LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The video-game giant forged by the tie-up of Vivendi's game unit with Activision Inc. will be home to best-selling titles "Guitar Hero" and "World of Warcraft" and could have enough scale to challenge current leader Electronics Arts Inc.Vivendi , whose activities span recorded music, pay TV and mobile telephony as well as games, on Sunday announced the $18.9 billion deal with computer-games pioneer Activision.
The French group will own a majority stake in the combined company -- to be called Activision Blizzard -- which will rival Electronic Arts.The deal will be carried out in two steps. First, Vivendi's game unit, Vivendi Games, will merge with Activision and Vivendi will purchase $1.7 billion worth of Activision shares for $27.50 each, giving it 52% of the new company.
Then, within five days of the deal closing, Activision Blizzard will do a $4 billion all-cash tender offer to buy up to 146.5 million of its own shares, raising Vivendi's stake to 68%. The deal will bring together some of the hottest franchises in the game sector. Activision publishes the "Guitar Hero" series -- one of this year's best-sellers -- as well as the popular "Tony Hawk" and "Call of Duty" series. Its business model is based on selling games for a one-time fee of $50 to $60.
Vivendi, meanwhile, is a big force in online and PC games played by people all over the world at the same time. The company owns Blizzard Entertainment, which publishes the popular "World of Warcraft" online multi-player game. Most "Warcraft" subscribers in Western markets pay $15 a month to play, while users in Asia typically buy cards that let them play the game for various time periods.
The overwhelming popularity of "Warcraft" is what led Activision to consider doing a deal with Vivendi, rather than trying to crack the multi-player market on its own.
"We didn't feel we could deliver an audience experience like they have done," Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said in an interview. "As we began to talk, we realized we had these incredible synergies and a common belief on how the market would evolve."
Kotick will run the combined company as CEO, while Vivendi Games CEO Bruce Hack, will serve as vice chairman and chief corporate officer. Vivendi does deal as euro nears all-time high versus dollar
Once combined, Activision Blizzard will have annual sales of about $3.8 billion for the current fiscal year. Electronic Arts, by contrast, is expected to generate about $3.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending in March, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Financial.
But analysts noted that Activision will now have a big lead in the market for online, multi-player games that are especially popular in the Asian markets, including China.
The big prize in the deal is indeed "Warcraft," which is by far the biggest game in the sector, with about 9.3 million subscribers globally. The game accounts for the bulk of the $1.1 billion in annual revenues generated by Vivendi Games.
"When you look at it, there are only about 15 million people worldwide playing online multi-player games, and more than half of them are Vivendi customers," said Michael Pachter, video game analyst with Wedbush Morgan.
Pachter called "Warcraft" a "phenomenon," against which EA will have a hard time competing.
"There's something about 'Warcraft' that is different from every other online game in that it is so much better then any others at getting customers into the game and getting them to stay there," Pachter said. "Activision is taking a big chunk of the market that EA was trying to get into."
Societe Generale analysts also welcomed the deal from the point of view of Vivendi, saying it will reduce its reliance on the "Warcraft" franchise.
It added that the transaction is struck at a time when the euro is near an all-time high against the dollar and still leaves Vivendi with some financial flexibility.
Santander analysts also stressed the benefits of the deal for Vivendi, saying Activision is a "good quality assets" with renowned licenses. It also noted that the games sector currently has stronger growth than the media sector, in which Vivendi operates, and said synergies between video games and telecom assets are possible.
"All in all, apart from a deal in the French telecom sector, we believe this merger is one of the best deals that Vivendi could have done," the broker concluded.
Dan Gallagher is MarketWatch's technology editor, based in San Francisco.Aude Lagorce is a senior correspondent for MarketWatch in London.
luni, 3 decembrie 2007
Activision Blizzard
December 2, 2007 - Until today, Sunday wasn't generally regarded as a big news day in this industry. But that changed this afternoon when Vivendi and Activision announced that they were joining forces to create the largest game publisher in the world. The new company, Activision Blizzard, will not only own some of the most prestigious brands in gaming (Warcraft, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, and others) but will also have a tremendous PC/console diversity in their catalog and stronger penetration into Asian and online markets.To get a few more details on this deal and to find out just what it means for the Blizzard brand in particular, we recently spoke with Blizzard Entertainment's president and CEO Mike Morhaime.IGN: Thanks for joining us, Mike. I know you're busy today so we won't take up too much of your time. Tell us in general terms what this is all about.Mike Morhaime: Basically, Vivendi announced earlier today that it's going to be contributing Vivendi Games, which includes Blizzard, valued at 8.1 billion dollars plus 1.7 billion dollars in cash in exchange for 52% of Activision Blizzard, which will be the new company once Vivendi Games is injected into Activision.If you look at Activision and Vivendi Games, I'm sure you'll notice that they're very complimentary businesses. Activision has a firm track record on the console side of the business with very strong franchises like Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Tony Hawk. Blizzard Entertainment is number one on PC and online. We've got the number one MMORG in the world with over 9.3 million subscribers. We have great geographic penetration in North America and Europe and we're the only western publisher that has a significant penetration in to Asia. We have the number one brand in Korea, China and Taiwan. So when you combine these two companies together, what you get is the world's largest and most profitable video game publisher that is the leader across all platforms, all categories and all geographies.From a development standpoint, at Blizzard Entertainment one of our values of course is commitment to quality. Activision is structured with independent studios and they give their independent studios quite a bit of autonomy. They believe very strongly, like we do, that the way to run a successful business in this industry is through developing high quality games. That's the only way to develop long-term value in your franchises and your businesses. Ultimately the only way to win is to create great games. I think that the combination of these two companies provides us with a very diversified, stable structure with which we can reward talent and continue creating awesome games.IGN: We saw in the release that Vivendi could own as much as 68% of Activision Blizzard by the time the deal is over. Who actually is in charge and what's the management system like? Do you think the new management will preserve the independent approach to managing their developers?Mike Morhaime: When you say "managing their developers," the Blizzard Entertainment structure remains unchanged. I will remain president and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment reporting to Bobby Kotick who is CEO of Activision Blizzard. As far as development and publishing, Blizzard Entertainment will continue to be a publisher of computer games and will continue to be developing and maintaining our intellectual properties as we always have.IGN: Do you know if the new company is planning to publish titles under the Sierra or Vivendi brands?Mike Morhaime: That, I don't know. I think that there's going to be a lot of discussion about what the brand strategy will be going forward. On the Blizzard Entertainment side it's very clear that the branding strategy is what it's always been. The Blizzard Entertainment brand will remain unchanged.IGN: Do you anticipate that Activision Blizzard will gain access now to some of Vivendi's television and film properties that aren't a part of the deal?Mike Morhaime: I don't know about television or film but I do know that Doug Morris [Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group] will have a seat on the Activision Blizzard board so there are potential opportunities with Universal Music for things like Guitar Hero.IGN: Are there any plans to cut divisions or staff that have been made redundant by the two companies coming together?Mike Morhaime: I think it's really too early to talk about stuff like that. I do know that's not our reason for doing the deal. We felt that the two businesses are very complimentary and I think there's going to have to be an evaluation of projects that are in development and there will be a green light process going forward. Projects that don't look like they're going to be profitable won't get green lit.IGN: The deal indicates that Vivendi as it currently stands is worth 8.1 billion dollars. What's the value of the new combined company?Mike Morhaime: We're estimating the value of the new company at 18.9 billion. The way we calculate that is 8.1 billion dollars plus 1.7 billion dollars in cash divided the stake that Vivendi will be receiving which is 52%.IGN: How long has this deal been in the works? Who approached whom?Mike Morhaime: There have been discussions going on for the better part of a year. Originally Bobby Kotick gave Bruce Hack, CEO of Vivendi Games, a phone call. They met for lunch to chat about potential things the two companies could do together. Very quickly, it became very clear to both of them that there was a potential opportunity to combine the businesses because they were so complimentary.Then Vivendi was brought in and met with the Activision guys and was very impressed. I've met several times with the Activision guys and we've talked at length about Blizzard's philosophy on game development and game publishing and all the things that are important to us at Blizzard. We found that we shared a lot of the same values. We feel pretty comfortable with the Activision executives and feel like they're going to continue being supportive of the way that Blizzard Entertainment runs their business. IGN: It sounds like there are plenty of advantages to the deal. Is there anything about being part of an even larger company that you feel you'll need to watch out for in the future?Mike Morhaime: There isn't really anything right now. I think the biggest change for us is more spotlights from financial press, which we really haven't had to deal with in the past because we've been really insulated from that in the past. One of my jobs as CEO of Blizzard Entertainment is to insulate the developers from that distraction so we can focus on making games like we always have.
joi, 29 noiembrie 2007
Britney and Paris top Santa's naughty list
NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Britney Spears and Paris Hilton open their stockings on Christmas Day, they shouldn't be surprised to find a lump of coal. A poll of American children released on Wednesday found that the two high-profile celebrities should top Santa's naughty list.
By contrast Disney star Hannah Montana, played by country singer Billy Ray Cyrus's daughter Miley, was overwhelming deemed the "nicest" celebrity among children aged 2 to 12 while actress Angelina Jolie was the choice for teenagers 13 to 17.
The online survey of 1,107 children was conducted by E-Poll Market Research, which specializes in celebrity and brand research, to gauge children's attitudes about nice, naughty, and the seasonal question of who makes Santa's list.
Spears, whose stint in rehabilitation, panty-less pictures, and custody battle for her children has won headlines globally, was awarded top "naughty" honors with younger and older children.
She was followed on the list by Paris Hilton who spent three weeks in jail this year on a driving violation.
The two women beat out Swiper the Fox from the television show Dora the Explorer, the Grinch from the book "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and Darth Vader from Star Wars among children 2-12.
For teens, Spears and Hilton topped Lindsay Lohan, who spent 84 minutes behind bars this year for a drunken driving and cocaine-possession conviction, and Beyonce.
When asked what makes someone nice, children mentioned "cleaning up and doing chores," "sharing" and "being honest and polite" as ways to impress Santa.
On the flip side, they mentioned "not listening to parents," "being mean and bullying" and "being snobby" as behaviors exhibited by those headed for the naughty list.
By contrast Disney star Hannah Montana, played by country singer Billy Ray Cyrus's daughter Miley, was overwhelming deemed the "nicest" celebrity among children aged 2 to 12 while actress Angelina Jolie was the choice for teenagers 13 to 17.
The online survey of 1,107 children was conducted by E-Poll Market Research, which specializes in celebrity and brand research, to gauge children's attitudes about nice, naughty, and the seasonal question of who makes Santa's list.
Spears, whose stint in rehabilitation, panty-less pictures, and custody battle for her children has won headlines globally, was awarded top "naughty" honors with younger and older children.
She was followed on the list by Paris Hilton who spent three weeks in jail this year on a driving violation.
The two women beat out Swiper the Fox from the television show Dora the Explorer, the Grinch from the book "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and Darth Vader from Star Wars among children 2-12.
For teens, Spears and Hilton topped Lindsay Lohan, who spent 84 minutes behind bars this year for a drunken driving and cocaine-possession conviction, and Beyonce.
When asked what makes someone nice, children mentioned "cleaning up and doing chores," "sharing" and "being honest and polite" as ways to impress Santa.
On the flip side, they mentioned "not listening to parents," "being mean and bullying" and "being snobby" as behaviors exhibited by those headed for the naughty list.
FBI: Millions of computers roped into criminal 'robot networks'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hackers have remotely controlled about 2.5 million computers of unsuspecting owners to commit crimes using computer robot networks called "botnets," the FBI said Thursday.The bureau in 2005 launched Operation Bot Roast to stop this emerging type of cyber attack, which the FBI estimates has resulted in $20 million in losses and theft, including one scheme that bilked a Midwest financial institution out of millions.
More than 1 million computers were infected with botnets when the FBI announced Bot Roast in June, and roughly 1.5 million more have been identified since then, the FBI said. Industry numbers suggest there are as many as 5 million infected computers.
According to an FBI news release, New Zealand authorities in tandem with the FBI this week searched the home of an individual -- identified only by the cyber name, "AKILL" -- whose "elite international botnet coding group" is suspected of infecting more than 1 million computers. AKILL is not in custody, the FBI said. Since the operation was announced, 13 search warrants have been served around the world, and eight individuals -- in Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida, California and Kentucky -- have been indicted or found guilty of crimes related to botnets. Such crimes include fraud, identity theft and denial-of-service attacks in which computer Web sites and other resources are made unavailable.
In one denial-of-service attack, Jason Michael Downey, 24, operated rizon.net, a system for chat rooms known as an Internet Relay Chat. Downey was sentenced to a year in prison for launching numerous denial-of-service attacks on other IRC networks and their operators.
More than 1 million computers were infected with botnets when the FBI announced Bot Roast in June, and roughly 1.5 million more have been identified since then, the FBI said. Industry numbers suggest there are as many as 5 million infected computers.
According to an FBI news release, New Zealand authorities in tandem with the FBI this week searched the home of an individual -- identified only by the cyber name, "AKILL" -- whose "elite international botnet coding group" is suspected of infecting more than 1 million computers. AKILL is not in custody, the FBI said. Since the operation was announced, 13 search warrants have been served around the world, and eight individuals -- in Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida, California and Kentucky -- have been indicted or found guilty of crimes related to botnets. Such crimes include fraud, identity theft and denial-of-service attacks in which computer Web sites and other resources are made unavailable.
In one denial-of-service attack, Jason Michael Downey, 24, operated rizon.net, a system for chat rooms known as an Internet Relay Chat. Downey was sentenced to a year in prison for launching numerous denial-of-service attacks on other IRC networks and their operators.
miercuri, 28 noiembrie 2007
Mourinho camp cool England talk
Jose Mourinho has not indicated his willingness to become the next England coach, sources close to the former Chelsea manager have told the BBC.
Newspaper reports on Wednesday claimed Mourinho had said he was prepared to talk to the Football Association.
But sources in Portugal have told the BBC that Mourinho has not made any public comment about the England job.
He would be a popular choice to replace Steve McClaren because of his record of success with Chelsea and Porto.
He won two Portuguese championships, the Uefa Cup and the Champions League with Porto before winning two Premier League titles, two League Cups and the FA Cup with the big-spending Chelsea.
Mourinho, 44, has been tipped to stay in club management in Europe, having previously suggested that at international level he would only be interested in coaching his native Portugal. FA chief executive Brian Barwick has said that nationality "would not be an issue" when it came to appointing the next England coach.
England, who have dropped down to the second pot of seeds in qualification for the major tournaments, avoided Portugal in Sunday's draw for the World Cup.
Barwick will lead the FA's search for a new coach alongside the organisation's development director Sir Trevor Brooking.
