg was invited for dinner at Lei’s Beijing home along with Facebook business development chief John Lagerling and China head Vaughan Smith.

The next day, Zuckerberg, whose wife is Chinese-American, addressed the prestigious Tsinghua University and won plaudits for speaking in Mandarin during a 30-minute Q&A session.

As Xiaomi sought financing last year, ICONIQ Capital, a San Francisco-based fund that manages several individuals’ personal wealth, including Zuckerberg’s, also considered buying shares, but ultimately did not, several people with knowledge of the matter said. Talks about ICONIQ taking part in Xiaomi’s financing were not led by Zuckerberg himself.

ICONIQ declined to comment.

Called off


Xiaomi is China’s biggest smartphone maker, according to some industry analysts, and trails only Samsung Electronics and Apple in global market share.

A strategic partnership with Xiaomi would give Facebook

another avenue to distribute its apps and potentially provide a powerful ally in its bid to overturn its China ban.

For Xiaomi, access to Facebook’s vast banks of user data would be valuable as it seeks to grow into a global internet company providing comprehensive online services.

But Lei thought it would be “too sensitive” to sell an equity stake to Facebook given its uncertain political status in China, said one of the people with knowledge of the matter.

China’s top internet censor, Lu Wei, has warned that social media, particularly foreign services, could be a destabilising force for Chinese society. Lu, however, visited Facebook’s U.S. headquarters last month, prompting speculation that relations between Facebook and China’s government were warming.

source: interaksyon.com

Amazon takes first ever Globes for ‘Transparent’


LOS ANGELES | Online retail giant Amazon scored its first ever Golden Globes on Sunday with two wins for dark comedy “Transparent” — a breakthrough in its bid to catch up with streaming pioneer Netflix.

The series, starring veteran actor Jeffrey Tambor, tells the story of a man who has transitioned to become a woman and is working out the thorny details of telling his family.

It took home prizes for best comedy/musical series and best actor for Tambor.

“This is dedicated to too many trans people that died too young,” said series creator Jill Soloway. “Maybe we’ll be able to teach the world something about authenticity and truth and love.”

A few minutes later, Tambor accepted his trophy, saying: “Oh, this is big. This is much bigger than me.”

“I would like to dedicate my performance and this award to the transgender community,” he added.

In October, Amazon ordered a second season of the series — the creation of Soloway, an Emmy-nominated writer on cult series “Six Feet Under.” The first season was released on September 26.

Amazon has recently bolstered its streaming video offerings.

But so far, its own original content has not quite reached the popularity level achieved by Netflix, with its signature series “House of Cards” and “Orange Is The New Black.”

“House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey took home the prize for best actor in a television drama — his first Globe in eight nominations.

“This is just the beginning of my revenge,” Spacey joked in the Southern drawl of his character, Frank Underwood.

Showtime’s new series “The Affair” — the story of a love affair gone wrong, told from the perspective of both the man and the woman — took home honors for best drama and best actress (Ruth Wilson).

The best drama series category had been seen as a tough one, with “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Good Wife” and “House of Cards” also in the mix.

Another big winner on the television side was “Fargo” — a miniseries based on the Oscar-winning crime thriller film by Joel and Ethan Coen.

It took home prizes for best miniseries or television movie, and best actor in a miniseries or TV movie for Billy Bob Thornton — besting HBO’s widely acclaimed “True Detective” in both categories.

Gina Rodriguez took home the Globe for best comedy TV actress for her breakout performance in “Jane the Virgin” — based on a Venezuelan telenovela.

“Thank you to my mom and my dad for telling me to dream big and to never stop dreaming,” Rodriguez said.

source: interaksyon.com

RCBC raising more debt


MANILA – Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) is selling dollar-denominated debt to fund its operations and refinance maturing debt.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Yuchengco-led lender said it will offer a benchmark-sized senior unsecured fixed-rate notes through a drawdown of its $1-billion medium-term note program. The bank has set the tentative date of issuance on January 21.

The debt will have a term of five years and one day, and will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Proceeds of the debt issuance will finance operations and general corporate purposes, including the refinancing of $250-million in notes that carry a rate of 6.25 percent and due February 9, 2015.

RCBC tapped Standard Chartered Bank as the sole lead arranger and book runner of the offering.

source: interaksyon.com