Cranium Flush

Scottsdale Real Estate

2010-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

Are you a businessman who is interested in Real Estate or looking for a residential purchase, re-sale, investment property, or a commercial purchase/lease? Or someone who's just looking for a peaceful place that you would like to call it as your 'home'. Look no further ... The Holm Group is here to assist you in finding you a perfect place just for you.

Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, The Holm Group represents the top notch buyers and sellers of Arizona Real Estate transactions who have hundreds of clients to their credit. Scottsdale Real Estate at the Holm Group can help you to find a beautiful house at the best location with all the state-of-the-art facilities and all at an amazing price tag that wont burn a hole in your pocket.

Equipped with the state of the art technologies that not only drives them forward in the real estate business, The Holm Group are able to help their clients with quick solutions saving them precious time. Recently added to their Tech Armory is MLS Virtual Mapping. This proprietary technology will allow you to search the terrain with multiple vantage points of the same property through several different views including the Bird's view and the Aerial View.

So , What are you waiting for ?? !! Its time to check out Scottsdale Real Estate and get yourself a nice cozy home !!

Casino.de - Your Official Poker Heaven !!

2008-10-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Off late, Gambling on line has been the latest obsession for hard core online gamers. From Online poker to slots, the online gambling portals have a lot to offer. With a lot of people engaged in online gambling, its a place where you can meet and make a lot of friends in a snap. Though you have a plethora of gambling sites that offer you a variety of games to play and gamble for , there is always a trust factor. People believe and flock a service only if they trust in them and Casino.de happens to be one of them.

Taking a peek into the variety of games they offer , We have poker, slots , Roulette , Keno , Craps Baccarat and many many more games. Not only they have a variety of games, they have an interactive visual simulation of these games. These visual simulations of these games help the beginners by giving them a heads up and get along with the pros.

So what are you waiting for ? Get into the hottest online gaming bandwagon and start earning some quick buck. From Poker to Blackjack you have everything to hit on. Enjoy a carefree game of roulette , craps, poker and all the most exciting games @ http://www.casino.de/poker

Links to best Casinos Ever ...

2008-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Now a days people are trying to get a new perspective in each and every field they venture. Be it entertainment or business... Innovation has become the buzz word. As some one said .. Change is the only thing in this world that is permanent. Entertainment field has evolved to new heights these days and thanks to the related technological advancements , we are able to get things sitting in your favorite couch. Yes... your favorite things are just a click away. The most stunning game ever in the world is now online and it has already captured thousands of fans. But the site that has captured the hearts of thousands of casino fanatics is the Onlinecasinolinks.com. It has the links to the best ever game sites and the best ever review sites that are available online or online casino. This site is the haven for the Casino fanatics as each and every game that is available online is clearly labeled and routed to the right direction .. The place of Fun-limited .. !!! So What are you waiting for .. Get in this wild ride and enjoy !!

Best casino ever !! Check it out !!

2008-03-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

People are busy with lot of work behind their backs and entertainment happens to be the best stress buster apart from other forms of entertainment. Other forms include basketball and other outdoor games but the major drawback with those games, is the amount of energy expended to entertain yourself. After the tough game , you feel really tired and instead of getting into the groove, you end up relaxing .. . Its time that you gives infotained ... !! Yes .. A mixture of info plus entertainment. Its time to play Casinos online. Not only you get earn money sitting in your place of work / home , you get to entertain yourself. Online casino portals have the top online games in the world. Starting from backgammon , there are lot of games that enthrall you to the core. Among the available online casino sites, the best site according to lot of people is the Online-casino-list.com and the best reviews can be got here.

Shop @ will now !!

2008-03-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

People always wanted to buy products from top shops or malls where they can back upon. People have always been buying the products be it grocery stuff to high end gizmo to bridal wear from shops and other stores. Off late, people have realised the technology of getting stuff online and that too really easily. The fairly simple reason being no time or zero time waste. Plus you have all the options in each every product and you can see what the brands can offer in each product. This is an interesting job if some one wants to set up an online store where they can have an online shopping cart for all the people who come to shop in there online store. The best shopping cart software is given by the Ashop commerce. A wonderful site where in people can choose the suitable software i.e online shopping cart software. One of the best shopping cart software is Ashop Commerce.One of the leading US providers for shopping cart software and helps you create an online store at an affordable cost and you can even get to enjoy a free 10 day trial with ashop commerce software. So, create your own shop online only with Ashop commerce.

Hotel Reservations @ cheap prices !!

2008-03-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

It is very important to choose the best hotels and motels in the place wherever you have to stay at. There are various criteria to choose the best hotels. The factors are that, the hotel should be comfortable to make your stay memorable and also the hotel should not be too expensive to spend on. Enough hospitality will also make your stay better.

When, you are on a tour to any of the countries in this World, the first and foremost thing that one should need to know is the hotel in which you are going to stay and the quality of food that will be available in that hotel where you are going to stay. If you have fallen in a dilemma on selecting or even finding the best hotel in the country to which you are touring to, just stop thinking and go to Hotel Reservations. This is by far the best place for booking, hotels, motels, cars etc. The best thing here is that you can get to select the best hotel of your choice in the city where you are going to and it gives the list of the best possible hotels available in that city. The hotels are ensured with luxurious rooms at a very reasonable price. It also offers special hotel discounts. You also get Bed and breakfast, condo rentals and last but not the least, you have got a club membership card. If you are a member of the club, you get special discounts on different packages that you choose. So, you can save up to 70% at hotel reservations. You can also find a city guide to research and plan your trip effectively. So, if you are going for a good place to stay on your trip, the best place to reserve your hotels is Hotel Reservations.

Pro360 ... Awesome as it would get !!

2008-03-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

If you think that you are wasting time sitting in the couch watching baseball or you are really tried to move to your porch and play some fetch with your dog, then it is time to earn some money plus spend some in front of the computer entertaining yourself. Yes the word is online gaming and the buzz word is Online Casino and Online gambling. It might sound really techie and blizzard first but it is really a great money spinner if you are willing to spend some time. There are lot of games where you can play online and the thing is that you might not get bored that easily. Pro360.com is wonderful site where one can play some awesome online poker ,backgammon and other exciting games. But one may think that site may be an offbeat site. But you are wrong. Lot of top online review sites have evaluated this site and have approved this site for some thrilling online gaming. There are online casino reviews that are put up in the site so that one can check and feel secure. So what are you waiting for !! have some fun @ Pro360.com

Ashop Commerce

2008-02-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

Ashop Commerce is actually a wonderful online portal which is incidentally happens to be the leading provider of hosted shopping cart software. Lot of People do the business of selling and buying products online and the best shopping cart software which might be available to you is Ashop Commerce. Selling is amazingly easy through Ashop commerce. You can easily create your online store using their affordable e-commerce software. Since it is web based, no separate installation is required here. This Ashop commerce is in fact the award winning shopping cart software in business now. You can even accept transactions through credit cards and also it consists of thousands of easily usable features. The advantages of using this software is that no programming is required here and also no separate knowledge on HTML or graphical design is required to develop your online shopping store. So, start selling online through the best shopping cart software, Ashop commerce.

Be Smorty !!!

2008-02-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Blogging has now become one of the most prolific hobbies for any person and gone are the days when a blogger can blog just about his general happenings and the subject in which he specializes on. Nowadays, there are many websites which help to blog for money. One of the unique such sites which offers money profusely is Smorty. This serves as a bridge between the advertisers and the bloggers and offers money to the bloggers for the posts that they write on for the advertisers. You can just get paid to blog with smorty. The advertiser can just advertise on blogs and he can get many customers who happen to be one because of seeing the review written in the blog. So, both the advertiser as well as the blogger gets due rewards and blog advertising is one of the rising trends in blogging circuit and if you happen to be a good blogger with lots of page views, then you obviously have got good chance of making some quick money through smorty. So, smorty is undoubtedly one of the best sites for making money through blogging. So, if you still havent joined smorty, you are missing something. So, hurry up.

Stylish Spain !!

2008-02-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

A special occasion for most of the people around the world is their holidays and it needs the right place to unwind them. Europe has always been a special place to be and Spain has been the icing. There are lots of wonderful places here that people would never miss it in their life. Check the exclusive Spain Hotels and Mallorca Hotels for more information.

Spanish cuisine has always been a treat to all the tourists. Spreading at least 1000 varieties in the food section it consists of a great variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. Most of the Spanish delicacies are heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep Mediterranean roots. Spain’s roots of cooking dates back the old Mediterranean age -

One of the biggest problems that you can face when on a tour to somewhere out of your country, is the place where you are going to stay and the food that you are going to devour on. The food and the place must be of good quality and luxurious enough for you to enjoy your brief stint. So, you have to find the cheapest hotels in order to make your stay economical. So, you can always find the best hotels at affordable rates at cheaperthanhotels.co.uk and do check Lanzorote Hotels and Menorca Hotels for comfortable stays.

Cheap Hotels @ Great Britain !!

2008-01-31T11:51:00.000-08:00

Special occasions calls for special treats of joy and holidays happens to be one of the best treats ever for people and it gives the right feel of unwinding themselves. Europe has always been a special place to be and Great Britain has been the icing. Great Britain of United kingdom comprises of Northern Ireland and England. There are lot of places where one can enjoy and have fun for their lifetime.

When it comes to folklore and culture , England people are really blessed and English folklore has always been rich and diverse. Legends of Celtic folklore of Wales, Scotland and Ireland share the same space for glory. This happens to be the land of Herne the Hunter and his counterpart in the Welsh- Gwyn ap Nudd. Check the York Hotels and Leeds Hotels for a comfortable stay in those places.

There are many hotels but its better to choose a hotel that is really cuts the cost effectively so that you wont burn up a hole in your pocket. Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk is a wonderful e site where one can book the cheapest hotels ever in the place and enjoy a comfortable stay. They offer Sheffield Hotels and Nottingham Hotels at a cool price and its time you guys check this wonderful offer.

Pay Day Loans !!

2008-01-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

Payday loan companies are those which offer cash loans to the people in the form of loans and it is mainly for those who don't qualify for other forms of credit. They advance cash to people who really need a break like military people, fast food employees, pensioners, and others. Depending on pay check after paycheck and living out of it is a tough task and so the cash advance will be a great break and will lend them the money they need to get to their next payday to give back your payday loans.