Several potential candidates haved already ruled themselves out of contention for the position with Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, West Ham's Alan Curbishley and Newcastle's Sam Allardyce all distancing themselves from speculation.
McClaren was sacked after failing to steer England to the finals of next year's European Championships.
Newspaper reports on Wednesday claimed Mourinho had said he was prepared to talk to the Football Association.
But sources in Portugal have told the BBC that Mourinho has not made any public comment about the England job.
He would be a popular choice to replace Steve McClaren because of his record of success with Chelsea and Porto.
He won two Portuguese championships, the Uefa Cup and the Champions League with Porto before winning two Premier League titles, two League Cups and the FA Cup with the big-spending Chelsea.
Mourinho, 44, has been tipped to stay in club management in Europe, having previously suggested that at international level he would only be interested in coaching his native Portugal. FA chief executive Brian Barwick has said that nationality "would not be an issue" when it came to appointing the next England coach.
England, who have dropped down to the second pot of seeds in qualification for the major tournaments, avoided Portugal in Sunday's draw for the World Cup.
Barwick will lead the FA's search for a new coach alongside the organisation's development director Sir Trevor Brooking.
Several potential candidates haved already ruled themselves out of contention for the position with Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, West Ham's Alan Curbishley and Newcastle's Sam Allardyce all distancing themselves from speculation.
McClaren was sacked after failing to steer England to the finals of next year's European Championships.
Dazzling delights go on display
Some of nature's most remarkable and unique treasures are set to dazzle the public when they go on display.
The Vault, a new gallery at London's Natural History Museum, will showcase a collection of gems, crystals, metals and meteorites from around the world.
Museum curator Alan Hart said the specimens were chosen for "their beauty, rarity and history".
They include a hefty gold nugget, a Martian meteorite and 296 coloured diamonds.
Mr Hart described the collection as "the creme de la creme" of the mineral world.
He said: "We designed this exclusive gallery so we could showcase the best of our collections and include in that some dazzling loans."
One of these loans includes the famous Aurora Collection, which consists of hundreds of exceptionally rare diamonds, ranging in colour from blood red to emerald green.
"Gems like these were not meant to be imprisoned in a dark underground safe for the momentary pleasure of a few eyes," said Alan Bronstein, the co-owner of the collection.
The Vault's team said the gallery would reveal some of the fascinating stories behind the treasures, from Heron-Allen's cursed amethyst to the Latrobe gold nugget, which was unearthed during Australia's "gold rush".
Mr Hart told the BBC News website: "Each specimen has a great narrative - whether it is a scientific narrative, cultural dimension or historical fact."
The team also said the array would give an insight into the science behind the specimens.
Displayed next to many of the glittering gems, including a vivid pink beryl from Madagascar, are the crystals or crystalline material from which they were cut.
This will give visitors a better idea of the Earth processes that yield such remarkable items. Mr Hart said: "We wanted to celebrate some of the rarest and unique gemstones, metals, meteorites and crystals as a natural substance.
"I think many people may have gemstones and they may not realise where the raw materials come from."
He added: "Many of these are like nature's artwork- they are just so spectacular."
The curator said it was impossible to place a value on the Vault's display. He explained: "Some of the items are so unique; they are literally priceless, especially in terms of their scientific value."
One such item is the Nakhla, a rare Martian meteorite which crashed to Earth in Egypt in 1911.
Mr Hart said: "By studying these meteorites we can find out about the origins of the Solar System and maybe even the origins of life itself."
The Vault, a new gallery at London's Natural History Museum, will showcase a collection of gems, crystals, metals and meteorites from around the world.
Museum curator Alan Hart said the specimens were chosen for "their beauty, rarity and history".
They include a hefty gold nugget, a Martian meteorite and 296 coloured diamonds.
Mr Hart described the collection as "the creme de la creme" of the mineral world.
He said: "We designed this exclusive gallery so we could showcase the best of our collections and include in that some dazzling loans."
One of these loans includes the famous Aurora Collection, which consists of hundreds of exceptionally rare diamonds, ranging in colour from blood red to emerald green.
"Gems like these were not meant to be imprisoned in a dark underground safe for the momentary pleasure of a few eyes," said Alan Bronstein, the co-owner of the collection.
The Vault's team said the gallery would reveal some of the fascinating stories behind the treasures, from Heron-Allen's cursed amethyst to the Latrobe gold nugget, which was unearthed during Australia's "gold rush".
Mr Hart told the BBC News website: "Each specimen has a great narrative - whether it is a scientific narrative, cultural dimension or historical fact."
The team also said the array would give an insight into the science behind the specimens.
Displayed next to many of the glittering gems, including a vivid pink beryl from Madagascar, are the crystals or crystalline material from which they were cut.
This will give visitors a better idea of the Earth processes that yield such remarkable items. Mr Hart said: "We wanted to celebrate some of the rarest and unique gemstones, metals, meteorites and crystals as a natural substance.
"I think many people may have gemstones and they may not realise where the raw materials come from."
He added: "Many of these are like nature's artwork- they are just so spectacular."
The curator said it was impossible to place a value on the Vault's display. He explained: "Some of the items are so unique; they are literally priceless, especially in terms of their scientific value."
One such item is the Nakhla, a rare Martian meteorite which crashed to Earth in Egypt in 1911.
Mr Hart said: "By studying these meteorites we can find out about the origins of the Solar System and maybe even the origins of life itself."
marți, 27 noiembrie 2007
Unpopulated, 1-house Texas town sells for $3.8M on eBay
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Someone in Italy placed the winning bid of $3.8 million on Friday for an unpopulated, one-house Texas town auctioned online.
No one lives permanently in the 13-acre town of Albert, about 60 miles north of San Antonio, but the tavern created from the frame of the old general store is open on weekends.
The town also includes a pavilion, an 85-year-old dance hall, a tractor shed, a three-bedroom house, plus peach and pecan orchards.
But before town owner Bobby Cave signs the deed over, he must ensure the eBay bid is legitimate. Cave said that unlike the usual items bought through eBay, there are no contractual obligations when it comes to real estate.
"There's just not any way to insist that a guy from Italy write me a check for three million," said Cave, 47, an Austin real estate agent.
The reserve price for the town was $2.5 million. Even if the deal doesn't go through, Cave said he has about five other prospective buyers genuinely interested in the town.
Bridgeville, in northern California, was the first town ever put on the eBay auction block. The 83 acres were twice sold on the site, in 2002 (that deal fell through) and again last year.
No one lives permanently in the 13-acre town of Albert, about 60 miles north of San Antonio, but the tavern created from the frame of the old general store is open on weekends.
The town also includes a pavilion, an 85-year-old dance hall, a tractor shed, a three-bedroom house, plus peach and pecan orchards.
But before town owner Bobby Cave signs the deed over, he must ensure the eBay bid is legitimate. Cave said that unlike the usual items bought through eBay, there are no contractual obligations when it comes to real estate.
"There's just not any way to insist that a guy from Italy write me a check for three million," said Cave, 47, an Austin real estate agent.
The reserve price for the town was $2.5 million. Even if the deal doesn't go through, Cave said he has about five other prospective buyers genuinely interested in the town.
Bridgeville, in northern California, was the first town ever put on the eBay auction block. The 83 acres were twice sold on the site, in 2002 (that deal fell through) and again last year.
ATVs not safe for children
Kids who ride ATVs have an alarming number of potentially disabling injuries, a study reports.
All-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, weigh up to 600 pounds and can travel at speeds of 65 mph or more. The study adds to other evidence suggesting dangers faced by children who ride ATVs: The Consumer Product Safety Commission says 40,400 children were treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2005 after ATV accidents.
"The public should know that ATVs are not safe," says researcher Chetan Shah of the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, who presented his team's findings Monday at the annual meeting in Chicago of the Radiological Society of North America.
Shah and his colleagues studied 500 children and teens injured in ATV accidents and brought to the emergency room at Children's Hospital over eight years.
They found that the number of ATV injuries more than doubled from 1998 to 2006.
All-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, weigh up to 600 pounds and can travel at speeds of 65 mph or more. The study adds to other evidence suggesting dangers faced by children who ride ATVs: The Consumer Product Safety Commission says 40,400 children were treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2005 after ATV accidents.
"The public should know that ATVs are not safe," says researcher Chetan Shah of the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, who presented his team's findings Monday at the annual meeting in Chicago of the Radiological Society of North America.
Shah and his colleagues studied 500 children and teens injured in ATV accidents and brought to the emergency room at Children's Hospital over eight years.
They found that the number of ATV injuries more than doubled from 1998 to 2006.
luni, 9 iulie 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Google Inc. said on Monday it has agreed to buy Web-based security provider Postini for $625 million, expanding its package of online applications to compete with Microsoft Corp.'s Office.
Postini provides security and encryption services, protecting instant messaging, e-mail and other communications, to more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users worldwide.
Google said the deal would enable it to provide organizations with more Web-based services similar to its Google Apps package, which includes its e-mail service Gmail, Calendar, and Talk, its messaging service.
Google has been expanding its range of services from Web search and advertising to include popular software applications for businesses, such as word processing, putting it in direct competition with Microsoft's Office package of applications.
Google said its Google Apps has been adopted by more than 100,000 businesses to date.
"With this transaction, we're reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes," said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt in a statement.
Google said Postini will become a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
Postini provides security and encryption services, protecting instant messaging, e-mail and other communications, to more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users worldwide.
Google said the deal would enable it to provide organizations with more Web-based services similar to its Google Apps package, which includes its e-mail service Gmail, Calendar, and Talk, its messaging service.
Google has been expanding its range of services from Web search and advertising to include popular software applications for businesses, such as word processing, putting it in direct competition with Microsoft's Office package of applications.
Google said its Google Apps has been adopted by more than 100,000 businesses to date.
"With this transaction, we're reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes," said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt in a statement.
Google said Postini will become a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Sony has cut the price of the PlayStation 3 by $100, or 17 percent, in the United States, a move that should boost the video game console's lackluster sales.
Starting Monday, the current PS3 60 gigabyte model will cost $499 -- a $100 price drop.
The PlayStation 3, which includes a 60-gigabyte hard drive and a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player, will now cost $500, or $20 more than the most expensive version of Microsoft's Xbox 360.
The PS3 still costs twice that of Nintendo's Wii console, whose $250 price and motion-sensing controller have made it a best-seller despite its lack of cutting-edge graphics and hard disk.
"Our initial expectation is that sales should double at a minimum," Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said in an interview.
"We've gotten our production issues behind us on the PlayStation 3, reaching a position to pass on the savings to consumers, and our attitude is the sooner the better."
The price drop Monday was widely anticipated by industry analysts despite Sony President Ryoji Chubachi telling Reuters last week that the company had no immediate plans for one.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said Sony's price reduction would not double sales but may boost them by 50 percent to about 120,000 units a month.
"The greater significance is that Sony is signaling to the market that we're coming down the cost curve pretty fast in making this thing. It's a pretty consumer-friendly move," Pachter said.
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Sony's move comes two days before the start of the video game industry's annual E3 trade show in Santa Monica, California, where some expect Microsoft to respond with its first price cuts on the Xbox 360.
Nintendo, whose Wii is selling so well that it is still hard to find in stores eight months after its launch, is not expected to budge on pricing.
The Xbox 360 and Wii have outsold the PS3 by several times in the crucial U.S. market, leaving Sony, whose PlayStation 2 dominated the last console generation, in the unfamiliar position of playing catch up.
Sony is counting on the price cut to help it significantly grow sales of the PS3 ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season that accounts for most of the annual sales of highly profitable gaming software.
Sony is also introducing a new version of the PS3 featuring an 80-gigabyte hard drive and a copy of "Motorstorm," an off-road racing game that has already sold a million copies.
The new model will sell for $600 and is aimed at gamers who expect to download a lot of games and other content from Sony's burgeoning online network.
Sony also hopes the PS3 will win some converts following Microsoft's admission last week that the failure rate of its Xbox 360 console had been unacceptably high, forcing it to book $1 billion in repair costs.
"We're especially proud of the fact that the PlayStation 3 has the lowest failure rate of any PlayStation product. It's absolutely the gold standard," Tretton said.
"The quality of the product and long-term viability is what ultimately wins."
Starting Monday, the current PS3 60 gigabyte model will cost $499 -- a $100 price drop.
The PlayStation 3, which includes a 60-gigabyte hard drive and a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player, will now cost $500, or $20 more than the most expensive version of Microsoft's Xbox 360.
The PS3 still costs twice that of Nintendo's Wii console, whose $250 price and motion-sensing controller have made it a best-seller despite its lack of cutting-edge graphics and hard disk.
"Our initial expectation is that sales should double at a minimum," Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said in an interview.
"We've gotten our production issues behind us on the PlayStation 3, reaching a position to pass on the savings to consumers, and our attitude is the sooner the better."
The price drop Monday was widely anticipated by industry analysts despite Sony President Ryoji Chubachi telling Reuters last week that the company had no immediate plans for one.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said Sony's price reduction would not double sales but may boost them by 50 percent to about 120,000 units a month.
"The greater significance is that Sony is signaling to the market that we're coming down the cost curve pretty fast in making this thing. It's a pretty consumer-friendly move," Pachter said.
Don't miss
Sony sorry for bloody cathedral game
Xbox 360 glitch may cost Microsoft $1 billion
Sony's move comes two days before the start of the video game industry's annual E3 trade show in Santa Monica, California, where some expect Microsoft to respond with its first price cuts on the Xbox 360.
Nintendo, whose Wii is selling so well that it is still hard to find in stores eight months after its launch, is not expected to budge on pricing.
The Xbox 360 and Wii have outsold the PS3 by several times in the crucial U.S. market, leaving Sony, whose PlayStation 2 dominated the last console generation, in the unfamiliar position of playing catch up.
Sony is counting on the price cut to help it significantly grow sales of the PS3 ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season that accounts for most of the annual sales of highly profitable gaming software.
Sony is also introducing a new version of the PS3 featuring an 80-gigabyte hard drive and a copy of "Motorstorm," an off-road racing game that has already sold a million copies.
The new model will sell for $600 and is aimed at gamers who expect to download a lot of games and other content from Sony's burgeoning online network.
Sony also hopes the PS3 will win some converts following Microsoft's admission last week that the failure rate of its Xbox 360 console had been unacceptably high, forcing it to book $1 billion in repair costs.
"We're especially proud of the fact that the PlayStation 3 has the lowest failure rate of any PlayStation product. It's absolutely the gold standard," Tretton said.
"The quality of the product and long-term viability is what ultimately wins."
duminică, 8 iulie 2007
The new seven wonders of the world were named Saturday following an online vote that generated server-crushing traffic in its final hours.
The Great Wall of China was among the top vote-getters of the "New 7 Wonders of the World" project.
The final tally produced this list of the world's top human-built wonders:
• The Great Wall of China
• Petra in Jordan
• Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer
• Peru's Machu Picchu
• Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid
• The Colosseum in Rome
• India's Taj Mahal
Before the vote ended Friday, organizers said more than 90 million votes had been cast for 21 sites.
Voting at the Web site, www.new7wonders.com, ended at 6 p.m. ET Friday. Traffic was so heavy Friday that the site was crashing at times.
One message urged voters to use text messages as an alternative form of voting. "Keep on voting, as it is your votes that decide the New 7 Wonders of the World," the message said.
"We have traffic that is simply off the scale," Tia Vering, spokeswoman for the "New 7 Wonders of the World" campaign, told CNN.com. "Things are just going ballistic."
The new wonders were announced at a star-studded event Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal, that featured performances by Jennifer Lopez and Chaka Khan. The event was hosted by Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Ben Kingsley as well as Bollywood star Bipasha Basu. Send CNN.com photos and video of your favorite "wonder"
The top contenders for the seven wonders were last made public in early June.
The oldest candidate was Britain's Stonehenge; the newest was Australia's Sydney Opera House. The U.S. Statue of Liberty also was among the choices.
Voting nearly doubled after the June results, when organizers said about 50 million votes had been cast. A single user can cast multiple votes.
To be considered for the competition, all structures had to be built or discovered before 2000. All are among top tourist attractions around the world.
Of the seven ancient wonders of the world, only one remains standing today, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Don't miss
New 7 Wonders campaign
TIME.com: Photo essay
Some nations have enthusiastically endorsed the new wonders campaign. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Jordan's Queen Rania actively promoted their countries' hopefuls.
But the new wonders campaign hasn't been universally recognized. The United Nations' cultural organization, UNESCO, issued a statement saying it has "no link whatsoever" to the vote.
Egypt's top antiquities expert also objected to the list. He said Egypt's pyramids are a "symbol of the genius of the ancient people" -- and are above any sort of online poll.
As a result, the organizers struck up a compromise. The pyramids have been assured honorary status, in addition to the new seven wonders.
The new wonders project was the brainchild of Swiss businessman Bernard Weber. He said he wanted to invite the people of the world to take part in selecting the world's greatest wonders.
"So that everybody can decide what the new seven wonders should be and not some government, not some individuals, not some institutions," he said.
Vering said she believes the vote has accomplished that goal.
"We've managed to bring culture out of the museum -- out of the dusty, dry academic corners -- and have people talk about it," she said. "That, we feel, is the greatest achievement of this campaign."
The Great Wall of China was among the top vote-getters of the "New 7 Wonders of the World" project.
The final tally produced this list of the world's top human-built wonders:
• The Great Wall of China
• Petra in Jordan
• Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer
• Peru's Machu Picchu
• Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid
• The Colosseum in Rome
• India's Taj Mahal
Before the vote ended Friday, organizers said more than 90 million votes had been cast for 21 sites.
Voting at the Web site, www.new7wonders.com, ended at 6 p.m. ET Friday. Traffic was so heavy Friday that the site was crashing at times.
One message urged voters to use text messages as an alternative form of voting. "Keep on voting, as it is your votes that decide the New 7 Wonders of the World," the message said.
"We have traffic that is simply off the scale," Tia Vering, spokeswoman for the "New 7 Wonders of the World" campaign, told CNN.com. "Things are just going ballistic."
The new wonders were announced at a star-studded event Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal, that featured performances by Jennifer Lopez and Chaka Khan. The event was hosted by Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Ben Kingsley as well as Bollywood star Bipasha Basu. Send CNN.com photos and video of your favorite "wonder"
The top contenders for the seven wonders were last made public in early June.
The oldest candidate was Britain's Stonehenge; the newest was Australia's Sydney Opera House. The U.S. Statue of Liberty also was among the choices.
Voting nearly doubled after the June results, when organizers said about 50 million votes had been cast. A single user can cast multiple votes.
To be considered for the competition, all structures had to be built or discovered before 2000. All are among top tourist attractions around the world.
Of the seven ancient wonders of the world, only one remains standing today, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Don't miss
New 7 Wonders campaign
TIME.com: Photo essay
Some nations have enthusiastically endorsed the new wonders campaign. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Jordan's Queen Rania actively promoted their countries' hopefuls.
But the new wonders campaign hasn't been universally recognized. The United Nations' cultural organization, UNESCO, issued a statement saying it has "no link whatsoever" to the vote.
Egypt's top antiquities expert also objected to the list. He said Egypt's pyramids are a "symbol of the genius of the ancient people" -- and are above any sort of online poll.
As a result, the organizers struck up a compromise. The pyramids have been assured honorary status, in addition to the new seven wonders.
The new wonders project was the brainchild of Swiss businessman Bernard Weber. He said he wanted to invite the people of the world to take part in selecting the world's greatest wonders.
"So that everybody can decide what the new seven wonders should be and not some government, not some individuals, not some institutions," he said.
Vering said she believes the vote has accomplished that goal.
"We've managed to bring culture out of the museum -- out of the dusty, dry academic corners -- and have people talk about it," she said. "That, we feel, is the greatest achievement of this campaign."
vineri, 6 iulie 2007
Microsoft to Spend $1.15 Billion for Xbox Repairs
LOS ANGELES, July 5 — In what may be one of the costliest consumer warranty repairs in history, Microsoft announced on Thursday that it would spend up to $1.15 billion to repair failing Xbox 360 game machine consoles.
While the company would not say how many units were failing, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, said that there have been an “unacceptable high number of repairs.” The majority of Xbox 360 owners, he said, have not experienced hardware failure.
Company officials said that Microsoft had sold 11.6 million Xbox 360 units by the end of June, shy of the 12 million units the company had predicted. The Xbox 360, which first went of sale in November 2005, is currently the best-selling game machine in the United States, according to NPD, a market research firm.
The size of the anticipated repair bill suggests that a third to as many as half of the machines are flawed.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., said it would take a charge of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion against earnings in the quarter ended June 30. Consumers know they have a problem if three red flashing lights appear on the console. Gamers on online forums have been referring to the event as “the Red Ring of Death” because the machine then shuts down.
The company declined to explain the nature of the failure, but said that it was not caused by a single problem in the console, which it said contained 1,700 components and 500 million transistors. The company also said there were no health or safety concerns involved. The problem began to appear over the last three to four months, Mr. Bach said, after “significant usage” of the consoles. He said the company has taken steps to correct the problem in new devices.
Microsoft said it would extend the warranty of the game console to three years to customers worldwide. Previously, products sold in the United States were covered by a one-year warranty, while Xbox 360 units sold in Europe had a two-year warranty.
In addition, customers who have had their consoles repaired because of the “three flashing lights” problem will be reimbursed for the cost of the repairs.
Microsoft has succeeded in establishing the Xbox brand against the better known Sony PlayStation and other game machines. The Xbox and its successor, the Xbox 360, was the software maker’s first major foray into hardware. Although sales are small relative to the rest of Microsoft’s revenue, the Xbox has been an important venture for the company and was viewed by many analysts as Microsoft’s attempt to compete with the likes of Sony and Apple for control of electronics and entertainment within homes.
The device can be used to access the Internet and view movies. Microsoft said its entertainment and devices division reported an operating loss of $315 million on $929 million in revenue for the three-month period that ended in March, and analysts have estimated that the company lost about $6 billion getting a foothold in the game machine industry.
A new Xbox 360 with a 20-gigabyte hard drive sells for about $400, but other versions cost about $300.
The announcement comes on the eve of the E3 Media and Business Summit, the video-game industry’s major trade show, to be held next week in Los Angeles. “This is bound to affect discussions between Microsoft and its developers and retailers,” said Richard Doherty, a partner in the research company Envisioneering Group.
While the company would not say how many units were failing, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, said that there have been an “unacceptable high number of repairs.” The majority of Xbox 360 owners, he said, have not experienced hardware failure.
Company officials said that Microsoft had sold 11.6 million Xbox 360 units by the end of June, shy of the 12 million units the company had predicted. The Xbox 360, which first went of sale in November 2005, is currently the best-selling game machine in the United States, according to NPD, a market research firm.
The size of the anticipated repair bill suggests that a third to as many as half of the machines are flawed.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., said it would take a charge of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion against earnings in the quarter ended June 30. Consumers know they have a problem if three red flashing lights appear on the console. Gamers on online forums have been referring to the event as “the Red Ring of Death” because the machine then shuts down.
The company declined to explain the nature of the failure, but said that it was not caused by a single problem in the console, which it said contained 1,700 components and 500 million transistors. The company also said there were no health or safety concerns involved. The problem began to appear over the last three to four months, Mr. Bach said, after “significant usage” of the consoles. He said the company has taken steps to correct the problem in new devices.
Microsoft said it would extend the warranty of the game console to three years to customers worldwide. Previously, products sold in the United States were covered by a one-year warranty, while Xbox 360 units sold in Europe had a two-year warranty.
In addition, customers who have had their consoles repaired because of the “three flashing lights” problem will be reimbursed for the cost of the repairs.
Microsoft has succeeded in establishing the Xbox brand against the better known Sony PlayStation and other game machines. The Xbox and its successor, the Xbox 360, was the software maker’s first major foray into hardware. Although sales are small relative to the rest of Microsoft’s revenue, the Xbox has been an important venture for the company and was viewed by many analysts as Microsoft’s attempt to compete with the likes of Sony and Apple for control of electronics and entertainment within homes.
The device can be used to access the Internet and view movies. Microsoft said its entertainment and devices division reported an operating loss of $315 million on $929 million in revenue for the three-month period that ended in March, and analysts have estimated that the company lost about $6 billion getting a foothold in the game machine industry.
A new Xbox 360 with a 20-gigabyte hard drive sells for about $400, but other versions cost about $300.
The announcement comes on the eve of the E3 Media and Business Summit, the video-game industry’s major trade show, to be held next week in Los Angeles. “This is bound to affect discussions between Microsoft and its developers and retailers,” said Richard Doherty, a partner in the research company Envisioneering Group.
London Bombers Sped to Glasgow, Authorities Say
HOUSTON, Scotland, July 5 — British investigators have concluded that the two men who carried out an attack at Glasgow’s international airport last Saturday had sped there after a failed attempt to bomb a nightclub in central London, a British security official said Thursday.
And, for the first time, witnesses, a neighbor and the police have provided descriptions of the two men — Dr. Bilal Abdulla and Dr. Khalil Ahmed — saying they may have lived together intermittently in this placid neighborhood outside Glasgow and that a Jeep Cherokee similar to the one used to crash into an airport terminal was seen speeding around in the weeks before the botched bombings.
A week after the intended bombings in London and Glasgow — with the potential to kill scores of late-night revelers and travelers — law enforcement officials say that the evidence emerging is that the two doctors were the main operatives, if not the leaders, of a network of other medical professionals.
The manager of a local cab company said in an interview on Thursday that on two occasions over a five-week period from the end of May to the end of June a taxi picked up the two men together, suggesting that they could have been sharing a home here from time to time.
In one of those instances, according to Denis O’Donnell, the manager of the Paisley Cab Company, the taxi driver dropped off a man whom he now believes to be Dr. Ahmed at a local Asda supermarket, about halfway between the house Dr. Abdulla had been renting since April on Neuk Crescent here and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in nearby Paisley where he worked.
Much still remains unknown about the plot, including whether it was planned inside Britain, in Iraq or elsewhere. Altogether, eight suspects are in police custody in the case.
Charles MacPherson, 34, who lives in a development near the Nuek Crescent cul-de-sac where Dr. Abdulla rented his home, said Thursday that the neighborhood’s tranquillity recently was roiled by a speeding vehicle resembling the one used in the Glasgow attack.
“Someone has been driving this green Jeep at high speeds up and down the road,” he said. “It stands out because it’s the only Jeep in the area.”
A British security official, who spoke anonymously under government rules, said investigators now believed that Dr. Abdulla and Dr. Ahmed had also tried to set off two car bombs in London a day before the fiery airport attack in Glasgow.
In the early hours of last Friday, the police discovered a silver green Mercedes outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London’s Haymarket. An ambulance crew saw what was thought to be smoke in the vehicle and called the police. A police officer removed a detonation device that used a cellphone, police officials said at the time. The Mercedes was packed with gasoline, gas canisters and nails.
A short time later, a second Mercedes laden with the same dangerous cargo was discovered in a “no parking” zone near Haymarket and towed away. Afterward, the police said that this vehicle, a navy blue Mercedes, had also been primed to explode but had failed to detonate.
An American visitor, Eric Wolff, who saw the blue car, wrote in an e-mail message to The New York Times: “I just missed a 2:34 a.m. bus to Marylebone Road and ended up waiting until 3:34 for the next bus to arrive. I was standing at the bus stop in front of the blue Mercedes when it was towed.”
“The car was small and squarish, probably more than a few years old. The city came in with a ‘tow truck’ that lifted the car straight up with a crane mechanism and placed it on the truck bed,” Mr. Wolff wrote. “One of the tow guys took several pictures of the car with a digital camera as the car was being processed.”
As depicted by British security officials, the events unfolded after Dr. Abdulla and Dr. Ahmed drove the Mercedes down the 400 miles of highway from Glasgow to London, possibly on a route that led close to towns like Halton in Cheshire and Newcastle-Under-Lyme in Staffordshire, linked to other people believed to be associated with the alleged conspiracy.
But their plan went awry when the explosives failed to detonate for reasons that have not been made public. The two men returned to Glasgow and resolved to use the green Jeep Cherokee in an attack they might have rehearsed a few days earlier when they took a Paisley cab to Glasgow’s airport, according to the authorities.
And, for the first time, witnesses, a neighbor and the police have provided descriptions of the two men — Dr. Bilal Abdulla and Dr. Khalil Ahmed — saying they may have lived together intermittently in this placid neighborhood outside Glasgow and that a Jeep Cherokee similar to the one used to crash into an airport terminal was seen speeding around in the weeks before the botched bombings.
A week after the intended bombings in London and Glasgow — with the potential to kill scores of late-night revelers and travelers — law enforcement officials say that the evidence emerging is that the two doctors were the main operatives, if not the leaders, of a network of other medical professionals.
The manager of a local cab company said in an interview on Thursday that on two occasions over a five-week period from the end of May to the end of June a taxi picked up the two men together, suggesting that they could have been sharing a home here from time to time.
In one of those instances, according to Denis O’Donnell, the manager of the Paisley Cab Company, the taxi driver dropped off a man whom he now believes to be Dr. Ahmed at a local Asda supermarket, about halfway between the house Dr. Abdulla had been renting since April on Neuk Crescent here and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in nearby Paisley where he worked.
Much still remains unknown about the plot, including whether it was planned inside Britain, in Iraq or elsewhere. Altogether, eight suspects are in police custody in the case.