No credit checks are required for payday loan and they are short term unsecured consumer loans. Gone are the days when we wait long to get our loan processed and also even if it gets sanctioned it takes long to reach your hands and would fail to serve the purpose for which the loan was applied. Check out Perfect cash advance and they seem to be a very good option. They will help you to get short term loans in less than a day and it will be a great boon for people who are in need of money. Set aside all your financial worries and get a cash advance. So what are you waiting for.. Just check the site and forget your financial worries.

Play snooker online !!!

2008-01-29T06:41:00.000-08:00

Playing snooker has always been great fun and I used to play snooker with my friends. But I haven’t played an online billiard game. Thanks to Billiardmagic.com you can play online snooker. It is a very cool place and they also conduct many Billiard tournaments where you can also earn money! So what are you waiting for? Go have fun!!!

A nice online game - Backgammon !!

2008-01-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

Backgammon falls under the category of a highly infectious game. It is not only an interesting game but it is highly rewarding too. I though i don't play it really i have a great fascination for the online version of it. It used to play it continuously in the cell phone and got attracted to it. play backgammon is a card game and involves good calculation and luck. If you get some time try to online backgammon and you will surely like it. There are also backgammon online sites where you can participate in backgammon tournaments and win.

Backgammon review !!

2008-01-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

One of the best way to spend time online is to play games. I generally prefer games that follow a strategy. backgammon is a nice game which is not only based on the luck while rolling the die but also involves playing methodically.Play backgammon online
and you can a lot of money. By playing online backgammon you get to win a lot of money with a single backgammon game.

Backgammon - A nice game to play

2008-01-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

Backgammon is a very interesting game and I though I don't play it really I have a great fascination for the online version of it. It used to play it on my cell phone and got attracted to it. Play backgammon is a card game and involves good calculation and luck. If you get some time try to online backgammon games and you will surely like it. There are also backgammon online sites where you can participate and win.

Sloterix - An online Slot playing site

2008-01-29T06:22:00.000-08:00

Many sites help you play online games and one of the most popular sites is the sloterix. This site is all about playing with slots. You can go for the slots using the Slot machines in this site and get to earn a lot of money. These slot machines select the person at random and even you maybe one lucky winner some day. For slot info do check @ Sloterix.com !!!

Online Casino Review

2008-01-29T06:16:00.000-08:00

People prefer to while away their free time by playing games either outside or online. But, if there is an opportunity where they also get to enjoy as well as get hold of some quick money then the best place is Gamblux. This is one of the best places for online casinos. Online casino is a best time pass for anyone who wants to gamble. So, get the best shot at playing casino online only at Gamblux.com.

Trust Source

2008-01-29T06:01:00.000-08:00

Each day your mail box may get bombarded with tons of emails offering you an array of products and packages but how trust worthy are those? Lots of marketers contact you trying to sell their new products but without using them how will you know if the product will be satisfactory or not. The best way out is search for genuine reviews from people who have used the product. It will be very helpful in analyzing the pros and cons of the product and also to make a decision whether to buy it or not.

The best thing that you can trust upon is the trust source. Its zone of expertise on is the cash advance and payday loan which can be obtained pretty easily and securely at the Personal cash advance scheme launched by trust source. They offer flexible payment options and discrete service that gets you the cash you need right now. Some of the best schemes available for payday are the Women’s payday, Additional earnings, Maximum wages cash advance, Silent cash loan cash advance and Urgent cash relief Payday advance. So, trust source offers everything one could ask for and hence is a must visit for every netizen. Get your payday loans right away !!!

Get a Clear Vision !!

2008-01-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that you can actually get a pair of eyeglasses for 8$, until I found the Great Discovery: Zenni Optical. Besides a huge selection of frames available at ZenniOptical.com, from the single vision lens, photo-chromic or sun-shade resistant lens, tinted sunglasses lens, bifocal lens to progressive lens. Here you can find Zenni Optical $8 Rx Glasses. In fact, I found the secret why they can sell it at low price that is because they get the frame directly from their own manufacturer without any middleman, as well as the advertising budget. The Best Thing Found: Zenni Optical to buy the eyeglasses in low rate. It's time to get a clearer picture!!

Get Wize and Clean !!

2008-01-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

Everybody likes to be their house to spick and span and normally it’s not the case.Few people allocate their weekends to clean their gardens they neglect their houses. More than 45 % of world’s population suffers from respiratory diseases and 60 % of people suffer get infected from dust from their beds and their surroundings. With a quality Vacuum cleaner in cleaning armory, you would find less straining to clean the house.

There are lots of types of vacuum cleaners but the best among them is the upright vacuum cleaner. They have the pump mounted directly above the suction box, with the bag mounted on the handle, which rises to about waist height. Upright designs usually employ mechanical beaters, often rotating brushes, to help disturb dust to be vacuumed up.

To get this modern gizmo that saves us plenty of time its better you check the best vacuum cleaners at Wize.com. A web site that is renowned for its reviews of Consumer products has reviews of all brands of vacuum cleaners that are available in the market. Among them get your best upright vacuum cleaners from the premium lot. The premium lot is an elite list of products that are ranked as the highest and are recommended by the Wize review team which comes with wize ranking. According to Wize.com , Dyson DC18 Allergy Bagless Upright Vacuum is rated as the best. So what are you waiting for get the best one @ Wize.com.

Cheaper than Hotels @ Italy !!

2008-01-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Holidaying has always been people’s choice of liberating and spending some quality time with their friends and family members. Italy has been one of the most sensual places ever in the face of the planet and people just love the wonderful ambiance. But holidaying should not burn a hole in your pocket. So chose the best hotels online @ Cheaperthanhotels.co.uk/Italy/.

The website provides you with the full details of the present condition of the hotels in and around Italy. The website is user friendly and the site provides you with lot of essential details that would assist the tourists. The bookings are of two types. They are Last minute booking and year round accommodation. It is easy to select the region that you would like to stay and various offers are there for each and every hotels here. The Last minute booking in include the free extras such as free breakfast, free lunch and many...The different types of Hotels in Italy enlisted by them makes it much easier for opting your own choice of hotel.

Rome, the capital of Italy is rated as one of the most beautiful places in the world. People throng in Rome just to see the beautifully laid out buildings. Milan happens to be one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy, and is one of the most highly developed urban centers in Europe. Hotels in Milan can be found thanks to cheaperthanhotels.co.uk site and Hotels in Rome ,Hotels in Venice are easy to find too. So what are you waiting for… the best place to holiday is Italy and to find the best hotel is cheaperthanhotels.co.uk

Wash the dirt down !!

2008-01-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

Heavy meal always entertains people into their cozy beds and never to washing their dirty dishes scrubbing them for an hour. Great dishwashers in the market ease your work of cleaning the dishes and help you save time and spoil your hands exposing them to high alkaline dish detergents... They are very safe and are highly reliable. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies largely on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, this gizmo cleans by spraying hot water on the plates /dishes.

Detergents that are specific to the material of the dish are added into the tub. Dishes made in metal require a different detergent when compared with ceramic dishes. There is a separate compartment where in you can doll out a measured amount of detergent. Clean water is flushed into remove the detergent residue after the first detergent wash. Few dishwashers have multiple wash and rinse periods within the complete cycle. In some dishwashers, a rinsing aid can be added to the rinse cycle.

To get this modern gizmo that saves us plenty of time its better you check the best dishwashers at Wize.com. A web site that is renowned for its reviews of Consumer products has reviews of all brands of Dishwashers that are available in the market. Among them get your best dishwasher from the premium lot. Whirlpool, a world renowned brand in consumer products heads the premium lot. The premium lot is an elite list of products that are ranked as the highest and are recommended by the Wize review team which comes with the wize ranking. So what are you waiting for... The most recommended whirlpool dishwasher is just a click away.

Get a Sea Side-view house now !!

2008-01-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

Building an amazing home in a posh and fashionable manner is everyone’s dream. People generally don't take the initiative nor will they be able to find a way out to buy a new house. There are lots of reasons and one may be the lack of knowledge on real estates. Real estate not only helps you find you a cozy place but it is a wisest investing option and you will definitely have a very good return on your investment. You could also have a secure feeling that you have something in your name and can also think of ways to make money out of it. So all it depends how on where you buy your piece of land and its always worth investing in a land nearer to a beach or island.

There are lot of sites online for getting estates but the most preferred being the http://vidreamproperties.com. A promising site, which offers people great pieces of land / estates at an amazing prices. Their specialty or rather their exclusive domain is the Islands or beach side plots. They sell the most hottest pieces of properties at Virgin islands thanks to the experience and command of Sauter-Frett, an award winning realtor who happens to the Proprietor of REMAX Dream Properties. So what are you waiting for … Get your place @ St Thomas Real Estate now !!!

Enjoy Your Holidays !!

2008-01-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

People feel liberated and free when they holiday with their close friends or family members. Choosing a place is the most important thing and people need to think about the pros and the cons before considering any of the choices. If it’s a family outing or Honeymoon, it has to been planned properly. Certain places are specific to the occasions of joy. If a couple are out in a Honeymoon, places like an island are the most romantic places ever and the ambiance of oceans bringing the foam to the shore makes them feel the real love between them. Few corporate people chose places where they can be isolated and pleasant where they catch up with some rest , joy and work all at the same time.

Caret Bay, Virgin Islands is a great place to enjoy your holiday experience. Villa Nicoletta, a luxury villa set at 70-foot cliff overlooking the shore of the Island of St Thomas is a treat to watch. It’s really tough to resist the settings and adding to the temptation are the in-built settings of the hotel. Take a look at the breath taking view and other hotel views at http://www.caretbay.com/luxuryvilla-sitemap.php.

Villa Nicoletta provides sensual settings to the people to immerse in but provide impeccable business- class suites where business people / corporate people can both enjoy their pleasant stay and look after their business opportunities. St Thomas Villa Rental is set to take you by storm.

Make your House Sparkle !!

2008-01-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

Now-a-days with more and more stuff evading our living and working environment , maintaining a place is really a tough job for people. A clean environment commands respect among friends and presents a clear environment to people who come to the place.