Charles MacPherson, 34, who lives in a development near the Nuek Crescent cul-de-sac where Dr. Abdulla rented his home, said Thursday that the neighborhood’s tranquillity recently was roiled by a speeding vehicle resembling the one used in the Glasgow attack.
“Someone has been driving this green Jeep at high speeds up and down the road,” he said. “It stands out because it’s the only Jeep in the area.”
A British security official, who spoke anonymously under government rules, said investigators now believed that Dr. Abdulla and Dr. Ahmed had also tried to set off two car bombs in London a day before the fiery airport attack in Glasgow.
In the early hours of last Friday, the police discovered a silver green Mercedes outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London’s Haymarket. An ambulance crew saw what was thought to be smoke in the vehicle and called the police. A police officer removed a detonation device that used a cellphone, police officials said at the time. The Mercedes was packed with gasoline, gas canisters and nails.
A short time later, a second Mercedes laden with the same dangerous cargo was discovered in a “no parking” zone near Haymarket and towed away. Afterward, the police said that this vehicle, a navy blue Mercedes, had also been primed to explode but had failed to detonate.
An American visitor, Eric Wolff, who saw the blue car, wrote in an e-mail message to The New York Times: “I just missed a 2:34 a.m. bus to Marylebone Road and ended up waiting until 3:34 for the next bus to arrive. I was standing at the bus stop in front of the blue Mercedes when it was towed.”
“The car was small and squarish, probably more than a few years old. The city came in with a ‘tow truck’ that lifted the car straight up with a crane mechanism and placed it on the truck bed,” Mr. Wolff wrote. “One of the tow guys took several pictures of the car with a digital camera as the car was being processed.”
As depicted by British security officials, the events unfolded after Dr. Abdulla and Dr. Ahmed drove the Mercedes down the 400 miles of highway from Glasgow to London, possibly on a route that led close to towns like Halton in Cheshire and Newcastle-Under-Lyme in Staffordshire, linked to other people believed to be associated with the alleged conspiracy.
But their plan went awry when the explosives failed to detonate for reasons that have not been made public. The two men returned to Glasgow and resolved to use the green Jeep Cherokee in an attack they might have rehearsed a few days earlier when they took a Paisley cab to Glasgow’s airport, according to the authorities.
joi, 5 iulie 2007
Fourth of July fireworks inspire awe, cause injuries
NEW YORK (AP) -- Crowds braved rain to mark the Fourth of July holiday, cheering as the city's massive fireworks display lit up the sky and for the first time seemed to set the East River's surface aflame.A man runs away as fireworks explode on the ground on the National Mall in Washington. People sporting ponchos and umbrellas stood along the East River to see the Jellyfish, which resembles the underwater creature, and the Electric Rice Krispies, crackling metallic shells.The nation's festivities and patriotic observances took place under heightened security in the aftermath of the attempted car bombings in Britain.
Hundreds of officers from about 20 law enforcement agencies were on duty in Washington. The Mall was fenced off and visitors were required to pass through 19 security checkpoints, which opened at 10 a.m.
Severe weather brought a tornado warning to Washington's suburbs, prompting authorities to evacuate the thousands of people gathered at the National Mall for holiday festivities. It reopened hours later.
Two fireworks crew members were injured when at least two unexploded shells went off on the ground. One had severe but non-life threatening burns, and the other was treated at the scene, authorities said.
In nearby Vienna, Virginia, nine people were hurt -- one who was airlifted to a hospital -- when fireworks went "haywire" and launched into a crowd of about 2,000, a local fire official told CNN. Some of those injured included children. Watch fireworks go awry, rescue crews respond »
In Saint Petersburg Beach, Florida, a dozen people received minor injuries when fireworks for the city's show exploded on the ground during the finale, Fire Chief Fred Golliner told CNN.
Security measures at the New York region's tunnels, bridges and airports remained heightened following failed attacks on Glasgow and London last week, and no additional precautions beyond those already in place were taken for the holiday, said Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In Massachusetts, 20 local, state and federal agencies were assigned to help police the annual Boston Pops concert and fireworks show. Car and boat traffic were banned from the area and security was tightened at mass transit stations.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the celebrations included a reading of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall, and descendants of those who signed the original document were on hand for a symbolic ringing of the Liberty Bell. Storms did not stop the fireworks show.
The threat of storms, however, forced officials in several eastern Pennsylvania cities to postpone fireworks shows. And dry weather curtailed some celebrations, including Breckenridge, Colorado, where there was a high fire danger.
About 1,000 people from around the globe became U.S. citizens at Walt Disney World, raising their right hands in front of Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom as the oath was read by Emilio Gonzalez, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"I dreamed for this moment for 13 years, and finally this is my last dream that I have," said Marta Hima, who came from Colombia and now lives in Davenport, Florida.
More than 350 new citizens were sworn in at Phoenix, Arizona. "Now I feel like I can be part of this community," said Alicia Gray of Gilbert, Arizona, who came to the United States from Mexico in 1996 and brought her American husband, her children and in-laws. "I'm more a part of this country now."
It was also a day to honor military service. The Army honored its millionth veteran at an American Legion post in Philadelphia. View different ways people found to show the flag »
The recognition went to Bronze Star recipient Bill Beck of Steelton, Pennsylvania.
"I'd rather be honored with this than win a million dollars in a lottery, because my wife would spend a million in a couple of weeks and I'll have this for the rest of my lifetime," Beck said in a phone interview.
'Waterproof' New York show
For the first time, New York's annual Macy's show featured exploding shells aimed down, not up. The shells exploded on the surface of the East River, remain illuminated for a few seconds and then fade.
"Awesome!" exclaimed Ben Fedak, a Queens musician taking in the show with his brother, before dazzling green shells exploded above him. "This is the best fireworks show that I've ever seen."
The 30-minute show was billed as the nation's biggest, with 40,000 fireworks. Eight barges on the East River and at the South Street Seaport set off an average of 1,300 shells per minute. See what goes into a big fireworks display »
The program featured musical performers as part of the nationally televised broadcast, including Martina McBride, Joss Stone and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks.
Organizers estimated about 3 million people withstood the sogginess to turn out, about the same number as the year before, while another 8 million watched on television. The organizers had called their fireworks show "waterproof." Police do not give crowd estimates. E-mail to a friend
Hundreds of officers from about 20 law enforcement agencies were on duty in Washington. The Mall was fenced off and visitors were required to pass through 19 security checkpoints, which opened at 10 a.m.
Severe weather brought a tornado warning to Washington's suburbs, prompting authorities to evacuate the thousands of people gathered at the National Mall for holiday festivities. It reopened hours later.
Two fireworks crew members were injured when at least two unexploded shells went off on the ground. One had severe but non-life threatening burns, and the other was treated at the scene, authorities said.
In nearby Vienna, Virginia, nine people were hurt -- one who was airlifted to a hospital -- when fireworks went "haywire" and launched into a crowd of about 2,000, a local fire official told CNN. Some of those injured included children. Watch fireworks go awry, rescue crews respond »
In Saint Petersburg Beach, Florida, a dozen people received minor injuries when fireworks for the city's show exploded on the ground during the finale, Fire Chief Fred Golliner told CNN.
Security measures at the New York region's tunnels, bridges and airports remained heightened following failed attacks on Glasgow and London last week, and no additional precautions beyond those already in place were taken for the holiday, said Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In Massachusetts, 20 local, state and federal agencies were assigned to help police the annual Boston Pops concert and fireworks show. Car and boat traffic were banned from the area and security was tightened at mass transit stations.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the celebrations included a reading of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall, and descendants of those who signed the original document were on hand for a symbolic ringing of the Liberty Bell. Storms did not stop the fireworks show.
The threat of storms, however, forced officials in several eastern Pennsylvania cities to postpone fireworks shows. And dry weather curtailed some celebrations, including Breckenridge, Colorado, where there was a high fire danger.
About 1,000 people from around the globe became U.S. citizens at Walt Disney World, raising their right hands in front of Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom as the oath was read by Emilio Gonzalez, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"I dreamed for this moment for 13 years, and finally this is my last dream that I have," said Marta Hima, who came from Colombia and now lives in Davenport, Florida.
More than 350 new citizens were sworn in at Phoenix, Arizona. "Now I feel like I can be part of this community," said Alicia Gray of Gilbert, Arizona, who came to the United States from Mexico in 1996 and brought her American husband, her children and in-laws. "I'm more a part of this country now."
It was also a day to honor military service. The Army honored its millionth veteran at an American Legion post in Philadelphia. View different ways people found to show the flag »
The recognition went to Bronze Star recipient Bill Beck of Steelton, Pennsylvania.
"I'd rather be honored with this than win a million dollars in a lottery, because my wife would spend a million in a couple of weeks and I'll have this for the rest of my lifetime," Beck said in a phone interview.
'Waterproof' New York show
For the first time, New York's annual Macy's show featured exploding shells aimed down, not up. The shells exploded on the surface of the East River, remain illuminated for a few seconds and then fade.
"Awesome!" exclaimed Ben Fedak, a Queens musician taking in the show with his brother, before dazzling green shells exploded above him. "This is the best fireworks show that I've ever seen."
The 30-minute show was billed as the nation's biggest, with 40,000 fireworks. Eight barges on the East River and at the South Street Seaport set off an average of 1,300 shells per minute. See what goes into a big fireworks display »
The program featured musical performers as part of the nationally televised broadcast, including Martina McBride, Joss Stone and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks.
Organizers estimated about 3 million people withstood the sogginess to turn out, about the same number as the year before, while another 8 million watched on television. The organizers had called their fireworks show "waterproof." Police do not give crowd estimates. E-mail to a friend
Subway train derails in London
LONDON, England (AP) -- A subway train derailed in east London during rush-hour Thursday. One person was injured in the accident, which police said was not related to terrorism.
The accident happened near Bethnal Green tube station in east London.
One passenger suffered an ankle injury when the Central Line train derailed at 9:04 a.m. local time, British Transport Police said.
Paramedics were attending the scene, but there were no immediate reports of further injuries. The accident was reportedly caused by an obstruction on the tracks, according to Transport for London.
Britain remains on alert following last week's attempted car bombings in London and a fiery vehicle attack in Glasgow. Authorities say the failed bombings bear all the characteristics of an al Qaeda operation. Watch as tube train derails in east London »
In July 2005, suicide bombers struck London's public transport system, killing 52 people.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union, said in a statement that subway workers had repeatedly raised safety concerns to transport authorities that contractors working in the area where the derailment occurred were not properly storing equipment.
Don't miss
UK Terror Scare
The train remained upright throughout the incident, police said. Britain's Press Association reported six cars were believed to have gone off the track.
A total of 700 passengers were evacuated from the derailed train and the one stuck behind it, with the operation completed about two hours after the derailment, Transport for London said in a statement, adding that neither train was full.
Passengers walked out of the tunnel through the shortest route to either Mile End or Bethnal Green subway station, police said.
A large section of the Central Line was suspended.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch was investigating the derailment.
There were 21 derailments on the system in the year ending March 31, but none of those trains was in passenger service, according to Transport for London.
British authorities are on high vigilance before the anniversary of the terrorist suicide bombings in London that killed 52 people on London's subway and on a bus, July 7, 2005.
The accident happened near Bethnal Green tube station in east London.
One passenger suffered an ankle injury when the Central Line train derailed at 9:04 a.m. local time, British Transport Police said.
Paramedics were attending the scene, but there were no immediate reports of further injuries. The accident was reportedly caused by an obstruction on the tracks, according to Transport for London.
Britain remains on alert following last week's attempted car bombings in London and a fiery vehicle attack in Glasgow. Authorities say the failed bombings bear all the characteristics of an al Qaeda operation. Watch as tube train derails in east London »
In July 2005, suicide bombers struck London's public transport system, killing 52 people.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union, said in a statement that subway workers had repeatedly raised safety concerns to transport authorities that contractors working in the area where the derailment occurred were not properly storing equipment.
Don't miss
UK Terror Scare
The train remained upright throughout the incident, police said. Britain's Press Association reported six cars were believed to have gone off the track.
A total of 700 passengers were evacuated from the derailed train and the one stuck behind it, with the operation completed about two hours after the derailment, Transport for London said in a statement, adding that neither train was full.
Passengers walked out of the tunnel through the shortest route to either Mile End or Bethnal Green subway station, police said.
A large section of the Central Line was suspended.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch was investigating the derailment.
There were 21 derailments on the system in the year ending March 31, but none of those trains was in passenger service, according to Transport for London.
British authorities are on high vigilance before the anniversary of the terrorist suicide bombings in London that killed 52 people on London's subway and on a bus, July 7, 2005.
miercuri, 4 iulie 2007
Bill Clinton blasts commutation of Libby's prison sentence
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton blasted his successor's decision to spare former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby from prison, telling Iowa radio listeners that Libby's case differed from his own administration's pardon controversy.
The Clintons campaign at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on Monday.
"You've got to understand, this is consistent with their philosophy," Clinton said during an interview on Des Moines news-talk station WHO.
Bush administration officials, he said, "believe that they should be able to do what they want to do, and that the law is a minor obstacle."
President Bush on Monday commuted Libby's 30-month sentence for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to federal agents investigating the 2003 exposure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Bush's order keeps Libby's conviction on his record, but he called Libby's prison sentence "excessive" and suggested that Libby will pay a big enough price for his conviction.
Clinton was impeached in 1998 over perjury allegations stemming from his sexual relationship with a White House intern, but the Senate acquitted him.
And a flurry of last-minute pardons issued as he left office in 2001 -- particularly his absolution of fugitive financier Marc Rich -- sparked largely partisan outrage. Critics alleged that the pardon of Rich was linked to contributions raised for Clinton's presidential library by Rich's ex-wife.
Libby's defenders have pointed to Democratic support for Clinton during that period to accuse critics of Bush's clemency order of hypocrisy.
"Wasn't it Bill Clinton that was handing out pardons like lollipops at the end of his administration?" former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, told supporters in Iowa on Tuesday.
"And isn't there some recognition that perhaps you might look a little silly if you didn't have anything to say when he was handing out pardon after pardon after pardon for political purposes only?"
But the former president said, "I think the facts were different."
"It's wrong to out that CIA agent, and wrong to try to cover it up -- and wrong that no one was ever fired from the White House for doing it," he said.
Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, is now seeking the presidency and has been campaigning in Iowa during the Independence Day holiday. She put him on the phone during a Tuesday interview with Iowa political columnist David Yepsen. Watch Hillary Clinton address a crowd in Iowa »
Libby was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff before his October 2005 indictment. He was not accused of leaking Plame's identity, but prosecutors argued his false statements hindered their investigation of the disclosure and left a "cloud" over the White House.
The leak occurred shortly after Plame's husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had gone public with allegations that the Bush administration "twisted" intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq.
Rich fled to Switzerland in the 1980s to avoid racketeering, tax evasion and fraud charges stemming from oil trades with Iran.
Libby, who represented Rich from 1985 to 2000, told a House committee in 2001 that prosecutors "misconstrued the facts and the law" in pursuing the tax evasion charges.
The Clintons campaign at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on Monday.
"You've got to understand, this is consistent with their philosophy," Clinton said during an interview on Des Moines news-talk station WHO.
Bush administration officials, he said, "believe that they should be able to do what they want to do, and that the law is a minor obstacle."
President Bush on Monday commuted Libby's 30-month sentence for perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to federal agents investigating the 2003 exposure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Bush's order keeps Libby's conviction on his record, but he called Libby's prison sentence "excessive" and suggested that Libby will pay a big enough price for his conviction.
Clinton was impeached in 1998 over perjury allegations stemming from his sexual relationship with a White House intern, but the Senate acquitted him.
And a flurry of last-minute pardons issued as he left office in 2001 -- particularly his absolution of fugitive financier Marc Rich -- sparked largely partisan outrage. Critics alleged that the pardon of Rich was linked to contributions raised for Clinton's presidential library by Rich's ex-wife.
Libby's defenders have pointed to Democratic support for Clinton during that period to accuse critics of Bush's clemency order of hypocrisy.
"Wasn't it Bill Clinton that was handing out pardons like lollipops at the end of his administration?" former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, told supporters in Iowa on Tuesday.
"And isn't there some recognition that perhaps you might look a little silly if you didn't have anything to say when he was handing out pardon after pardon after pardon for political purposes only?"
But the former president said, "I think the facts were different."
"It's wrong to out that CIA agent, and wrong to try to cover it up -- and wrong that no one was ever fired from the White House for doing it," he said.
Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, is now seeking the presidency and has been campaigning in Iowa during the Independence Day holiday. She put him on the phone during a Tuesday interview with Iowa political columnist David Yepsen. Watch Hillary Clinton address a crowd in Iowa »
Libby was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff before his October 2005 indictment. He was not accused of leaking Plame's identity, but prosecutors argued his false statements hindered their investigation of the disclosure and left a "cloud" over the White House.
The leak occurred shortly after Plame's husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had gone public with allegations that the Bush administration "twisted" intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq.
Rich fled to Switzerland in the 1980s to avoid racketeering, tax evasion and fraud charges stemming from oil trades with Iran.
Libby, who represented Rich from 1985 to 2000, told a House committee in 2001 that prosecutors "misconstrued the facts and the law" in pursuing the tax evasion charges.
Militant: 'Those who cure you will kill you'
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A British Anglican cleric working in Baghdad said a man he met in Jordan issued a disturbing threat that is now feared to be a dire portent in the aftermath of failed British bombing attacks.
"Those who cure you will kill you," the man told Canon Andrew White, who spoke to CNN on Wednesday.
White said he spoke with the man in April in Amman, Jordan, at a meeting of Iraqi Sunni sheikhs attempting to foster peace in Iraq.
White -- who would not name the man at the behest of U.S., British and Iraqi authorities -- said the individual issued a litany of hostile statements about the United States and Britain and their role in Iraq.
Eight people are in custody as part of the wide-ranging investigation into failed car bombings in London and Glasgow. All have links to the medical profession.
Seven are doctors or medical students and the eighth is a laboratory technician. Two other doctors are being questioned about the case but are not in custody.
U.S. officials told CNN that some of the suspects were recruited by al Qaeda while they were living in the Middle East. One of the suspects is an Iraqi doctor and another is a neurosurgeon from Jordan.
"Those who cure you will kill you," the man told Canon Andrew White, who spoke to CNN on Wednesday.
White said he spoke with the man in April in Amman, Jordan, at a meeting of Iraqi Sunni sheikhs attempting to foster peace in Iraq.
White -- who would not name the man at the behest of U.S., British and Iraqi authorities -- said the individual issued a litany of hostile statements about the United States and Britain and their role in Iraq.
Eight people are in custody as part of the wide-ranging investigation into failed car bombings in London and Glasgow. All have links to the medical profession.
Seven are doctors or medical students and the eighth is a laboratory technician. Two other doctors are being questioned about the case but are not in custody.
U.S. officials told CNN that some of the suspects were recruited by al Qaeda while they were living in the Middle East. One of the suspects is an Iraqi doctor and another is a neurosurgeon from Jordan.
Mexican 'world's richest person'
Mexico's telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim has overtaken Bill Gates to become the world's richest person, according to a respected Mexican financial website.
Mr Slim is now worth $67.8bn (£33.6bn), above Microsoft founder Mr Gates' $59.2bn, Sentido Comun says.
It said Mr Slim's wealth has rocketed into top place after the recent 27% surge in the share price of his largest company, America Movil.
He has a 33% stake in the firm, Latin America's largest mobile phone network.
Numerous investments
Mr Slim, whose business interests are based in Mexico City, is the 67-year-old son of Lebanese immigrants.
He started his business life in property before moving on to invest in a stock brokerage, a bottling company, and, more recently, the telephone sector.
Mr Slim also owns the Inbursa financial group and the Grupo Carso industrial conglomerate, whose interests range from retail stores to restaurants.
During the Latin American economic crisis of the early 1980s, Mr Slim made a name for himself - and substantial profits - by buying a number of struggling companies at very low prices before transforming their fortunes.
In April, Forbes magazine estimated that Mr Slim was the world's second-richest person behind Mr Gates and ahead of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Like Mr Gates, Mr Slim is well-known for his generous charity donations.
His wealth is in marked contrast to the 53% of Mexico's population that the World Bank says are living in poverty.
Mr Slim is now worth $67.8bn (£33.6bn), above Microsoft founder Mr Gates' $59.2bn, Sentido Comun says.
It said Mr Slim's wealth has rocketed into top place after the recent 27% surge in the share price of his largest company, America Movil.
He has a 33% stake in the firm, Latin America's largest mobile phone network.
Numerous investments
Mr Slim, whose business interests are based in Mexico City, is the 67-year-old son of Lebanese immigrants.
He started his business life in property before moving on to invest in a stock brokerage, a bottling company, and, more recently, the telephone sector.
Mr Slim also owns the Inbursa financial group and the Grupo Carso industrial conglomerate, whose interests range from retail stores to restaurants.
During the Latin American economic crisis of the early 1980s, Mr Slim made a name for himself - and substantial profits - by buying a number of struggling companies at very low prices before transforming their fortunes.
In April, Forbes magazine estimated that Mr Slim was the world's second-richest person behind Mr Gates and ahead of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Like Mr Gates, Mr Slim is well-known for his generous charity donations.
His wealth is in marked contrast to the 53% of Mexico's population that the World Bank says are living in poverty.
UK warning on sub-prime mortgages
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to take action against five brokers that sell sub-prime mortgages.
Following a review of the market, it said some mortgage lenders and brokers offer loans to people who should not be given them.
Sub-prime mortgages are those sold to people with poor credit histories and thus a greater chance of defaulting.
The FSA found examples of people being offered mortgage deals they might not be able to afford.
"Poor sales practices in this market may lead to serious wider consequences
Clive Briault FSA
The regulator said it was very concerned about its findings.
"Consumers in the sub-prime market are vulnerable people who may have high debts or a bad credit history," said Clive Briault of the FSA.
"It is therefore important that they are properly assessed and advised.
"We will not hesitate to take action where we find bad practice," he warned।
The FSA has been investigating the sales practices of brokers and lenders in the sub-prime mortgage market since April this year.
Then, it said it was worried that borrowers might not be offered suitable mortgages that were good value.
Its investigation has come against a background of a crisis in the US mortgage market, where rising interest rates mean that some poor sub-prime borrowers are now defaulting on their mortgages, which were clearly mis-sold in the first place.
The situation is very different in the UK, where the sub-prime market is much smaller, because lenders here are much more careful about to whom they lend.
Even so, the FSA's review of 11 lenders and 34 brokers found a worrying level of bad practice.
With regard to brokers, it found that:
In a third of cases, it looked at there was an inadequate assessment of the borrower's ability to repay the mortgage
In nearly half of the cases, there was no adequate assessment of the borrower's needs and circumstances
More than half of the customers had self-certified their income, but it was not clear why, meaning they could end up paying a higher mortgage rate than necessary
Some borrowers were advised to re-mortgage, thus paying early repayment charges, without the broker being able to show that this was a good idea.
"There is evidence of potential mis-selling," said an FSA spokeswoman.
The regulator's action could involve fines or banning individuals from selling mortgages.
Fraud?
The FSA also found evidence of slack practice among lenders.
For instance, some of them did not check whether or not the information on the mortgage application forms they processed was plausible.
This could lead to applicants getting away with exaggerating their incomes and taking on loans they could not afford.
Mortgage broking firm John Charcol said the FSA's review had found no evidence of widespread mis-selling.
But it said it was worried by the high level of self-certification of applicants' incomes that the FSA had uncovered in the market.
"As the FSA highlighted in the report, inflating income is a criminal offence and while there is no proof, one suspects that this may well have been the case in some, if not many instances," said Ray Boulger of Charcol.
Following a review of the market, it said some mortgage lenders and brokers offer loans to people who should not be given them.
Sub-prime mortgages are those sold to people with poor credit histories and thus a greater chance of defaulting.
The FSA found examples of people being offered mortgage deals they might not be able to afford.
"Poor sales practices in this market may lead to serious wider consequences
Clive Briault FSA
The regulator said it was very concerned about its findings.
"Consumers in the sub-prime market are vulnerable people who may have high debts or a bad credit history," said Clive Briault of the FSA.
"It is therefore important that they are properly assessed and advised.
"We will not hesitate to take action where we find bad practice," he warned।
The FSA has been investigating the sales practices of brokers and lenders in the sub-prime mortgage market since April this year.
Then, it said it was worried that borrowers might not be offered suitable mortgages that were good value.
Its investigation has come against a background of a crisis in the US mortgage market, where rising interest rates mean that some poor sub-prime borrowers are now defaulting on their mortgages, which were clearly mis-sold in the first place.
The situation is very different in the UK, where the sub-prime market is much smaller, because lenders here are much more careful about to whom they lend.
Even so, the FSA's review of 11 lenders and 34 brokers found a worrying level of bad practice.
With regard to brokers, it found that:
In a third of cases, it looked at there was an inadequate assessment of the borrower's ability to repay the mortgage
In nearly half of the cases, there was no adequate assessment of the borrower's needs and circumstances
More than half of the customers had self-certified their income, but it was not clear why, meaning they could end up paying a higher mortgage rate than necessary
Some borrowers were advised to re-mortgage, thus paying early repayment charges, without the broker being able to show that this was a good idea.
"There is evidence of potential mis-selling," said an FSA spokeswoman.
The regulator's action could involve fines or banning individuals from selling mortgages.
Fraud?
The FSA also found evidence of slack practice among lenders.
For instance, some of them did not check whether or not the information on the mortgage application forms they processed was plausible.
This could lead to applicants getting away with exaggerating their incomes and taking on loans they could not afford.
Mortgage broking firm John Charcol said the FSA's review had found no evidence of widespread mis-selling.
But it said it was worried by the high level of self-certification of applicants' incomes that the FSA had uncovered in the market.
"As the FSA highlighted in the report, inflating income is a criminal offence and while there is no proof, one suspects that this may well have been the case in some, if not many instances," said Ray Boulger of Charcol.
luni, 2 iulie 2007
Bush hosts Putin in Maine, tries to revive rapport
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (Reuters) -- President Bush sought to rekindle the rapport he once had with Vladimir Putin on Sunday, as he hosted the Russian president at his family's oceanfront home for talks on Iran, a proposed U.S. missile shield and independence for Kosovo.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted in Maine on Sunday by both Bush presidents.
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A few hours before Putin arrived, more than a thousand protesters rallied near the Kennebunkport summer house of Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, to vent anger over the Iraq war and U.S. foreign policy.
Ties between the United States and Russia have become badly frayed over issues such as a U.S. plan to base a missile shield in Eastern Europe and Washington's accusations that Russia is rolling back democratic reforms.
The flare-up of tensions has evoked comparisons to the Cold War, but the invitation to Putin to visit the century-old Bush family mansion was seen by analysts as a sign Washington was serious about getting the relationship back on track.
Aides to Bush and Putin have gone to some lengths to emphasize the meeting was informal and have discouraged expectations of breakthroughs on difficult issues.
"We're very casual here," Bush told reporters as he greeted Putin in the driveway of the stone-and-shingle mansion overlooking the rugged Maine coast. Watch what's driving the talks between Bush and Putin »
After Bush quickly showed his guest to his quarters at the Walker's Point compound, the U.S. president, his father and Putin immediately boarded a fishing boat and roared out into the cove.
Lobster on the half shell was on the menu for dinner later.
Putin's invitation to the Kennebunkport compound marks the first time Bush has hosted a foreign leader here, and the presence of the president's father lends added prestige.
Indicating he appreciated the warm welcome, Putin presented bouquets of flowers to Bush's wife, Laura, and his mother, Barbara. Bush and Putin are to hold their policy talks on Monday, followed by a news conference.
Bush famously said in 2001 that he trusted Putin because he had gotten "a sense of his soul."
But recent harsh rhetoric from Putin, who has used Russia's energy wealth to reassert its world status, including a comment in which he seemed to compare U.S. foreign policy to that of the Third Reich, has fueled concern in Washington.
As Putin flew across the Atlantic earlier on Sunday, protesters descended on the Kennebunkport resort town seeking to remind Bush of public opposition to the Iraq war.
Taking advantage of blanket media coverage of the summit, some 1,500 demonstrators marched along Ocean Avenue toward the Bush estate, banging drums and chanting "impeach W, impeach Cheney too."
A carnival-like atmosphere prevailed. One woman donned a red gown, tiara and pearls to impersonate a "billionaire for Bush." Some protesters pulled a wooden coffin with a statue of liberty inside it.
"I'm sick of the war," said Mike Miles, 55, dressed in prison stripes to symbolize what he called "criminal behavior" by Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. From the side of the road, a few dozen counter-demonstrators waved American flags and chanted "USA, USA, USA."
Though Putin has been among the most outspoken international critics of Bush's Iraq policy, the war is not expected to figure prominently in talks during his visit, which will last less than 24
Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted in Maine on Sunday by both Bush presidents.
1 of 2
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A few hours before Putin arrived, more than a thousand protesters rallied near the Kennebunkport summer house of Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, to vent anger over the Iraq war and U.S. foreign policy.
Ties between the United States and Russia have become badly frayed over issues such as a U.S. plan to base a missile shield in Eastern Europe and Washington's accusations that Russia is rolling back democratic reforms.
The flare-up of tensions has evoked comparisons to the Cold War, but the invitation to Putin to visit the century-old Bush family mansion was seen by analysts as a sign Washington was serious about getting the relationship back on track.