Vacuum cleaners have become a house hold gadget of every house and weekly people use this gadget to clean their bedrooms, kitchen boards and the curtains of the house. Vacuum cleaners come in various sizes and various capacities. Few vacuum cleaners are really handy with a compact plastic – carbon body that can store put a certain amount of dust In its container. Cleaners come in big sizes too and their capacities are large plus it takes a bit of effort to work with the cleaner. Although it is hard to handle the bulky cleaners the capacity of the storage bag is huge.

But the best spot to find the best suited vacuum cleaner can just be Wize.com. With more than 15 brands to select from the site Wize has a vacuum cleaner rating section where it stages the best among the lot. Panasonic MC-3920 Bagged Canister Vacuum is rated as the best among the lot based on lot of features comes @ a breath taking price of 60$ … So what are you waiting for. Get a stunning hand held vacuum cleaner and make your house Sparkle.

Advantage Term Life

2008-01-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

Advantage term life is the best online website which links the many insurance companies across the world with the various users of it. It offers the best price for all kinds of insurances like Life Family Plan Premium, Term Life. It also offers the best insurance policies which ensure our safe life.

Also, this is one of the best places where you can go for any life insurance policy and just sit back and enjoy your life with ease and comfort. Here, the Quoting Insurance Services help to Save Money on Insurance. It comes with Reduced Premium which makes it one of the best Online Insurance Policies.

Insurances are always a shot in the arm and people ought have one for personal security as well as to prevent a financial slide after a mishap.

So, why waste money in searching for good insurance policies when advantage term life is here. Feel secure when you are insured with Advantage term life.

Online Games !!

2008-01-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

Now-a-days you can find thousands of people all around the earth playing online casino, which has been one of the hum word in online betting dome. Personally, I feel there are thousands of casino fanatics online who play every day. But as the saying says, every coin has 2 sides and playing casino in slick places is deeply banked on luck. One can’t lose everything just for fun and if you are really serious in playing poker and making some quick buck, you need to absorb the fact that there are geniuses online who are hard-core players and you stand to lose everything when you compete against them. So, here is a good solution.

Casino Newbies is a wonderful online casino guide for beginner or novice internet gamblers. At this site you can find many casino reviews and tutorials that help you prepare for the ultimate game

Free Casino Games provides information on all that you need to know about the game of casino. There are the casino affiliate programs and also the free casino tutorial and apart from this, we have also got free flash games in this site to keep you entertained. At http://www.casinonewbies.com/category/free-flash-casino-games/ you have also got the Casino reviews on what is hot and what is not and also apart from that, some important gambling news. So, choose the best casino using the best casino guide and earn your way through entertainment.

Best And Worst U.S. Housing Markets

2008-01-07T12:00:00.001-08:00

Scaled-back lending practices, risky loans, oversupply and low demand continue to plague the nation's housing markets, driving down prices and stalling sales.

But it's not so in Salt Lake City, Charlotte, N.C., and San Jose, Calif., where prices have continued to climb without so much as a hiccup.

In Salt Lake City, the median home sale price for the third quarter this year rose 14% over the same time in 2006, according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That's the biggest increase of the country's 50 largest metros measured. Prices in Charlotte, one of the country's most undervalued markets, surged 11%. In San Jose, they jumped 9.4%.
Complete List: Best U. S. Housing Markets
Complete List: Worst U.S. Housing Markets

They are not the only markets that have proved resilient.

In the Northeast, median home sale prices increased 3.2% from this time last year, with the biggest gainers in affordable markets like Buffalo, N.Y., up 4.6% to $110,900; Pittsburgh, up 6.1% to $127,700; and Philadelphia, up 3% to $243,000.

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Out West, it's a tale of the north versus the south. Housing markets in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest continued to rise: San Francisco prices jumped 8.6% to $825,400; in Seattle, prices rose 6% to $394,700; and in Portland, Ore., prices increased 5.2% to $299,700.

Southern California was a different story. In Los Angeles, prices stayed flat, growing by 1.1% to $588,400; Riverside, Calif., prices fell 7.6% to $377,000; and in San Diego prices slumped 2.1% to $589,300. Sacramento, which is in central California, saw prices plunge 10.5% to $355,700.

Other suffering markets include Detroit, where the median home price slipped 7.3% to $142,900; Las Vegas, where an inventory glut is largely to blame for a 7.1% dip; and Phoenix--its median home sale price dropped 4.1%, to $255,500, largely as a result of a rash of foreclosures.

What gives? "There is no 'national' housing market," says Jonathan Miller, director of research at Radar Logic, a New York-based real estate research firm. Different markets have different risk factors and fundamentals that drive prices, he says. What's more, "consumers attempt to overlay national statistics on their own property or local housing market, resulting in significant confusion and frustration."

Behind The Numbers
A few things to understand about NAR's numbers: They are reported in quarterly year-over-year terms, due to the highly seasonal nature of the housing market, as prices and volume almost always peak in the second quarter and trough in the third and fourth.

What's more, in some markets, the median home sale price can be skewed. For example, in a foreclosure capital like Los Angeles, slow sales volume in the bottom of the market could artificially enhance the median price, because more expensive homes are selling better.

Los Angeles is also a costly market; the median home price there is $588,400, which means potential buyers are the hardest hit by the tightening of credit. In places where a high share of buyers rely on "jumbo loans"--those above $417,000, which cannot be insured by government lenders Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM - news - people ) or Freddie Mac (nyse: FRE - news - people )--potential homeowners with good credit have had a hard time getting a loan--or have had to accept the most inflated jumbo-loan interest rates of the last 20 years.

The good news? Economists are expecting more diverse mortgages to return to the market. This means buyers with good credit in healthy markets on the coasts will have an easier time getting loans.

"The first thing to come back will be [loans for] prime jumbos, to borrowers of good quality," says Doug Duncan, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. He also notes that slumping markets will have to wait longer: For lenders, "when prices are falling, you don't know if the collateral is going to hold up, which is why the securitization hasn't fully returned."

Google Goes Green

2008-01-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's not enough for Google to be the world's biggest search and advertising company. It now wants to power the globe.

The Mountain View, Calif., Internet giant officially jumped into the clean-tech fray Tuesday, saying it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to create alternative energy sources that are cheaper than coal, the world's dominant fuel source and pollutant.

Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) said its "Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal" initiative will focus initially on solar thermal power, wind power technologies, geothermal systems and other technologies.

"We have gained expertise in building data centers, but just providing energy for Google isn't enough of a goal," co-founder Larry Page said at a press conference. "Over 40% of [the world's] electricity is generated from coal. Solar thermal is cheaper than coal. The goal is to produce a gigawatt of energy in years, not decades." He noted that a gigawatt can power the city of San Francisco.

Solar thermal power, however, is not currently cheaper to produce than coal, but numerous start-ups around the world are trying to reduce solar's cost. Google.org, the company's philanthropic arm, has been working with solar thermal start-ups eSolar, of Pasadena, Calif., and Alameda, Calif.-based Makani Power, both of which are developing technologies to make solar energy generation less expensive. Google invested $10 million in Makani last year. Google.org Executive Director Larry Brilliant said the corporate initiative dovetails with the philanthropy's work on global health and climate change.

Co-founder Sergey Brin hinted that Google might invest in or acquire other clean-tech companies. He said Google likely will license the technologies, but the "goal is not to have huge margins. The goal is to replace dirty energy."

The company has already embarked on several clean-tech initiatives. It developed energy-saving technologies to power and cool its massive data centers around the world and erected a 1.6-megawatt solar panel at its headquarters. Google also supports plug-in hybrid vehicle technology and is part of a consortium of tech companies that advocates energy-efficient computers and servers.

Asked how its new clean-tech initiative fits into Google's core search and advertising business, Brin said it's part of the company's 70-20-10 rule. Seventy percent of Google's focus is on search and advertising, 20% is on Web applications and 10% "is up for grabs," Brin said. "I'd put this in the 10%, but it's crucial."

Perhaps more than launching its big, new program, Brin said he hopes the announcement will funnel top clean-tech job applicants to Google.

Best Cars For First-Time Drivers

2008-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

You've joked about it, fretted over it, and now the moment is at hand: Junior is learning to drive, eager to roll full-speed toward the open road.

If you're like most parents, you're not entirely sure your child is ready. Will he practice safety? Will she obey your instructions? Or will they tune you out and speed around town with a carload of friends?

Let's be clear on a key point: There's no question that how you drive is more important to safety than what you drive. The stoutest, most technically advanced vehicle in the world is still a potential death trap in the hands of a reckless or impaired driver; a vintage car with 100,000 miles on the odometer can still be driven safely.
Complete List: Best Cars For First-Time Drivers

Still, when it comes to buying a car for a first-timer, many parents would agree with experts that those with impressive safety features are tops. Choosing a car with stellar crash performance and features such as mandatory air-bags and electronic stability control can boost your child's odds in an accident and preserve your peace of mind.

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With that in mind, in compiling our list, we looked for 2008 models with comprehensive safety features in four vehicle classes: compact cars, midsize and large sedans, and compact sports utility vehicles. We left out subcompacts; although they are ultra-affordable and fuel-efficient, as a class they have easily the highest fatality rates of any cars or trucks. All 12 cars on our list received either four- or five-star ratings in government crash tests. All have curtain air bags and electronic stability control as standard or optional equipment.

Beyond safety, our first-car favorites are based on affordability, fuel economy and overall value. We set $25,000 as a maximum base price, well below the average new car's cost. Each model achieves average or better fuel economy for its class, based on federal mileage estimates. Each also achieves average or higher ratings for ownership costs--including fuel, insurance, financing, repair and maintenance costs and depreciation--this data was supplied by Vincentric, an automotive cost analysis company based in Michigan.

Safety First
In choosing a car that's apt to keep their kids in one piece, parents may have to balance competing interests. Subcompacts are often the most affordable, but usually not a good choice for a crash-prone driver.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which performs its own crash testing and ratings, takes a hard-line stand: It does not recommend any small cars or SUVs for younger drivers. Russ Rader, spokesman for the IIHS, says the institute favors midsize or full-size sedans, the latter being the safest vehicles overall.

"For a teenager, big and boring is better," he says. "The vehicles they want to drive are probably the ones you don't want them in."