Aides to Bush and Putin have gone to some lengths to emphasize the meeting was informal and have discouraged expectations of breakthroughs on difficult issues.
"We're very casual here," Bush told reporters as he greeted Putin in the driveway of the stone-and-shingle mansion overlooking the rugged Maine coast. Watch what's driving the talks between Bush and Putin »
After Bush quickly showed his guest to his quarters at the Walker's Point compound, the U.S. president, his father and Putin immediately boarded a fishing boat and roared out into the cove.
Lobster on the half shell was on the menu for dinner later.
Putin's invitation to the Kennebunkport compound marks the first time Bush has hosted a foreign leader here, and the presence of the president's father lends added prestige.
Indicating he appreciated the warm welcome, Putin presented bouquets of flowers to Bush's wife, Laura, and his mother, Barbara. Bush and Putin are to hold their policy talks on Monday, followed by a news conference.
Bush famously said in 2001 that he trusted Putin because he had gotten "a sense of his soul."
But recent harsh rhetoric from Putin, who has used Russia's energy wealth to reassert its world status, including a comment in which he seemed to compare U.S. foreign policy to that of the Third Reich, has fueled concern in Washington.
As Putin flew across the Atlantic earlier on Sunday, protesters descended on the Kennebunkport resort town seeking to remind Bush of public opposition to the Iraq war.
Taking advantage of blanket media coverage of the summit, some 1,500 demonstrators marched along Ocean Avenue toward the Bush estate, banging drums and chanting "impeach W, impeach Cheney too."
A carnival-like atmosphere prevailed. One woman donned a red gown, tiara and pearls to impersonate a "billionaire for Bush." Some protesters pulled a wooden coffin with a statue of liberty inside it.
"I'm sick of the war," said Mike Miles, 55, dressed in prison stripes to symbolize what he called "criminal behavior" by Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. From the side of the road, a few dozen counter-demonstrators waved American flags and chanted "USA, USA, USA."
Though Putin has been among the most outspoken international critics of Bush's Iraq policy, the war is not expected to figure prominently in talks during his visit, which will last less than 24
A $135 Million Home, but if You Have to Ask ...
ASPEN, Colo. — Some brokers have to shout to sell real estate in a glutted market, or employ ever more tortured elocutions of spin. Joshua Saslove whispers.
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Michael Brands for The New York Times
One of several living spaces at Hala Ranch, northwest of Aspen, Colo.
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Michael Brands for The New York Times
Joshua Saslove, a real estate broker, at the indoor swimming pool at Hala Ranch. The home was built for Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia.
His company’s premier listing, called Hala Ranch, is a 95-acre estate built in 1991 for the family of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia and the home’s only (occasional) occupant.
At $135 million, Hala, just northwest of downtown Aspen, is the most expensive single-family residential property in the nation on the market, Mr. Saslove said. Selling it mostly consists of saying no.
Mr. Saslove has received about 1,000 requests to tour the home since last October when it went on sale, and he, along with lawyers for the prince who review every call, have granted just 11 of them. This is what high-mountain hideaway money in Aspen has come down to: Even the ordinary rich can no longer press their noses to the glass.
In the marketing of Hala, which means “Welcome” in Arabic, nonbillionaires need not apply. Hala will almost certainly, Mr. Saslove believes, be a new owner’s second, third or fourth home.
Money on that scale does not just stumble in off the street. There are 946 billionaires, according to this year’s tally by Forbes magazine, keeping Mr. Saslove’s list of potential buyers relatively short.
He and Hala’s property manager, Martha Grimes, 57, who came to Aspen right after college, saw the place at its zenith, or others might say its nadir, as elements of the old hippie counterculture and Hollywood celebrity style melded. Ms. Grimes worked as a waitress and later a horse wrangler on the very ranch land that later became Hala.
“I remember this hill, this very hill, because I used to ride my horse through here,” she said as she led a tour through the house for a reporter and a photographer on a recent afternoon. “The 70s were really magical,” she added. “But the characters from those days are disappearing.”
Mr. Saslove said that people like Prince Bandar, who is now the secretary general of the Saudi National Security Council and is not spending as much time in the United States as he once did, helped establish Aspen’s newer style, which is much more about family, culture and art — and wealth that even Hollywood stars cannot match.
“I don’t see as much braggadocio as I used to,” said Mr. Saslove, a gruff 66-year-old with longish hair and a nonstop Blackberry.
In his 22 years as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, a tenure that ended in 2005, Prince Bandar was a powerful ally to a succession of presidents. Most recently, however, British media accounts have said that a major British arms contractor paid more than $2 billion clandestinely into bank accounts in Washington controlled by Prince Bandar. The prince has denied the allegations.
At 56,000 square feet, Hala is bigger than the White House, with a staff of 12. It has 15 bedrooms, 16 baths, a private barbershop and beauty salon just off the master suite and enough space for a party of 450 people.
Many of the rooms are huge, with banks of windows overlooking the Aspen valley and the mountains beyond. There are few proclamations of grandiosity beyond the occasional artwork, like the Albert Bierstadt painting that hangs over the main fireplace. (It does not come with the house.) Dark, gleaming wood beams, all with notched construction and not a single nailhead showing, pale plaster walls and television screens dominate the decor.
It is not a house for a family that putters in the kitchen, which is in the basement, the province of professional chefs with its stainless-steel everything and rows of hanging pots. Housekeepers were ironing the sheets in the nearby laundry, feeding them through a giant pressing machine.
Aspen certainly still has its glossy celebrities, of a sort. One of Prince Bandar’s nearest neighbors, for example, is Barbi Benton, the former Playboy playmate and actress who starred in B-movies like “Hospital Massacre” and “The Deathstalker” in the early 1980s. But the rising costs are rapidly squeezing out mere wealth.
Mr. Saslove, whose company, Joshua & Company, is an affiliate of Great Estates, the real estate arm of Christie’s auction house, said homes that cost about a million dollars in the 1970s now might sell for nine times that. On Aspen’s coveted west side, an ordinary lot, 60 feet by 100 feet, costs $3.5 million.
So far, through coincidence or not, Mr. Saslove said, a majority of the serious shoppers for Hala have come from old money, fortunes gained at least a generation ago. He is not sure why, and of course, he would not say who.
“There are a lot of stories that go along with it,” he said, “but in the interest of privacy and confidentially, I can’t talk about it.”
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Michael Brands for The New York Times
One of several living spaces at Hala Ranch, northwest of Aspen, Colo.
Enlarge This Image
Michael Brands for The New York Times
Joshua Saslove, a real estate broker, at the indoor swimming pool at Hala Ranch. The home was built for Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia.
His company’s premier listing, called Hala Ranch, is a 95-acre estate built in 1991 for the family of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia and the home’s only (occasional) occupant.
At $135 million, Hala, just northwest of downtown Aspen, is the most expensive single-family residential property in the nation on the market, Mr. Saslove said. Selling it mostly consists of saying no.
Mr. Saslove has received about 1,000 requests to tour the home since last October when it went on sale, and he, along with lawyers for the prince who review every call, have granted just 11 of them. This is what high-mountain hideaway money in Aspen has come down to: Even the ordinary rich can no longer press their noses to the glass.
In the marketing of Hala, which means “Welcome” in Arabic, nonbillionaires need not apply. Hala will almost certainly, Mr. Saslove believes, be a new owner’s second, third or fourth home.
Money on that scale does not just stumble in off the street. There are 946 billionaires, according to this year’s tally by Forbes magazine, keeping Mr. Saslove’s list of potential buyers relatively short.
He and Hala’s property manager, Martha Grimes, 57, who came to Aspen right after college, saw the place at its zenith, or others might say its nadir, as elements of the old hippie counterculture and Hollywood celebrity style melded. Ms. Grimes worked as a waitress and later a horse wrangler on the very ranch land that later became Hala.
“I remember this hill, this very hill, because I used to ride my horse through here,” she said as she led a tour through the house for a reporter and a photographer on a recent afternoon. “The 70s were really magical,” she added. “But the characters from those days are disappearing.”
Mr. Saslove said that people like Prince Bandar, who is now the secretary general of the Saudi National Security Council and is not spending as much time in the United States as he once did, helped establish Aspen’s newer style, which is much more about family, culture and art — and wealth that even Hollywood stars cannot match.
“I don’t see as much braggadocio as I used to,” said Mr. Saslove, a gruff 66-year-old with longish hair and a nonstop Blackberry.
In his 22 years as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, a tenure that ended in 2005, Prince Bandar was a powerful ally to a succession of presidents. Most recently, however, British media accounts have said that a major British arms contractor paid more than $2 billion clandestinely into bank accounts in Washington controlled by Prince Bandar. The prince has denied the allegations.
At 56,000 square feet, Hala is bigger than the White House, with a staff of 12. It has 15 bedrooms, 16 baths, a private barbershop and beauty salon just off the master suite and enough space for a party of 450 people.
Many of the rooms are huge, with banks of windows overlooking the Aspen valley and the mountains beyond. There are few proclamations of grandiosity beyond the occasional artwork, like the Albert Bierstadt painting that hangs over the main fireplace. (It does not come with the house.) Dark, gleaming wood beams, all with notched construction and not a single nailhead showing, pale plaster walls and television screens dominate the decor.
It is not a house for a family that putters in the kitchen, which is in the basement, the province of professional chefs with its stainless-steel everything and rows of hanging pots. Housekeepers were ironing the sheets in the nearby laundry, feeding them through a giant pressing machine.
Aspen certainly still has its glossy celebrities, of a sort. One of Prince Bandar’s nearest neighbors, for example, is Barbi Benton, the former Playboy playmate and actress who starred in B-movies like “Hospital Massacre” and “The Deathstalker” in the early 1980s. But the rising costs are rapidly squeezing out mere wealth.
Mr. Saslove, whose company, Joshua & Company, is an affiliate of Great Estates, the real estate arm of Christie’s auction house, said homes that cost about a million dollars in the 1970s now might sell for nine times that. On Aspen’s coveted west side, an ordinary lot, 60 feet by 100 feet, costs $3.5 million.
So far, through coincidence or not, Mr. Saslove said, a majority of the serious shoppers for Hala have come from old money, fortunes gained at least a generation ago. He is not sure why, and of course, he would not say who.
“There are a lot of stories that go along with it,” he said, “but in the interest of privacy and confidentially, I can’t talk about it.”
No Oil Yet, but African Isle Finds Dealings Slippery
A decade ago, geologists found signs that one of Africa’s least-known countries, the tiny island nation of São Tomé and Principe, might hold a king’s ransom in oil.
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Small Nation, Big Oil Prospects
The first drop of oil has yet to be produced. But these days, little São Tomé may have attracted ample supplies of something else, federal investigators suspect — oil-related corruption.
All of this might not seem unusual in Africa, where oil and corruption often go hand in hand. However, São Tomé, a former Portuguese colony off the coast of Nigeria, was supposed to be different. In recent years, a steady stream of activists like the Columbia University economist Jeffrey D. Sachs have gone there to try to make sure that any energy boom would benefit its 150,000 people, rather than politicians and companies.
“Oil can be a blessing or a bane for a country,” Mr. Sachs said. “The theory was to help São Tomé avoid the resource curse.”
Things, however, have not quite worked out that way.
The recent Justice Department indictment of William J. Jefferson, a Democratic congressman from Louisiana, contends, for example, that he solicited a bribe from a company seeking his help with an oil-related dispute involving São Tomé.
Separately, federal authorities are investigating a small Houston-based company whose only assets are large holdings in São Tomé to determine if it bribed the country’s officials. On another front, a powerful Nigerian businessman who is the chairman of the Houston company, ERHC Energy, is under investigation in his country for possible insider oil dealings.
All those involved — Mr. Jefferson, ERHC, and that company’s chairman, Emeka Offor — deny that they did anything wrong.
Still, the experience of São Tomé, a poor country that supports itself by selling cocoa and commemorative stamps featuring celebrities like Elvis Presley and Brigitte Bardot, shows how just the hint of oil can set off a scramble for riches. Along with Mr. Sachs, those who sought to help included George Soros, the billionaire turned philanthropist, and a high-powered Washington lawyer, Gregory B. Craig, who defended President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
“In West Africa, the scent of oil alone may be enough” to produce corruption, said Joseph C. Bell, another Washington lawyer who has traveled to São Tomé to work on new oil laws.
At the center of the São Tomé story stands ERHC, a tiny company whose ranks have included a collection of characters and politically connected entrepreneurs like Mr. Offor. According to a 2005 report by the attorney general of São Tomé, Mr. Offor is one of the largest donors to Nigeria’s ruling political party and a close ally of Olusegun Obasanjo, who until recently was Nigeria’s president.
São Tomé’s unusual journey through the backwaters of the oil industry traces back to the mid-1990s, when ERHC arrived there. Large underwater oil deposits had been found nearby, off the coast of Nigeria, and ERHC believed that the tiny island might be the next big prize in west Africa.
At that time, the Texas company was owned by some wildcatters and an enterprising Florida businesswoman named Noreen Wilson. Over the years, she has been involved with several penny stock companies including a short-lived enterprise called Pizza Group Inc.
In 1997, Ms. Wilson signed a $5 million contract that gave ERHC, which was then known as the Environmental Remediation Holding Corporation, exploration rights in São Tomé for 25 years. The contract was soon described by some outside experts as extremely lopsided.
Soon afterward, Ms. Wilson resigned from ERHC during an investigation of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But she appeared to retain an interest in the island’s future; in 2001, for instance, she apparently reached out to Mr. Jefferson for help there, his indictment suggests. At that time, São Tomé’s new president was threatening to break a number of oil-related deals, including ERHC’s.
Ms. Wilson, who declined through her lawyer, Joseph A. Artabane, to be interviewed for this article, is not named in that indictment. But the filing describes how two unnamed people, a business executive and a lobbyist, went to see Mr. Jefferson about an oil-related dispute on São Tomé. In return for a promise of help, Mr. Jefferson demanded that a family member receive benefit, a demand that was met, the indictment states.
Mr. Artabane, who said that Ms. Wilson testified before the Jefferson grand jury, declined to confirm that she was the executive involved, but he did not dispute it either. The lobbyist involved was James P. Creaghan, according to his lawyer, E. Barton Conradi, who said his client has cooperated throughout with authorities. Mr. Creaghan worked with Ms. Wilson during that time. (Neither of them has been accused of wrongdoing.)
Meanwhile, wheels were already spinning in São Tomé when activists like Mr. Sachs, the economist, arrived. Their mission: To prevent it from following in footsteps of other African countries where corruption and waste typically follow oil. In Nigeria, the continent’s largest producer, most people live on less than $2 a day while politicians have stolen or squandered billions.