Outside of wearing your seat belt, electronic stability control, or ESC, is now widely viewed as the biggest potential life-saver in an automobile. Electronic stability control can actually prevent accidents, reliably sensing and correcting a sudden loss of traction or control--something inexperienced drivers are least equipped to handle.

IIHS research of crash data--comparing models before and after ESC was installed--has shown that ESC systems reduce single-vehicle crashes by more than 40%, and fatal accidents by 56%. Projections indicate that equipping all cars with ESC could avoid up to 10,000 of the 34,000 fatal crashes each year.

The 2008 Subaru Impreza, one of three compact cars on our list, is the first and only compact car to be designated a Top Safety Pick by the IIHS. The award goes to models that achieve the highest possible scores in front, side and rear crash tests; whose headrests work effectively in crash testing; and that feature head-protecting side air bags and ESC.

Among compact SUVs, the Honda CR-V and Element benefit from Honda’s ongoing effort to be an industry leader in safety. Their features include sophisticated body configurations that also aim to reduce pedestrian injuries if struck in an accident. The CR-V and Element also garner IIHS Top Safety Pick awards when equipped with optional ESC systems.

For parents who can't afford a new car, the IIHS recommends buying a used car--midsize or larger--with as many modern safety features as possible.

Great With Gas
At $3 and more a gallon, it’s costing about $110 a month to fuel up the typical new car, with pickups, SUVs and minivans averaging about $145 a month. So for younger drivers with limited funds, and a tendency to borrow from mom and dad, a gas guzzler isn’t the answer.

It’s here that parents may find themselves balancing their needs: Again, subcompacts may sip the least fuel, but their crash protection can’t compete with that of bigger cars that as a rule get lower mileage.

As a midsize sedan, the Toyota Prius combines the security of a larger car with class-best EPA-rated fuel economy of 48/45 mpg in city and highway driving. And even for parents who demand a beefy full-size sedan, the Chevrolet Impala still manages a frugal 29 highway mpg with its 3.5-liter V-6.

Most Valuable Players
A first car isn't just a lesson in driving responsibility. Shrewd parents can make the car the latest introduction to the grown-up world of monthly bills, on-time credit payments and financial responsibility. If parents are footing all or part of the monthlies, the young driver might be expected to track payments, pick up the insurance, or cover gas and maintenance.

David Wurster, spokesman for Vincentric, says that focusing less on a monthly payment and more on total ownership costs--including fuel, insurance, repairs and depreciation--will not only save parents money, but provide a valuable financial education.

“If a younger driver really sees how much money goes into a vehicle, they may become a little smarter about not stretching their budget,” Wurster says. “They can learn that just because you can technically afford something, doesn’t mean you should buy it.”

For three consecutive years, the Honda Civic has topped all entry-level compacts for Vincentric’s Best Value in America designation, thanks to its affordability, low operating costs and tremendous resale value.

The Honda Accord, meanwhile, topped all 2008 midsize competitors with the highest projected residual value from Automotive Lease Guide, which tracks depreciation; Honda’s lineup as a whole ranks No. 1 among non-luxury brands for its projected residual values.

Best Of ForbesLife '07

2008-01-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

o you know how much the world's most expensive home costs? How about which of the sky's seats are the most spacious? Find out the answers to these and other questions with a look at ForbesLife's biggest stories of 2007. In addition to a rundown of the world's priciest properties and best airlines, we've got a ranking of the market's most dangerous cars, a sampling of the globe's ultra-luxe hotels, and a list of America's most unhealthy commutes

Enjoy and looks @ these links

Cheers
Get Flushed!!!

Chrysler's Last Stand

2008-01-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Will private ownership be the model that saves the struggling U.S. auto industry?

On a recent fall day the two new bosses at Chrysler traveled to the company's test track in Chelsea, Mich., an hour's drive west of Detroit. The two--Chief Executive Robert Nardelli and Vice Chairman James Press--were to spend the entire day poring over every vehicle in Chrysler's lineup. It wasn't pretty. There was the cheap-looking plastic on the dash of the Dodge Caliber. A poorly placed cruise control switch on the Chrysler 300. Windows that rolled down herky-jerky on the Jeep Grand Cherokee. But what was remarkable about this visit was that by the end of the day Nardelli had ordered more than 200 engineering changes to fix the array of problems and make improvements, at a cost of at least $100 million. The armrests and door grips would feel softer. Electronic windows would get one-touch switches. And yes, that cruise control button would be relocated. No lengthy meetings. No black-bound briefing books. Just get it done.

Chrysler has been running like a car with its accelerator stuck to the floor ever since it was bought last August for $7.4 billion by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Billion-dollar decisions that once took months to make are now made in minutes. Engineers are told to speed up quality improvements. Attention is being paid to making dealers happy.

All this amounts to a test of whether private owners can revive a stuck company in an industry wedded to stale ways and with weakening sales. Chrysler just announced that it would make even deeper cuts in its workforce and eliminate work shifts at several factories. After multiple brushes with death, it's no exaggeration to say this could be Chrysler's last chance.

The challenge--and prospects for riches--were among the reasons top-shelf talent like Press, Toyota Motor (nyse: TM - news - people )'s U.S. boss, and Deborah Wahl Meyer, Lexus' marketing chief, jumped ship to join the $62 billion (sales) company. Even Chrysler's former chief executive, Thomas LaSorda, shoved aside by Cerberus to make room for Nardelli, has stuck around. Rather than storm off, he volunteered to pack up his corner office and move across the hall at the company's Auburn Hills, Mich. headquarters. Everyone wants to see the results of this experiment.

Cerberus' purchase of Chrysler ended the automaker's nine-year, cross-cultural marriage with Germany's Daimler-Benz. The investment firm, whose $26 billion portfolio includes a hodgepodge of more than 50 companies, including several on our Largest Private Companies list, paid $7.4 billion for an 80.1% stake in Chrysler. (Daimler kept the remaining 19.9%.) The money went into Chrysler, not Daimler. Cerberus invested $5 billion in the auto business and pumped $1.5 billion into Chrysler Financial, the automaker's lending arm. The complex transaction resulted in a $680 million cash outflow for Daimler, whose acquisition of Chrysler in 1998 was valued at $36 billion. In essence, it cost Daimler that much to get Cerberus to take Chrysler (and Chrysler's health care liabilities) off its hands.

Cerberus got a company dependent on a narrow range of sales (trucks and sport utility vehicles), behind on key technologies, burdened by high U.S. labor costs (though the new labor contract with the uaw includes some savings) and having little presence outside of North America. Still, says former Treasury Secretary John Snow, Cerberus chairman: "There's a sense at Cerberus that U.S. manufacturing in general, and the auto industry in particular, continue to have a bright future, not only in America, but in the global economy." Cerberus' founder and chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, views saving Chrysler as a matter of national pride. "Feinberg is in this for the country. He sees this as a way to pay back, and so do I," says Press, 61, who spent 37 years at Toyota, pounding Detroit automakers, before joining Chrysler in September.

Patriotic fervor aside, for Cerberus and the people it hired to run Chrysler the money potential is huge. In a good year, such as Chrysler had in 1998, the company generated $5 billion in earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation. "There is a large handful of people who can get very, very wealthy off of this," says industry consultant Maryann Keller, a onetime prominent Wall Street analyst. "They realize, 'If I get this wrong, it will cost me millions, because I am an owner of this company.'" Cerberus plans to give hundreds of other managers a share in the company as well, says Nardelli.

Cerberus says it's committed to Chrysler for the long term, but it is not in this business for its health. It will likely take Chrysler public again some day. AerCap (nyse: AER - news - people ), an aircraft leasing and financing company headquartered in the Netherlands, is one success. After investing $370 million in a 2005 buyout, Cerberus helped it recapitalize and fix its business model, then did a 2006 initial offering, turning its investment into $1.5 billion.

As a private company Chrysler has the latitude to make long-term decisions that would have been difficult, if not impossible, to justify in a world where shareholders punish companies for missing earnings projections by a penny per share. For example, Chrysler is selling $1 billion worth of unneeded real estate at what appear to be motivated-seller prices. It needs the cash.

Three days after closing the deal Cerberus installed Nardelli, the controversial former boss of Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ), as Chrysler's chief executive. Known for his imperious attitude and enormous pay package, Nardelli, 59, alienated customers and employees alike with his push to centralize Home Depot's store operations. Yet on financial metrics (other than the share price), Home Depot's performance was strong, at least until the housing industry slowed.

America's Unhealthy Commutes

2008-01-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

You might have heard that your commute is killing you. But it's not the doughnut and jumbo-sized coffee you've been downing every morning that's doing it.

What's really taking a toll on your health is the polluted air you're breathing, lengthy traffic delays and dodging accidents to and from work. Even as the stress mounts, we put up with it, since most of us can't afford to or don't want to live near our offices.

"It's a lifestyle choice," says David Rizzo, author of Survive the Drive! How to Beat Freeway Traffic in Southern California. "We put our health second. To have a big house, we're willing to put up with smog and a big drive. We sacrifice our longevity for short-term gains."
In Pictures: America's Unhealthy Commutes

Behind The Numbers
To figure out which region is faring worst, we looked at three issues facing the country's 25 largest metropolitan areas.

First, we examined year-round particle pollution levels based on rankings by the American Lung Association, which used air monitoring data that states submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003-05. To estimate the time people spend in rush hour traffic, we used the Texas Transportation Institute's 2005 Urban Mobility Report, which calculated annual delays per traveler during peak hours in urban areas nationwide.

Finally, to get a sense of how dangerous the roads are, we compiled the number of per-capita fatal car accidents each region had in 2005 using the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

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Topping the list were Riverside, Calif., followed by Atlanta and Los Angeles. Rounding out the top five were Houston and Washington, D.C., which tied.

SoCal's Triple Whammy
Not only do commuters in Southern California inhale the worst year-round particle pollution levels, but Riverside drivers also face the highest rate of fatal auto accidents per capita, and Los Angeles drivers spend the most time sitting in traffic. In 2003, the annual delay per traveler there was 93 hours.

Long commutes, research has shown, can lead to loss of short-term memory, more days of missed work and such ailments as higher blood pressure, muscle tension and an accelerated heart rate.

Part of the problem is that, unlike New York City, where companies such as Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) are headquartered, Los Angeles doesn't have a single activity center. Instead it has a couple dozen, says Texas Transportation Institute research engineer Tim Lomax. As a result, most people have to drive long distances to get to their jobs, causing congestion and a higher likelihood of accidents. Companies headquartered here include the Walt Disney Co. (nyse: DIS - news - people ), and Northrup Grumman (nyse: NOC - news - people ).

And because of its location in a basin, pollution in the Los Angeles area caused by diesel exhaust, barges, locomotives and other sources tends to stay put, says Janice Nolen, assistant vice president with National Policy and Advocacy for the American Lung Association.

Pollution Punch
While drivers busy trying to get to work may not notice it, the exposure is hurting them.

Ultra-fine particulate matter has been linked with premature death, cardiovascular disease and respiratory illness, according to the California Air Resources Board. Though it takes Americans an average of 25 minutes to drive to work, according to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau figures, the board estimates that over 50% of a person's daily exposure to ultra-fine particles can occur during a commute.

Likewise, a 2005 study by researchers at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine showed that long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter may contribute to atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries.

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"Particle pollution kills people, whether they're breathing it in over a short period or day in and day out for a year," Nolen says. "It's not like being hit by a car, but it shortens the lives of people by months to years."

Even if you live in a city with low pollution levels, don't kid yourself; that doesn't necessarily mean your commute is healthy. A 2007 report by the Clean Air Task Force that investigated diesel exhaust levels during commutes in New York, Boston, Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, documented diesel particle levels four to eight times higher inside commuter cars, buses and trains than in those cities' ambient outdoor air.

The only commutes found to be low in diesel exposure were those on electric-powered subways and commuter trains, buses running on alternative fuels or retrofitted with diesel particulate filters, and in cars traveling with little truck traffic.

Top Tips
While you can't exactly control the safety levels of the roads you're driving on, and moving may not be on your agenda, you can do something.

To minimize your exposure to pollution, Conrad Schneider, advocacy director for the Clean Air Task Force, says drivers should try to avoid roads filled with trucks' diesel exhaust. If you can't avoid traveling with trucks, close your windows and set your air to recirculate. Of course, carpooling or taking public transit can cut congestion and travel times. You could also support the Clean Air Task Force and the American Lung Association's campaigns, which urge the EPA to set stricter pollution standards.

"There's no excuse in 2007 to have trucks belch black smoke in our faces when there are solutions to reduce the problem," Schneider says.

Most Popular Cars For Men And Women

2008-01-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

To buy the Chevy Silverado heavy-duty pickup, some might argue that in addition to the $22,225 sticker price, you also need a Y chromosome. That's because 93% of the truck's buyers are men. In fact, males own about nine out of 10 heavy-duty pickup trucks on the road, according to findings by AutoPacific, a market research firm focused on the auto industry.

Womens' tastes run a little more refined. AutoPacific found that female buyers most often choose models by Saturn, Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ) and Volkswagen (other-otc: VLKAF.PK - news - people ).

What gives? Though car companies typically avoid making gender-specific vehicles, says Jim Hossick, vice president and senior consultant at AutoPacific, "some cars are more masculine or feminine by nature."
In Pictures: Most Popular Cars For Men And Women

The market's male-friendly cars include the Ford F-350 and the Dodge Ram, of which men own 93% and 89%, respectively. Chrysler spokesperson Dan Bodene says it is a combination of marketing and design that has created such disproportionate numbers.

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The "Built Ford Tough" tag line, for example, can be heard during commercial breaks in NFL games, and other ads for the beefy F-Series feature burly men in cowboy hats.

"It depends on the model, but the Ram tends to be used by guys who need the capability, either as heads of households hauling a lot of stuff, or on job sites in male-dominated professions," says Bodene. Consequently, door handles need to be large enough for a man's gloved hand, and seats need to be able to move far enough away from the steering wheel to accommodate larger bodies--the average American man is five and half inches taller and 27 pounds heavier than the average woman.

But it's an equal-opportunity marketplace, and carmakers try to design vehicles--even heavy-duty pickups--that won't discourage any potential buyers. Tailgates must be light enough for all types of people to lift, and seatbelts must be comfortable for male and female body types.

Women-Friendly Wheels
While AutoPacific's data shows brands such as Hummer, Dodge, Porsche and GMC are most popular among men, models produced by Saturn, Honda, Volkswagen and Hyundai are the biggest hits with female drivers.

An estimated 65% of Volkswagen Beetle Convertible buyers are female. The New Beetle, with a 5-cylinder engine, is nearing a decade of production; the soft-top model came on the market in 2003.

VW spokesperson Keith Price acknowledges the New Beetle is purchased and driven more by females, but says it was not a result of designers trying to make a women's car.

"It happened more organically," says Price, explaining that the car was initially launched to have dual appeal. After the New Beetle had been out for a few years, and sales data started piling up, VW marketers then found ways to benefit from its popularity among women--stylish designs cues and more feminine colors such as "gecko green" and "sunflower yellow."

"The female appeal of the car is one of the things that has sustained it over the years without a great deal of aesthetic change," says Price, "but VW does absolutely not consider it 'a woman's car.'"

All Show and No Go
In fact, the notion of a "female" automobile has become long outdated.

"People who have tried to make a vehicle that is female-centric have failed," says Hossick. "Women might buy a 'man's' vehicle, but men won't buy a 'women's' car."

The most famous attempt was the Dodge LaFemme, dreamt up by marketers trying to capitalize on the growing interest in automobile ownership among women in the early 1950s. The car sported pink upholstery patterned with rosebuds and came with a matching purse, raincoat and umbrella. It was outfitted with lipstick holders and painted a new shade, dubbed Heather Rose.

Dodge gave it a 218-Hp V8 engine--a lot more muscle than today's top sellers among women, like the 140-Hp Hyundai Tucson--but the LaFemme only made it through two years of production, with sales estimated around 2,500.

"Women were generally offended by it, and men wouldn't touch it with a stick," says Hossick. "If you can't sell a car to boys and you can't sell it to girls, then the market is going to be pretty small."

Delhi Theater Owners Convicted In Fire Tragedy

2007-12-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

Ten years after a cinema hall fire that killed 59 people in New Delhi, on Tuesday a court found its owners guilty of death by negligence, a verdict that the victims’ relatives criticized as too mild.

The theater owners, Sushil and Gopal Ansal, now face jail time of two years and a fine, legal experts say. The sentences will be officially handed out Wednesday.

The Patiala House Court also found 10 others guilty in the case, including a fire services officer and theater managers. Seven accused were convicted of offenses carrying a sentence of life imprisonment.

Judge Mamta Sehgal also said the Ansals, who own Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (other-otc: ANSFF - news - people ), violated the Cinematography Act and had not adhered to proper fire safety norms in order to maximize profits.

A fire broke out in the Uphaar Cinema hall in south Delhi on June 13, 1997, when people were watching the war film Border. Sixteen people were accused in the case, four of whom died in the long period that the case has run over. All of the accused are out on bail. Last year, an inquiry concluded there would have been fewer deaths if the doors to the exit stairs hadn’t been shut when the fire broke out.

In 2003, a Delhi court ordered that the victims’ families be given 180 million rupees ($4.57 million) as compensation.

The victims’ relatives have campaigned endlessly for those accused to be brought to book, but Tuesday’s verdict wasn’t the end the story as far as they were concerned. Neelam Krishnamurthy, head of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, slammed the court’s decision as a “travesty of justice.

“You give a death sentence for killing one person and for killing 59 people how could you give two years, that is something I cannot understand?” she told reporters in New Delhi. Krishnamurthy lost her teenage son and daughter to the fire.

“Even if the punishment comes to two years, it would roughly work out to 12 days [of imprisonment] per deceased,” she said, adding that the association would appeal the verdict.

Others were more sanguine. Shekhar Krishnamurthy, Neelam’s husband, told media: “My children will not return, but the verdict has shown the way. Justice has prevailed and the power of money has been defeated.” He said his family dealt with threats and harassment to drop the case.

Building fires and collapses are not uncommon in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, where there is an absence of proper fire safety measures as well as common use of improper construction materials and methods that all too frequently leads to building collapses. At a recent real estate conference, foreign investors complained that in India the ratio of property prices to construction costs is 70:30, significantly lower than global standards and indicative that construction workers often cut cost

Knight's Crusade To Save HSBC

2007-12-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

Eric Knight is more confident than ever that he will crack British bank HSBC.

The chief executive and founder of Knight Vinke Asset Management--an investment firm that seeks to make big changes through small stakes in "inefficient" companies--is stepping up efforts to expose what he sees as a lack of independent analysis on the board of HSBC (nyse: HBC - news - people ). (See "HSBC Under The Microscope")

"We are two months into a three-year campaign," he declared Friday, adding that so far Knight Vinke had only spent "a fraction" of the money it intended to throw at its latest activist adventure.

So far, the two months have yielded mixed results, with only a handful of HSBC shareholders offering their public support for Knight Vinke's latest crusade. British fund manager New Star Asset Management said it appreciated Knight's efforts to boost the bank's share price last month, which added to the support of California's state pension fund Calpers. But these investors represent a drop in the ocean relative to HSBC's market capitalization of £96.2 billion ($198.2 billion), with Knight Vinke and New Star together accounting for approximately 1% of the firm's equity.

Knight countered on Friday that by concentrating on weak public shareholder support for his campaign, his critics missed "80% of the point." "We are long-term investors," he said, explaining that this was the beginning of a long and concerted effort to publicize the failings of HSBC's corporate governance.

According to Knight Vinke, the board of HSBC lacks independence and transparency. Only eight out of fifteen board members are independent, and the fact that the chairman is not independent is also a major concern for the activist investment firm.

"They are not bankers, not most of them," said Glen Suarez, chief investment officer at Knight Vinke, adding: "they have got to constructively challenge the executives."

Knight said that he wanted to eventually appoint an external advisor to the board, but would not disclose who he had in mind.

The question is whether Knight will dig up enough mud to sling at HSBC in order to convince shareholders at large that changes need to be made. The current topic he is pushing concerns an executive remuneration scheme, known as "the plan," which was approved by shareholders in 2005. Knight claims that investors were misled about the terms of the remuneration, which set higher performance targets than were actually put in place.