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Multimedia
Graphic
Small Nation, Big Oil Prospects
The first drop of oil has yet to be produced. But these days, little São Tomé may have attracted ample supplies of something else, federal investigators suspect — oil-related corruption.
All of this might not seem unusual in Africa, where oil and corruption often go hand in hand. However, São Tomé, a former Portuguese colony off the coast of Nigeria, was supposed to be different. In recent years, a steady stream of activists like the Columbia University economist Jeffrey D. Sachs have gone there to try to make sure that any energy boom would benefit its 150,000 people, rather than politicians and companies.
“Oil can be a blessing or a bane for a country,” Mr. Sachs said. “The theory was to help São Tomé avoid the resource curse.”
Things, however, have not quite worked out that way.
The recent Justice Department indictment of William J. Jefferson, a Democratic congressman from Louisiana, contends, for example, that he solicited a bribe from a company seeking his help with an oil-related dispute involving São Tomé.
Separately, federal authorities are investigating a small Houston-based company whose only assets are large holdings in São Tomé to determine if it bribed the country’s officials. On another front, a powerful Nigerian businessman who is the chairman of the Houston company, ERHC Energy, is under investigation in his country for possible insider oil dealings.
All those involved — Mr. Jefferson, ERHC, and that company’s chairman, Emeka Offor — deny that they did anything wrong.
Still, the experience of São Tomé, a poor country that supports itself by selling cocoa and commemorative stamps featuring celebrities like Elvis Presley and Brigitte Bardot, shows how just the hint of oil can set off a scramble for riches. Along with Mr. Sachs, those who sought to help included George Soros, the billionaire turned philanthropist, and a high-powered Washington lawyer, Gregory B. Craig, who defended President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
“In West Africa, the scent of oil alone may be enough” to produce corruption, said Joseph C. Bell, another Washington lawyer who has traveled to São Tomé to work on new oil laws.
At the center of the São Tomé story stands ERHC, a tiny company whose ranks have included a collection of characters and politically connected entrepreneurs like Mr. Offor. According to a 2005 report by the attorney general of São Tomé, Mr. Offor is one of the largest donors to Nigeria’s ruling political party and a close ally of Olusegun Obasanjo, who until recently was Nigeria’s president.
São Tomé’s unusual journey through the backwaters of the oil industry traces back to the mid-1990s, when ERHC arrived there. Large underwater oil deposits had been found nearby, off the coast of Nigeria, and ERHC believed that the tiny island might be the next big prize in west Africa.
At that time, the Texas company was owned by some wildcatters and an enterprising Florida businesswoman named Noreen Wilson. Over the years, she has been involved with several penny stock companies including a short-lived enterprise called Pizza Group Inc.
In 1997, Ms. Wilson signed a $5 million contract that gave ERHC, which was then known as the Environmental Remediation Holding Corporation, exploration rights in São Tomé for 25 years. The contract was soon described by some outside experts as extremely lopsided.
Soon afterward, Ms. Wilson resigned from ERHC during an investigation of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But she appeared to retain an interest in the island’s future; in 2001, for instance, she apparently reached out to Mr. Jefferson for help there, his indictment suggests. At that time, São Tomé’s new president was threatening to break a number of oil-related deals, including ERHC’s.
Ms. Wilson, who declined through her lawyer, Joseph A. Artabane, to be interviewed for this article, is not named in that indictment. But the filing describes how two unnamed people, a business executive and a lobbyist, went to see Mr. Jefferson about an oil-related dispute on São Tomé. In return for a promise of help, Mr. Jefferson demanded that a family member receive benefit, a demand that was met, the indictment states.
Mr. Artabane, who said that Ms. Wilson testified before the Jefferson grand jury, declined to confirm that she was the executive involved, but he did not dispute it either. The lobbyist involved was James P. Creaghan, according to his lawyer, E. Barton Conradi, who said his client has cooperated throughout with authorities. Mr. Creaghan worked with Ms. Wilson during that time. (Neither of them has been accused of wrongdoing.)
Meanwhile, wheels were already spinning in São Tomé when activists like Mr. Sachs, the economist, arrived. Their mission: To prevent it from following in footsteps of other African countries where corruption and waste typically follow oil. In Nigeria, the continent’s largest producer, most people live on less than $2 a day while politicians have stolen or squandered billions.
Chasing the iPhone
SEOUL, South Korea, June 29 — While Americans have been blitzed with news about the iPhone’s debut, many in South Korea’s and Japan’s technology industries initially greeted Apple’s flashy new handset with yawns.
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Seokyong Lee for The New York Times
Pantech's design center in Seoul, South Korea. An executive at the company says that riding on Apple’s coattails may turn out to be the best business strategy.
Cellphones in these technology-saturated countries can already play digital songs and video games and receive satellite television. But now that analysts and industry executives are getting their first good look at the iPhone, many here are concerned that Asian manufacturers may have underestimated the Apple threat.
Analysts and executives in South Korea say that the iPhone, with its full-scale Internet browser and distinctive touch screen with colorful icons, is more than just another souped-up cellphone. They fear this Silicon Valley challenger could leap past Asian makers into the age of digital convergence by combining personal computing and mobile technologies as no device has before.
“Apple’s impact will be bigger than Asian handset makers think,” said Kim Yoon-ho, an analyst in Seoul at Prudential Securities. “The iPhone is different from previous mobile phones. It is the prototype of the future of mobile phones.”
The fear now is that Apple may repeat in wireless communications what it accomplished in portable music with the iPod: changing the industry. And just as when the iPod came out six years ago, big Asian manufacturers like Samsung Electronics and Sony could find themselves wondering what hit them, say analysts and industry executives.
Here in South Korea, manufacturers are taking the threat seriously, and are rushing out their own iPhone-like handsets. By the end of the year, Samsung, South Korea’s biggest cellphone maker, will unveil its Ultra Smart F700, with a large touch-controlled screen displaying rows of icons, much as the iPhone does.
LG Electronics, another large Korean handset maker, has begun selling a smartphone in Italy that can view full-size Web pages. Pantech, which sells most of its phones in the United States under the carriers’ brand names, will also unveil its first touch-screen smartphone this fall.
Sony Ericsson plans this fall to introduce its latest Walkman phone, the W960i, which will feature a touch screen and memory space for 8,000 songs. Nokia of Finland, whose N95 is probably the closest competitor to the iPhone in the United States, said it also plans a touch-screen cellphone called the Aeon, though the company has not said when it will go on sale.
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., plans to sell this summer the Razr 2, the successor to its once-popular Razr upgraded with a Linux operating system and full-scale Web browser.
“If the iPhone changes the rules in the cellphone market, then we have to adapt as soon as possible,” said Yi Seung-soo, a cellphone designer at Pantech. “We can take advantage of being a follower,” he said.
It’s the same method Korean manufacturers have used before — quickly developing similar products that are cheaper but which contain a few more features than Apple, he said. That strategy has not diminished iPod’s dominance in the music-player market in the United States, but makers in Asia have fared a bit better in their home markets.
For the time being, their concern is over the handset market in the United States, where the iPhone went on sale Friday. Apple will not sell its new phone in Asia until next year, and there are also doubts whether iPhone will catch on in markets like South Korea, where consumers often pay for small, sleek phones packed with functions. Bulkier smartphones and BlackBerrys have so far failed to sell well here.
But even if iPhone’s success is limited to America, it could be a setback for South Korean electronics companies, which export heavily to the United States. In particular, say analysts, Apple could end up seizing much of the top end of the American cellphone market, where a handset that cost $100 or more offers the highest profit margins.
That segment of the American market represents about a quarter of America’s 250 million cellphone subscribers, according to Strategy Analytics, a market research firm based in Newton, Mass. In contrast with cellphone users in Asia, more than half of American subscribers paid $50 or less for their cellphones.
Apple, whose biggest challenge may be persuading Americans to spend $500 or $600 for an iPhone, has said it wants to have the devices in the hands of 1 percent of the world’s cellphone users, or about 10 million people, by the end of next year.
For its part, Samsung says it is ready for Apple’s challenge, offering a far broader range of high-end products. Some of Samsung’s recent products in this segment in the United States include the BlackJack, a $200 smartphone that uses Windows Mobile, and the UpStage, a phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Seokyong Lee for The New York Times
Pantech's design center in Seoul, South Korea. An executive at the company says that riding on Apple’s coattails may turn out to be the best business strategy.
Cellphones in these technology-saturated countries can already play digital songs and video games and receive satellite television. But now that analysts and industry executives are getting their first good look at the iPhone, many here are concerned that Asian manufacturers may have underestimated the Apple threat.
Analysts and executives in South Korea say that the iPhone, with its full-scale Internet browser and distinctive touch screen with colorful icons, is more than just another souped-up cellphone. They fear this Silicon Valley challenger could leap past Asian makers into the age of digital convergence by combining personal computing and mobile technologies as no device has before.
“Apple’s impact will be bigger than Asian handset makers think,” said Kim Yoon-ho, an analyst in Seoul at Prudential Securities. “The iPhone is different from previous mobile phones. It is the prototype of the future of mobile phones.”
The fear now is that Apple may repeat in wireless communications what it accomplished in portable music with the iPod: changing the industry. And just as when the iPod came out six years ago, big Asian manufacturers like Samsung Electronics and Sony could find themselves wondering what hit them, say analysts and industry executives.
Here in South Korea, manufacturers are taking the threat seriously, and are rushing out their own iPhone-like handsets. By the end of the year, Samsung, South Korea’s biggest cellphone maker, will unveil its Ultra Smart F700, with a large touch-controlled screen displaying rows of icons, much as the iPhone does.
LG Electronics, another large Korean handset maker, has begun selling a smartphone in Italy that can view full-size Web pages. Pantech, which sells most of its phones in the United States under the carriers’ brand names, will also unveil its first touch-screen smartphone this fall.
Sony Ericsson plans this fall to introduce its latest Walkman phone, the W960i, which will feature a touch screen and memory space for 8,000 songs. Nokia of Finland, whose N95 is probably the closest competitor to the iPhone in the United States, said it also plans a touch-screen cellphone called the Aeon, though the company has not said when it will go on sale.
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Ill., plans to sell this summer the Razr 2, the successor to its once-popular Razr upgraded with a Linux operating system and full-scale Web browser.
“If the iPhone changes the rules in the cellphone market, then we have to adapt as soon as possible,” said Yi Seung-soo, a cellphone designer at Pantech. “We can take advantage of being a follower,” he said.
It’s the same method Korean manufacturers have used before — quickly developing similar products that are cheaper but which contain a few more features than Apple, he said. That strategy has not diminished iPod’s dominance in the music-player market in the United States, but makers in Asia have fared a bit better in their home markets.
For the time being, their concern is over the handset market in the United States, where the iPhone went on sale Friday. Apple will not sell its new phone in Asia until next year, and there are also doubts whether iPhone will catch on in markets like South Korea, where consumers often pay for small, sleek phones packed with functions. Bulkier smartphones and BlackBerrys have so far failed to sell well here.
But even if iPhone’s success is limited to America, it could be a setback for South Korean electronics companies, which export heavily to the United States. In particular, say analysts, Apple could end up seizing much of the top end of the American cellphone market, where a handset that cost $100 or more offers the highest profit margins.
That segment of the American market represents about a quarter of America’s 250 million cellphone subscribers, according to Strategy Analytics, a market research firm based in Newton, Mass. In contrast with cellphone users in Asia, more than half of American subscribers paid $50 or less for their cellphones.
Apple, whose biggest challenge may be persuading Americans to spend $500 or $600 for an iPhone, has said it wants to have the devices in the hands of 1 percent of the world’s cellphone users, or about 10 million people, by the end of next year.
For its part, Samsung says it is ready for Apple’s challenge, offering a far broader range of high-end products. Some of Samsung’s recent products in this segment in the United States include the BlackJack, a $200 smartphone that uses Windows Mobile, and the UpStage, a phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other.
miercuri, 27 iunie 2007
$45 ribeyes graze at Texas ranch
HARWOOD, Texas - Even by the standards of Texas — where beef is no trivial matter — rancher Jose Antonio Elias Calles has coddled his cattle.
The animals imported from Japan are guarded by off-duty Texas Rangers and kept away from American bulls that might contaminate their coveted gene pool. They were meticulously reared for 12 years before a single hamburger could be sold.
"We knew it was going to take a long time," said Calles, whose interest in ranching was sparked by a grandfather who raised cattle for export in northern Mexico.
Japanese cattle, which come in red and black varieties, are a closely guarded national treasure. Their beef, often called "Kobe beef" by American restaurants, commands staggering prices but is heralded by chefs and foodies for thoroughly marbled fat that gives the meat tenderness and rich flavor. On a 0-12 quality scale used to rate beef in Japan, where heavy fat marbling is preferred, Kobe rates a minimum nine points and Angus beef 4.5; Calles' animals rate around 7.5 to 8.5.
Through careful breeding and with the help of surrogate cows, Calles's tiny herd of 11 has grown to 5,000, the largest group of purebred Akaushi cattle outside Japan.
A number of American producers sell beef from half-breed Japanese cattle, but Calles' company, HeartBrand Beef, now has enough animals grazing in south Texas to market purebred American-raised Japanese beef to restaurants and consumers.
The butterscotch-colored cattle are genetically identical to those raised by Japanese ranchers, Calles said. They aren't as fatty as the highest-quality Japanese beef but only because of the tastes of health-conscious American diners.
Calles and his investors acquired their tiny original group of Akaushi after an exporter flew the animals on an airliner to the United States in 1994. They had been sitting in quarantine in Japan for two years while Japanese trade officials tried to sort out how a trade agreement loophole resulted in the legal export of the animals from Japan.
"It was really just a miracle that it worked this way," said Calles. "Some of the best animals came to here."
Since that time, Calles and his business partners, who paid $2.5 million for the original herd and millions more to get a marketable quantity of purebred beef, have been growing it large and steady enough to offer roughly 15,000 pounds of beef per week. Because reproduction rates in cattle are low, Calles had purebred embryos implanted in surrogate cows, preserving the genetic material of the Japanese animals but allowing for faster reproduction.
Today, herds of identical-looking red Japanese cattle graze on tall grass at HeartBrand's ranch and other nearby properties before being taken to feedlots, where they are given more-than-average shade and space during their final weeks before slaughter.
On the market since last year, HeartBrand distributes to about 40 restaurants and a handful of retailers.
American beef consumption has been declining over the last 25 years, but producers like HeartBrand and others with crossbred animals can command premium prices for their boutique beef.
The animals imported from Japan are guarded by off-duty Texas Rangers and kept away from American bulls that might contaminate their coveted gene pool. They were meticulously reared for 12 years before a single hamburger could be sold.
"We knew it was going to take a long time," said Calles, whose interest in ranching was sparked by a grandfather who raised cattle for export in northern Mexico.