"It is absolutely clear to us that many of HSBC's largest shareholders were not made aware of the full details of the scheme which permits substantial performance-related payments to be made for no performance at all," said Knight Vinke Friday.

But whether the mud will stick, especially over the next three years, is a bigger concern. Although Knight sees himself as the inspiration for several major deals, from Suez (nyse: SZE - news - people )' acquisition of Belgian utility Electrabel in 2005 to Royal Dutch Shell (nyse: RDS.A - news - people )'s combination of its British and Dutch operations in 2004, the current financial climate may give other investors bigger worries than the corporate structure of HSBC

Waiting For Imus

2007-12-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Much like Beckett's tramps and their patient vigil for Godot, I've been waiting for Imus. Or rather, for his return after seven months of exile.

His sabbatical, as New York weekly the Observer politely puts it, ends this coming Monday morning at dawn. Imus and his madcap troupe will be back in morning drive time on Citadel Broadcasting's (nyse: CDL - news - people ) flagship WABC in New York and a scattering of other stations, the beginnings of what is expected to be a national syndication and eventually, if not sooner, a TV spinoff.

I don't know if they measure such things, but I expect this one will draw the biggest audience ever for an AM station show airing at 6 in the morning.

Imus, as far as I'm concerned, is the single most intelligent, sensitive and occasionally orneriest broadcaster there has ever been, the opposite poles of his personality as disparate as his moods. He said something both brutal and stupid last April, and there were some who stood with him and others who didn't. I think most of us are happy that his period in the wilderness is now coming to an end.

I am especially happy that Bernie McGuirk is back. He never had the millions Imus had, and there were school bills to pay. I called ABC the other day to ask if he was going to be on the air again or reduced to producer/writer. I asked for the PR person. "There isn't one." Then give me the GM. "Can I answer your question?" the young woman said. Sure. "Well, it's the whole cast of the same characters."

Would McGuirk be on-air or producing only? She didn't know that. She didn't sound like the kind of person who would lie to a reporter, so I thanked her and concluded ABC has some damned nice people answering phones over there.

Chuck McCord, well, he's back. I talked to him after the whole mess began, when he kept his mouth shut and the others didn't. Now he and Imus are back together again, and I'm glad of it. And not too happy about the people who used to be on Imus in the Morning and then recoiled. And now some of them say, "Well, we'll be back."

Others are still waxing pious. Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." A few are in proximate peril of rupturing themselves with their anguished indecision. All I know is, I miss the guy and am grateful for his book plugs.

Aw, to hell. Whom am I to lecture or preach? Some months ago, I wrote that Imus would be back, somewhere, somehow, and now he is and let's see what happens after this. The Observer story said James Carville will be back. I know Kinky Friedman will be there. None of the Newsweek people will. The magazine's ruling, not that of the individual writers and editors.

Tim Russert told the Observer he'd changed his mind, that now he believes in rehabilitation. Then again, he might have to check with NBC. Equivocation? Or honest uncertainty? As to those like Carville who don't shilly-shally, is this "buddy-buddy bigotry," as the Observer suggests, or old-fashioned loyalty?

Clarence Page is quoted as disagreeing with other black journalists who want Imus banned. "You make a martyr out of him. It's not worth it. He's not worth it." Carville says, "I defend the speaker. Not the speech." And Friedman cracks, "God created one perfect man. His name was Al Sharpton."

What about Imus' favorite triumvirate at The New York Times--Mo Dowd, Frank Rich, Tom Friedman? Will they return to the fold? Will the paper rule on it? Will we hear Ken Auletta again on the Imus show? Back in 1998, Auletta profiled him for The New Yorker, opening with this passage, "The Don is not pleased when visitors blather. He holds grudges, he is personally insulted when companies don't reward his favorite charity, and if don't amuse him, you're whacked. Every morning he is quick to let loose on "wimps," "jerks," "weasels" and "punks."

All this nine years ago was in very good humor on Auletta's part. But now? That's part of the tension building as Dec. 3 nears. Who's with the guy, who's against him? And who just doesn't give a damn?"

Some love him, some don't, and then there's self-interest. Why couldn't Imus have come back just one month earlier? When I needed him. For years I've done a first interview with Imus on every new publication date. This November he didn't have a show. I sent producer McGuirk a copy of the new one with a wry note about this being just for his own entertainment. Since he had no show to book, there was no one out there for me to "suck up" to.

And now? He's back on the air. Hey, Imus, I've got another lousy book to pitch.

Or as WABC's admirably bottom-line operations manager, Phil Boyce, puts it, "There's a lot of money to be made there. And we're in the business of making money."

Pipeline Diplomacy for Prodi, Putin

2007-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Whatever tough talking goes on between the European Union and Russia, it's business as usual for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and many of Europe's top political leaders, who are keen to keep friendly with the continent's premier energy supplier.

Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi flew out to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss, among other things, a major pipeline project that would involve their energy giants Eni (nyse: E - news - people ) and Gazprom (other-otc: OGZPY - news - people ).

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that the so-called South Stream project, which would transport natural gas from Russia to countries in Southern Europe, including Italy, would top of the agenda.

Eni and Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding to carry out the joint venture in June, sparking concerns about the future of the Nabucco project, planned by a consortium involving OMV (other-otc: OMVJF - news - people ) of Austria, which is aimed at supplying the same countries. The proposed Nabucco pipeline would run from Central Asia through Turkey to Europe, and has garnered support across the EU on the grounds that it offers an alternative to Russian natural gas supplies. (See: " Gazprom Flexes Its Muscles, Again")

The South Stream pipeline would replace a planned extension of Russia's existing Blue Stream project, which runs through Turkey, and would mean that it could avoid having to deal with some of its Eastern European neighbors, with whom relations have become increasingly frosty.

According to RIA Novosti, an agreement to create a joint company for the pipeline project could be signed during Prodi's trip.

Putin has attempted to allay fears, telling a conference in June that the pipeline would "undoubtedly improve energy supplies to Europe as a whole." However Russia's tough treatment of its eastern neighbours such as Belarus and Ukraine, who it threatened to cut off or reduce natural gas supplies to if payments were not made, has not helped its already tainted reputation. Gazprom, which is state-controlled, has triggered particular concerns, amid fears that it would use Europe's dependence on it for energy as leverage to achieve its foreign policy goals. (See: " Gazprom Hisses At Ukraine")

Though the European Union is now considering so-called unbundling legislation, which could force energy producers such as Gazprom to sell distribution assets, business ties between most European countries and Russia have remained strong. In April, Eni and another Italian energy company, Enel (nyse: EN - news - people ), bought Russian oil and gas assets worth $5.8 billon, including a 20.0% stake in GazpromNeft, Gazprom's oil division, and the whole of Arctic Gas and Urengoil

Brown Burnt By Data Bungle

2007-12-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

Brits love their privacy, so it's hardly surprising they've balked at news that two compact disks containing half the country's personal and financial details, were lost last month by a government official. The person who's getting the flak for all this is, of course, Gordon Brown, the former treasury secretary who recently succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister.

He must be hoping he can cling on his reputation for careful prudence, something that has made him look duller than Blair, but till now has proven to be his best asset as prime minister.

Brown thus gave his "profound apologies" at his weekly question and answer session with parliament on Wednesday for the bungle, in which a junior official from HM Revenue & Customs, the government department that collects and administers taxes, sent two CDs of password-protected child benefit records to an audit office in London via courier service.

Neither of the two CDs, which contained the names, addresses, and bank account details of 29 million Britons, was recorded or registered, and presumed lost. Which means, among other things, that the Forbes.com list of the world's worst cybersecurity meltdowns might soon need to be revised.

Former workers at HM Revenue & Customs have now written on the BBC's Web site that they weren't surprised by the slip up. The recent merger of Britain's inland revenue and customs and excise departments, had apparently left behind myriad inefficiencies.

Gordon Brown had run those two departments for eight years, and personally oversaw their merger in 2005. The idea had been then that by creating a single tax-collection agency, the government could save money and cut down on labor and administration costs.

But press reports at that time also said it would be difficult to bring the two departments together because there would be a significant clash of cultures.

Alistair Darling, the man who has filled Brown's shoes as Britain's top bean counter, has denied that the merger of the two departments has had anything to do with the slip up.

But while it's easy to place blame on one junior official, it still looks as though the system that was in place has been out of kilter--and it's a system that Gordon Brown helped create.

"I profoundly regret and apologize for the inconvenience and worries that have been caused to millions of families who receive child benefits," Brown told members of parliament on Wednesday afternoon in London.

The prime minister and Darling are still reeling from the public's reaction to the Northern Rock (other-otc: NHRKF - news - people ) crisis.

The mortgage lender has seen its shares plummet some 90% in the last three months after admitting in August that the credit crisis had squeezed it of the cash it needed to run its business. On Wednesday it finally said it had received a takeover bid--but it was dishearteningly below its current market price. (See: "Northern Rock Bids Head South")

The issue has become fiercely political, since the government is now lending money to Northern Rock; the opposition party claims that that could cost British tax payers up to £40 billion ($82.6 billion).

Brown fortunately does not to have an election on the horizon for some years to come. But in a time of weakening economic confidence, Britain wants to be able to trust its former top tax man, and it is finding that increasingly difficult.

If Security Is Expensive, Try Getting Hacked

2007-12-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Oops. Last week, the British government conceded that it had misplaced 25 million private records of its citizens. That blunder was just the latest in a series of embarrassing data debacles--remember how retailer TJX lost 45 million customers' credit card details to hackers in January? Altogether, 2007 will go down in the record books as a thoroughly lousy year for keeping information private.

And now, it seems, consumers are getting fed up.

A set of case studies released Wednesday by the Ponemon Institute surveyed 35 companies that had experienced data breaches and found the average cost of a private information leak in 2007 to be $6.3 million, up from $4.8 million in 2006. Specifically, breached companies reported that the costs stemming from lost customers after a data leak accounted for 65% of that financial hit, compared with 54% in both 2006 and 2005.

The study, which was sponsored by security firms Vontu and PGP, points to a public that's increasingly wary of data privacy issues. Of the $198 average cost of each personal record lost this year, about $18 was spent on finding new customers to replace those who fled following a breach--up from $14.50 spent on customer acquisition in 2006 and just $7 in 2005. Companies are also spending more on public relations damage control after data security incidents: 3% of data breach costs are now associated with post-breach P.R., compared with just 1% last year, and practically nothing in 2005.

The rising consumer backlash against data breaches has grown steadily in the past two years with the passage of laws (beginning in 2003) requiring that breached companies notify victims. California was the first to enact such a notification law. Thirty-four other states have since followed suit.

"It turns out people really care about these notifications," says Larry Ponemon, director of the Ponemon Institute. "Consumers have an expectation that there's a certain level of stewardship of personal information. When they receive notice that their data has been lost, they get concerned and annoyed, they stop thinking about a company in a positive light and they leave."

Curiously enough, malicious software and malevolent hackers only accounted for about 9% of the data breaches analyzed. Instead, the study pointed up the need for more internal security, particularly when working with outsourced contractors. The study attributed 40% of the breaches to third-party organizations such as consultants, up from 29% in 2006 and 21% in 2005. Mobile devices, including laptops and USB devices, were also cited in nearly half the breaches.

Ponemon contends that the connection between a breach and actual identity theft is far from clear. In initial studies, his researchers have failed to find any statistically significant correlation between a consumer's data being exposed in a breach and that consumer's probability of being targeted by fraudsters.

Despite that hazy link, large scale breaches like January's TJX (nyse: TJX - news - people ) hack have drawn unprecedented media attention to data security issues. TJX's penetration by electronic intruders who wirelessly ferreted off data between May of 2005 and January of this year has already cost the company around $256 million, by its own accounting.

Ponemon says that most breaches are on a far smaller scale. The Institute's study excluded "data catastrophes"--like TJX's breach or the Veteran Administration loss of more than 25 million private records in 2006--to achieve more meaningful results. But he argues that those large-scale data hemorrhages have changed the way the average person sees privacy concerns.

"The media has really raised awareness about the danger of identity theft," he says. "Whether that's just spreading fear, uncertainty and dismay or whether it's reality remains to be seen."

The financial impact firms feel from that combination of greater public awareness and the notification laws mean that companies need to pour more resources into protecting their customers' data, says Ponemon. "Now that we have these notification requirements, we can see who's good at this, and who's really awful at this," he says. "When a company exposes a security event to the public, the cost of lost business is much greater than a regulator's fine or lawsuits. The stakes for security are really raised."

Chrysler Needs A Smart Plan

2007-12-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

Here is the story:

New owners had taken over a Detroit automaker with 12% of the U.S. market. The company was struggling, the product lineup was confused and some of the vehicles were uncompetitive.

This sounds a lot like Chrysler LLC, the newly independent U.S. automaker--but I am talking about 1921 and General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ). To deal with its crisis in the 1920s, GM set up a special committee to study product polices, headed by Alfred P. Sloan Jr.

The outcome? GM killed some nameplates, such as Sheridan and Scripps-Booth. More important, Sloan set up a product direction and an organizational system that led GM to the top of the automotive world before the decade was over.

The most crucial issue facing Chrysler today is that many of its leading sellers are in troubled markets. Minivans helped save the company in the 1980s and 1990s, but this market is now shrinking. In the last 10 months, as it wound down production of the old model and ramped up production of a brand-new vehicle, the company sold 253,000 Chrysler and Dodge minivans.

With $4-per-gallon gasoline a possibility, minivans offer more practical, sensible and fuel-efficient transportation than sport utility vehicles. GM and Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) are abandoning the minivan market, so Chrysler may be able to sustain its recent sales volume or even post some gains. Instead, this business could sink--unless Chrysler figures out a way to break the stereotype image of minivans as soccer-mom vehicles.

Rising gasoline prices and the housing slump may have the opposite effect on Chrysler's other high-volume vehicle, the Dodge Ram pickup. It sold 302,000 of these big pickups through the first 10 months of this year, but this market is getting fiercely competitive with Toyota's (nyse: TM - news - people ) new Tundra and the sales war between GM and Ford. As if this wasn't bad enough, spy photos of the future Ram pickup indicate the stylists want to feminize Ram, destroying the tough look that made the pickup so popular.

Chrysler's other big challenge is making sense out of an irrational dealer plan. A few years ago, the company decided to push its dealers together so that single dealers sell Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. This three-brands-under-one-roof is an idea that has never worked. The best system--proved over 100 years of car selling--is one showroom selling one brand.

While the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro sport utility vehicles each have their own unique styling, they are sisters under the skin. The Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger also share a platform. When such vehicles are all in the same showroom, they compete with each other and confuse customers.

Chrysler has already announced it would discontinue the Chrysler Crossfire two-seater, the Pacifica, PT Cruiser convertible and Dodge Magnum. This shows the problem of trimming the lineup. The Pacifica is a crossover sport utility vehicle, and that is a growing market. Pacifica sales are slumping (probably 55,000 this year vs. 86,000 in calendar 2005), but the vehicle is overdue for a redesign. It also suffers from inept marketing, like all of Chrysler's vehicles.

The Dodge Magnum is a low-slung station wagon, and is never a huge seller--52,000 sales two years ago to less than 30,000 this year. Again, I would blame some of the failure of the stylish Magnum on terrible marketing.

As for that PT Cruiser convertible, it seems part of a plan, conceived before the new owners took over Chrysler, to kill the entire PT lineup. The company has sold more than 1 million PTs (mostly the five-door wagon/hatchback model). Alas, the creators of the PT, a great-looking vehicle, left Chrysler and took key positions in General Motors, and the PT became "nobody's baby."

Having a low-price car like the PT wearing the Chrysler badge cripples any effort to make Chrysler an upscale division. Of course, the PT was to be a Plymouth until Chrysler killed that nameplate. Chrysler's new owners are supposed to be sharp businessmen, so I find it hard to understand how they have agreed to phase out its most successful small vehicle, just when everyone is worrying about energy prices.

The risk in phasing out vehicles and closing factories is that it just continues a downward spiral. The latest reports are that the new leaders are considering turning Dodge into a pure truck division, getting rid of all its cars. It would make sense in avoiding duplication, but would wipe out some of Chrysler's best cars. It would destroy the effort to make Dodge a global brand, and frankly, be as dumb as the decision to eliminate the PT Cruiser. I can also tell you this: re-badging the upcoming Dodge Challenger sports coupe as a Chrysler will just not work.

On top of this is the imbalance in the Chrysler lineup--heavy on Jeeps and other SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans. Only a third of Chrysler sales are in what we call passenger cars, and that is with counting the PT Cruiser in that category. Let's not forget the complaints about quality, design and interiors.

What would I do if I were running Chrysler? My first goal would be to stop the process of combining dealers. I would do my best to make Jeep an independent franchise. I would create a new Chrysler-Plymouth sub-franchise that imitates the BMW-Mini and Toyota-Scion strategies. Under Plymouth, I would sell an expanded PT Cruiser line and a less-expensive version of the minivan.

I would turn soccer moms into heroines. After all, soccer is a growing sport.

None of this sounds like much, I know. I am not Alfred P. Sloan Jr.

Somewhere at Chrysler, there must be man with a plan.

Top Treats For Gadget-Lovers

2007-12-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Giving the gift of a gadget this holiday season?

It should be a fairly painless task, as the latest must-have toys succeed in both form and function.

"This season, everything really is sleeker, more compact and boasts more features," says Heather Dale, an associate editor at geeksugar.com, an online gadget guide. "They also have some style to them."
Complete List: Ten Must-Give Gadgets

These include the iPod Touch and the Chestnut Hill George iPod Stereo System. With the same slick interface as Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) hit iPhone, the Touch lets users glide through movies, music and images with a gentle tap to the screen. There's also internet access, a keyboard for simple browsing and an ambient light sensor that adjusts the screen's brightness to your surroundings. Essentially, it's the phone without the phone service--perfect for those stuck in a Sprint contract.

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The George iPod stereo system functions much like your old-school stereo system. It delivers party-worthy sound via its speakers, subwoofer and three amplifiers. But unlike older models, everything is built into a single unit that includes an iPod dock with five universal adapters to accommodate older iPod models--other portable audio players can be accommodated with an auxiliary jack. The wireless remote allows for easy music library browsing, and there's even a digital AM/FM tuner for NPR marathons.

Small-Screen Standouts
TVs are also getting smarter. Among Dale's holiday picks is the Sony Bravia S Series LCD flat panel HDTV. Not only does this high-def television promise a detailed, dynamic picture, it also lets you stream videos from your favorite Web sites right onto the screen with a connector wire.

But the best part of this TV, according to Dale, is its built-in light sensor: The screen automatically adjusts to the brightness of your room. Available in a slew of candy-bright colors, the TV also comes in black and white.

For the slightly sophisticated techie, consider the FlipStart Mini PC. Microsoft's Paul Allen is said to be a fan of the tiny clamshell, which measures just 5.9 inches by 4.5 inches and weighs only one and a half pounds. With a six-hour run time, you can connect to the internet via wi-fi or Bluetooth, run Windows XP Professional or Vista, and even participate in Skype videoconferencing with the integrated camera.

The budding documentary filmmaker on your list might like the Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder. This easy-to-use, pocket-sized piece lets you log 60 minutes of footage with good results in both low and bright light. There's a playback screen for instant viewing and deleting, and a tripod mount for those with a shaky hand.

What makes this camcorder essential is its simple sharing function. The flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your computer--no wires required--and the built-in software allows for instant viewing, editing, emailing and uploading.

Stephen Baker, industry analyst at the market research firm NPD Group, says a camera like the Flip Video Ultra Series will be popular because it caters to the mass market without seeming generic.

"The main purpose of a camcorder like this is to upload short videos onto your computer or the Internet," he says. "They've made that function so obvious and intuitive, which makes people want to buy it. And a rainbow of colors is a nice feature that will get the product noticed in the first place."

Pretty Pieces
For a product jam-packed with capabilities, grab the newest smart phone from Research in Motion (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people )--the BlackBerry Pearl 8130. The latest version of this popular mobile device features video streaming as well as a 2-megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and an enhanced flash. The memory expansion slot creates extra room for an overflowing inbox and the media player allows users to create and edit playlists right on the handset.