Japanese cattle, which come in red and black varieties, are a closely guarded national treasure. Their beef, often called "Kobe beef" by American restaurants, commands staggering prices but is heralded by chefs and foodies for thoroughly marbled fat that gives the meat tenderness and rich flavor. On a 0-12 quality scale used to rate beef in Japan, where heavy fat marbling is preferred, Kobe rates a minimum nine points and Angus beef 4.5; Calles' animals rate around 7.5 to 8.5.
Through careful breeding and with the help of surrogate cows, Calles's tiny herd of 11 has grown to 5,000, the largest group of purebred Akaushi cattle outside Japan.
A number of American producers sell beef from half-breed Japanese cattle, but Calles' company, HeartBrand Beef, now has enough animals grazing in south Texas to market purebred American-raised Japanese beef to restaurants and consumers.
The butterscotch-colored cattle are genetically identical to those raised by Japanese ranchers, Calles said. They aren't as fatty as the highest-quality Japanese beef but only because of the tastes of health-conscious American diners.
Calles and his investors acquired their tiny original group of Akaushi after an exporter flew the animals on an airliner to the United States in 1994. They had been sitting in quarantine in Japan for two years while Japanese trade officials tried to sort out how a trade agreement loophole resulted in the legal export of the animals from Japan.
"It was really just a miracle that it worked this way," said Calles. "Some of the best animals came to here."
Since that time, Calles and his business partners, who paid $2.5 million for the original herd and millions more to get a marketable quantity of purebred beef, have been growing it large and steady enough to offer roughly 15,000 pounds of beef per week. Because reproduction rates in cattle are low, Calles had purebred embryos implanted in surrogate cows, preserving the genetic material of the Japanese animals but allowing for faster reproduction.
Today, herds of identical-looking red Japanese cattle graze on tall grass at HeartBrand's ranch and other nearby properties before being taken to feedlots, where they are given more-than-average shade and space during their final weeks before slaughter.
On the market since last year, HeartBrand distributes to about 40 restaurants and a handful of retailers.
American beef consumption has been declining over the last 25 years, but producers like HeartBrand and others with crossbred animals can command premium prices for their boutique beef.
Guitar Center agrees to $1.9 billion buyout
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. - Guitar Center Inc., the largest U.S. musical instrument retailer, said Wednesday its board had accepted a $1.9 billion cash buyout offer from a private equity firm.
The deal with affiliates of Bain Capital Partners LLC came amid speculation that a buyout was in the works. Guitar Center had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. to auction the company.
Bain Capital offered to pay $63 per share, which represents a premium of 26 percent over Guitar Center's closing price Tuesday of $50.06. The purchase price is based on the company's 30.2 million shares outstanding at the end of March.
Under the agreement, the buyers will also assume about $200 million in debt, pushing the total transaction value to $2.1 billion.
The deal, which requires approval by Guitar Center shareholders, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Guitar Center shares climbed $9.84, or 19.7 percent, to $59.90 in premarket trading.
Marty Albertson, Guitar Center chairman and chief executive, said in a statement that the deal "is a strong validation of the company's accomplishments over the years as well as our future growth prospects."
Last month, Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew J. Fassler said the retailer was "optimally positioned for a sale, given its dominant competitive position and capital allocation opportunities, as well as a savvy shareholder base."
Guitar Center began in 1959 when former car salesman Wayne Mitchell purchased a small appliance and home organ store in Hollywood. In 1964, Mitchell converted a movie theater next door to his Hollywood shop, and opened the first Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard.
The company, which now has more than 210 stores, went public in 1997. The stock has more than tripled since its initial share sale, and revenue last year was $2.03 billion, compared with $296.7 million in 1997.
This year, Guitar Center bought musical instrument retailer Woodwind & Brasswind for about $30 million.
Guitar Center posted first quarter profit of $17.2 million, a 9.7 percent increase from a year earlier, as sales climbed 14 percent to $534.5 million.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The deal with affiliates of Bain Capital Partners LLC came amid speculation that a buyout was in the works. Guitar Center had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. to auction the company.
Bain Capital offered to pay $63 per share, which represents a premium of 26 percent over Guitar Center's closing price Tuesday of $50.06. The purchase price is based on the company's 30.2 million shares outstanding at the end of March.
Under the agreement, the buyers will also assume about $200 million in debt, pushing the total transaction value to $2.1 billion.
The deal, which requires approval by Guitar Center shareholders, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Guitar Center shares climbed $9.84, or 19.7 percent, to $59.90 in premarket trading.
Marty Albertson, Guitar Center chairman and chief executive, said in a statement that the deal "is a strong validation of the company's accomplishments over the years as well as our future growth prospects."
Last month, Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew J. Fassler said the retailer was "optimally positioned for a sale, given its dominant competitive position and capital allocation opportunities, as well as a savvy shareholder base."
Guitar Center began in 1959 when former car salesman Wayne Mitchell purchased a small appliance and home organ store in Hollywood. In 1964, Mitchell converted a movie theater next door to his Hollywood shop, and opened the first Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard.
The company, which now has more than 210 stores, went public in 1997. The stock has more than tripled since its initial share sale, and revenue last year was $2.03 billion, compared with $296.7 million in 1997.
This year, Guitar Center bought musical instrument retailer Woodwind & Brasswind for about $30 million.
Guitar Center posted first quarter profit of $17.2 million, a 9.7 percent increase from a year earlier, as sales climbed 14 percent to $534.5 million.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
luni, 25 iunie 2007
Sony to triple number of PS3 games
Sony plans to more than triple the number of game titles for its PlayStation 3 console by the end of March 2008, in an effort to boost lacklustre sales and bring its struggling games unit back into the black.
Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai, the new chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony’s games division, said 200 software titles and 180 download-only titles would be released in the current fiscal year, compared with a total of 110 titles available now.
The release of new, exclusive software titles is vital for the PS3’s success. In the crucial US market, two of Nintendo’s Wii consoles are sold for every one PS3, according to NPD, the research company, and Sony’s games division is not expected to return to profit until at least 2008.
Sir Howard Stringer, chief executive, on Thursday told Sony’s annual shareholders’ meeting that senior executives took responsibility for the PS3’s dismal performance last year.
Mr Hirai, who replaced Ken Kutaragi – the father of the PlayStation – as president and group chief executive of Sony’s games division, said one of his most pressing tasks was reaching out to third-party software developers.
The PS3’s numerous launch date delays are perceived to have adversely affected Sony’s relationship with important software developers worldwide. “[Our relationship with third-party software developers] wasn’t broken but there’s always room for improvement,” Mr Hirai told the Financial Times.
Though Sony’s core consumer electronics division is turning around, boosted by brisk sales of Bravia LCD TVs and digital cameras, its loss-making games division still continues to weigh on its bottom line.
Because of the massive investment costs in the PS3, Sony’s games unit reported a hefty operating loss of Y232.3bn ($1.8bn) and said it would not turn a profit until the fiscal 2008-09 year, at the earliest.
Mr Hirai said that Sony was exploring possible new sources of revenues for its games division, in addition to the traditional licensing fees it earns from software developers.
“In-game advertising presents some interesting opportunities. It is still a nascent market but obviously something we are taking a serious look at. because there are serious growth opportunities,” Mr Hirai said.
“Home [PS3’s online virtual world slated to launch this autumn] also presents unique advertising opportunities.”
Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai, the new chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony’s games division, said 200 software titles and 180 download-only titles would be released in the current fiscal year, compared with a total of 110 titles available now.
The release of new, exclusive software titles is vital for the PS3’s success. In the crucial US market, two of Nintendo’s Wii consoles are sold for every one PS3, according to NPD, the research company, and Sony’s games division is not expected to return to profit until at least 2008.
Sir Howard Stringer, chief executive, on Thursday told Sony’s annual shareholders’ meeting that senior executives took responsibility for the PS3’s dismal performance last year.
Mr Hirai, who replaced Ken Kutaragi – the father of the PlayStation – as president and group chief executive of Sony’s games division, said one of his most pressing tasks was reaching out to third-party software developers.
The PS3’s numerous launch date delays are perceived to have adversely affected Sony’s relationship with important software developers worldwide. “[Our relationship with third-party software developers] wasn’t broken but there’s always room for improvement,” Mr Hirai told the Financial Times.
Though Sony’s core consumer electronics division is turning around, boosted by brisk sales of Bravia LCD TVs and digital cameras, its loss-making games division still continues to weigh on its bottom line.
Because of the massive investment costs in the PS3, Sony’s games unit reported a hefty operating loss of Y232.3bn ($1.8bn) and said it would not turn a profit until the fiscal 2008-09 year, at the earliest.
Mr Hirai said that Sony was exploring possible new sources of revenues for its games division, in addition to the traditional licensing fees it earns from software developers.
“In-game advertising presents some interesting opportunities. It is still a nascent market but obviously something we are taking a serious look at. because there are serious growth opportunities,” Mr Hirai said.
“Home [PS3’s online virtual world slated to launch this autumn] also presents unique advertising opportunities.”
sâmbătă, 23 iunie 2007
aceasi seara pe pro-tv
Spectacol de mulţi cai-putere marţi noapte, într-o parcare din Timişoara. 30 de tineri cu maşini şi motoare puternice s-au întrecut în cascadorii care de care mai trăsnite.
Motocicliştii au mers în viteză pe o singură roată, şoferii s-au învârtit cu maşinile în loc. Scârţâitul de roţi şi demaratul în trombă sunt numai câteva dintre cascadorii.
Nici tinerii pe role nu s-au lăsat mai prejos. Unul dintre ei a avut curajul să se prindă de bara maşinii de poliţie şi a fost tras câteva zeci de metri.
Câţiva poliţiştii au fost şi ei specatori. Nu i-au putut opri şi nici amenda pe tineri, pentru că se aflau într-un spaţiu privat, în afara oraşului.
Motocicliştii au mers în viteză pe o singură roată, şoferii s-au învârtit cu maşinile în loc. Scârţâitul de roţi şi demaratul în trombă sunt numai câteva dintre cascadorii.
Nici tinerii pe role nu s-au lăsat mai prejos. Unul dintre ei a avut curajul să se prindă de bara maşinii de poliţie şi a fost tras câteva zeci de metri.
Câţiva poliţiştii au fost şi ei specatori. Nu i-au putut opri şi nici amenda pe tineri, pentru că se aflau într-un spaţiu privat, în afara oraşului.
Show la Timisoara/Real
Show, frâne, fum şi cai putere
TIMIŞOARA - Piruete ameţitoare, cascadorii pe două şi patru roţi, întreceri în strunit caii-putere. De cum se răcoreşte, în puterea nopţii, pasionaţii de motoare se strâng şi dau un spectacol demn de orice film de acţiune de la Hollywood. Asta, însă, nu pe şosea, ci într-o parcare din Timişoara.
Întrecerea cailor putere!
Zgomotul motoarelor turate la maxim şi mirosul cauciucului încins pe şosea au sute de fani la Timişoara. Se întâlnesc pe ascuns, evită locurile publice, însă au aceeaşi pasiune - viteza şi îndemânarea. În urmă cu două nopţi, sute de tineri s-au adunat într-o parcare privată, pentru a-şi încerca maşinile sau motoarele.
Şoferii unor maşini tunate, la exterior... sau sub capotă, au desenat cerculeţe pe asfalt, au făcut piruete ameţitoare - cascadorii pe două şi patru roţi. Pentru a-şi regla motoarele sau chiar pentru a vedea cât de bine le stau bolizii pe roţi, ei şi-au aruncat mănuşa pentru diverse întreceri, care mai de care mai ingenioase. Au fost chiar şoferi de autoturisme provocaţi... de motociclişti. Totul într-o atmosferă demnă de orice film de acţiune de la Hollywood. Tinerii s-au adunat să se bucure de nebuniile făcute de cei mai îndemânatici şoferi. În doar câteva zeci de minute, pneurile au scrâşnit în toate direcţiile, maşinile puternice au demarat în trombă, iar motocicliştii au încântat asistenţa rulând pe o singură roată. Spectatorii, veniţi din toate colţurile oraşului, s-au înghesuit să surprindă acrobaţiile cu telefoanele mobile ori cu camere de filmat, iar bolizii au fost adevărate vedete. Cei mai puţin îndemânatici au preferat să stea pe margine şi să-şi etaleze instalaţiile desonorizare montate pe maşini şi au dat adevărate concerte spre deliciul publicului. Pentru că totul s-a petrecut într-o zonă privată, departe de şosea, poliţiştii n-au putut decât să-i împrăştie pe tineri, la un moment dat, ca să oprească gălăgia.
TIMIŞOARA - Piruete ameţitoare, cascadorii pe două şi patru roţi, întreceri în strunit caii-putere. De cum se răcoreşte, în puterea nopţii, pasionaţii de motoare se strâng şi dau un spectacol demn de orice film de acţiune de la Hollywood. Asta, însă, nu pe şosea, ci într-o parcare din Timişoara.
Întrecerea cailor putere!
Zgomotul motoarelor turate la maxim şi mirosul cauciucului încins pe şosea au sute de fani la Timişoara. Se întâlnesc pe ascuns, evită locurile publice, însă au aceeaşi pasiune - viteza şi îndemânarea. În urmă cu două nopţi, sute de tineri s-au adunat într-o parcare privată, pentru a-şi încerca maşinile sau motoarele.
Şoferii unor maşini tunate, la exterior... sau sub capotă, au desenat cerculeţe pe asfalt, au făcut piruete ameţitoare - cascadorii pe două şi patru roţi. Pentru a-şi regla motoarele sau chiar pentru a vedea cât de bine le stau bolizii pe roţi, ei şi-au aruncat mănuşa pentru diverse întreceri, care mai de care mai ingenioase. Au fost chiar şoferi de autoturisme provocaţi... de motociclişti. Totul într-o atmosferă demnă de orice film de acţiune de la Hollywood. Tinerii s-au adunat să se bucure de nebuniile făcute de cei mai îndemânatici şoferi. În doar câteva zeci de minute, pneurile au scrâşnit în toate direcţiile, maşinile puternice au demarat în trombă, iar motocicliştii au încântat asistenţa rulând pe o singură roată. Spectatorii, veniţi din toate colţurile oraşului, s-au înghesuit să surprindă acrobaţiile cu telefoanele mobile ori cu camere de filmat, iar bolizii au fost adevărate vedete. Cei mai puţin îndemânatici au preferat să stea pe margine şi să-şi etaleze instalaţiile desonorizare montate pe maşini şi au dat adevărate concerte spre deliciul publicului. Pentru că totul s-a petrecut într-o zonă privată, departe de şosea, poliţiştii n-au putut decât să-i împrăştie pe tineri, la un moment dat, ca să oprească gălăgia.
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