If your gadget fan can't get enough of seriously styled devices, take a look at the new FireWire speakers from LaCie, a company known for its slick computer hardware and accessories. These Neil Poulton-designed speakers provide an uncluttered, single-wire connection. And there's no need for an AC adapter or batteries--the speakers will run off your mp3 player or a FireWire port, also available on the LaCie Web site. This direct connection allows for a clearer sound--gone is the distortion that results from using a headphone jack, or the power drain that happens with USB connectors.

Products with a little bit of style and a lot of ease--nothing makes for better gifts for the device-laden gadget guru.

Abrahams Scandal Bedevils British Labor Party

2007-12-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

After the mayhem at Northern Rock and a data bungle in which the bank details of 29 million Britons got lost in the post, you could be excused for thinking things couldn’t really get worse for Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but you would be wrong. The Labor government plunged headfirst into another controversy during the weekend after it emerged that David Abrahams, a British businessman, had donated thousands of pounds to the Labor party using intermediaries to hide his identity, a breach of the strict rules governing the funding of political parties.

The £600,000 ($1.2 million) donation may seem small compared to the money floating around political parties in the U.S. However, party funding has become a hugely sensitive issue in British politics, particularly after the so-called "cash for peerages" scandal last year in which donations made by individuals to political parties were not made public. (See: " Was Washington Right About Parties?")

The first casualty of the latest scandal has been the Labor Party's own general secretary Peter Watt, who resigned after admitting he knew about the donations but had misread the rules on declaring origin. Brown declared on Tuesday he hadn't been aware of the origins of the money until last Saturday and said an inquiry was already underway. He described the situation as "completely unacceptable" and promised that the money would be returned.

Abrahams, a property developer based in the British city of Newcastle has strong ties to the Labor party, serving in local government for a while, as his parents had before him, and donating money to the party for over 40 years. He was even chosen as a parliamentary candidate in 1992 but was eventually deselected amid concerns about his personal and business dealings.

Defending his decision to recently donate money through "friends" Janet Kidd and Ray Ruddick, he told the BBC that he was "a very private person" who "did not seek publicity." Details on his life are certainly few, far between and even contradictory--he has said that his year of birth was 1954, though reports in many British newspapers say it is actually 1944.

The timing of the scandal couldn't be worse for a Labor party losing popularity and trust as rapidly as it gained it after Brown took over the reigns from Tony Blair in July. (See: " Brown Steps Up At Last")

In addition to accusations that the government could have prevented Northern Rock (other-otc: NHRKF - news - people ) from been forced to turn to the Bank of England as a lender of last resort, Brown came under tremendous pressure after dithering about whether or not to hold a general election before the end of the year. Last week Brown was forced to issue his "profound apologies" after two CDs contained password-protected child benefit recoreds were lost while being sent to an audit office in London. (

Q&A: REI's Sally Jewell On Green Business

2007-12-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

REI has a multi-pronged environmental strategy--you buy clean power, build green buildings and use green packaging, just to name a few examples. Environmentally speaking, what is the company most focused on right now?

Sally Jewell: We like to say that the best electron is the one you don't use. One of the key things that we are working on very extensively is reducing energy consumption. We have in our plans, our 2008 budget, to convert between 15 and 20 stores to solar. That won't take 100% of the energy needs of those stores, but it will be 15% to 30% depending on the market.

Many businesses are investing in carbon-offset projects in developing countries, but REI buys renewable energy credits, sometimes called "green tags," to promote the use of clean energy here in the U.S. Why?

We consider the use of carbon offsets, or green tags, to be kind of the last resort, where we don't have an opportunity to directly influence the emissions of carbon. [ The company's adventure-travel division, REI Adventures, uses green tags to offset carbon emissions.] We offset about 30% of our greenhouse gas footprint by actually buying [renewable] power. That's better and more direct than buying green tags.

Many companies are also struggling to make sure their supply chains are socially responsible and environmentally friendly because they have little control over what happens in offshore factories. How do you ensure that all parts of REI's supply chain meet your standards?

The short answer is you can't ensure it fully. You have to band together with other businesses so you have enough influence that you can effect real change. When you take on something like your footprint on the environment, you have to say, "Where am I going to draw the circle around my level of responsibility and then where do I assume that others will take responsibility?" We started by identifying those areas over which we had the most influence [including green building, paper use and waste reduction, and ensuring the products themselves meet environmentally and socially responsible standards].

How closely have you been following the climate-change legislation that is now being discussed in Congress?

We haven't been involved in lobbying on legislation about the climate. We are a retailer, with 3.5 million active members of our co-op. And they represent a very, very broad array of political views. What we are doing rather than being involved politically on this is doing what we think is the right thing, and then being very willing to share with other businesses what we're doing ...

In your view, what is the most important thing Congress can do to promote climate change?

If we're going to have real change in this country, it has to be in people's economic self-interest to do the right thing. And there are various ways that one might accomplish that, but I think expecting voluntary changes that aren't in people's economic interest [are] probably not likely to make the kind of change that needs to happen. If it's in people's interest to invest in renewables and invest in clean technologies, I'm convinced it will happen.

Do you support a "cap-and-trade" program, which would provide a market-based system for controlling carbon emissions?

REI has not taken a position on cap-and-trade. I think cap-and-trade is very intriguing, and I think if you look at its application to [curbing] sulfur dioxide, you can say, "Here's a success story." So I think it's something that should be very seriously looked at.

Does REI's status as a cooperative help it deal with environmental issues easier than a publicly traded corporation might?

I think that where a co-op has a huge advantage is that we can take a really long-term view, where a public company is answering to shareholders who are as impatient as they've ever been.

You began your career as an engineer for Mobil Oil. Now you run one of the most environmentally conscious businesses in the United States. What did you learn at Mobil that you use in your current job?

I would say I just really have a good fundamental knowledge of what happens when you drill for oil. What happens when oil gets in a creek? How do you deal with that? What are the environmental challenges? What's the water quality in the community? These are all things that, when you see them on the ground, you recognize that there is a cost to consumption.

Strauss says Yahoo!’s users download about 500,000 widgets per week from its site, and expects usage to grow with the site’s revamp. “There’s no downside to us with Web widgets being so buzz-worthy right now. I only see positives.”

Live Like The Jetsons

2007-11-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

Entrepreneur Paul Moller sure does. Moller, who is based in Davis, Calif., has spent 30 years and, reportedly, tens of millions of dollars trying to develop a mass-market flying car. All he's gotten for his pains are a few prototypes and a $50,000 fine from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Flying cars won't be in the mainstream anytime soon. And the same goes for a whole host of futuristic technologies that have been pop culture staples for years.

But, if you're willing to think of living like the Jetsons as a trip to the past, rather than the future, you can start having some fun in the here and now. Add a few modern gizmos to the mix--one savvy shopper has even posted a list of Jetsons-friendly gadgets available through Amazon.com (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people )--and you're practically ready for the next space age.
In Pictures: Live The Jetson Lifestyle

Let's start with the past: When the Jetsons first aired on Saturday nights on ABC in September 1962, the Hanna-Barbera produced show depicted a family of four, their dog, and robotic maid living in a future built around the technological fads inspired by the early days of the Apollo space program: They zipped around in flying cars, kept in touch via videoconferencing and ate meals that plopped out of a device called the Food-A-Rac-A-Cycle.

Relics of those Jetson-age trends are everywhere now. You can visit architect William Perreria's "Theme Building" at the Los Angeles Airport, completed in 1961, which seems to hover above the ground, supported by a trio of arches. Or you can fire up the computer and surf over to online furniture outlet Design Within Reach (nasdaq: DWRI - news - people ), and shop for one of the graceful chairs designed by the Finnish genius Eero Saarinen--he died in 1961--that are crudely echoed on the Jetsons.

And while you won't find the Jetson's Food-A-Rac-A-Cycle in stores, the television dinner meant that by 1962, a future where machines produced a variety of tasty food at the push of a button seemed just around the corner. And in a way, it was. Raytheon (nyse: RTN - news - people ) patented the microwave oven in 1945, and the appliances would start selling in large numbers in the 1970s. So for a taste of the Jetsons life, grab a 1960s style frozen dinner and nuke it.

Other predictions from the Jetsons proved to be even more on target. Thanks to cheap Web cams and video-friendly instant messaging software, such as Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iChat, keeping in touch via video is easier than ever. Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people ) and Tandberg are even selling high-end, Star Trek style videoconferencing setups for the workplace.

If you want a car like George Jetson's, however, even a trip to the past doesn't quite satisfy. The closest thing--at least in looks--to the pod-like vehicle George piloted is another product of 1961: the Ford Gyron. The two-wheeled, gyroscopically balanced concept vehicle's spare chrome and white body seems to float through the air. It's a design that probably presages some future version of Apple's iPod digital music player. It was never mass produced. But if you're willing to settle for another spare 60s era design--the Studebaker Avanti--eBay Motors can set you up.

Dell's Report Card

2007-11-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

Investors will get a snapshot Thursday of Dell's efforts to transform itself from humdrum vendor of basic-black PCs to American businesses into a company able to sell snazzy machines to consumers worldwide.

When the Round Rock, Texas-based company announces its earnings, third-quarter net income is expected to rise 16.1% to $785.71 million, or 35 cents per share, from $677 million, or 30 cents per share, during the year-ago period, according to a Thomson Financial survey of Wall Street analysts. Sales are expected to reach $15.3 billion from $14.4 billion over the same period, according to Thomson's survey.

Dell's third-quarter numbers, however, may be less important than Chief Executive Michael Dell's remarks. This is, after all, the first time Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) will have an earnings call since August 2006.

"We expect Dell to deliver a more cohesive strategy in driving re-acceleration in revenue growth, both organically and inorganically, and to provide a detailed restructuring game plan," wrote Credit Suisse analyst Robert Semple in a note to investors Tuesday.

Investors will also be looking for any clues about the state of technology spending. Dell remains a better gauge of the health of U.S. corporate technology spending than its bigger, more diversified competitor Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ), which beat earnings expectations earlier this month.

Since founder Michael Dell took back the job of chief executive Jan. 31, Dell's shares have risen roughly 12%. Credit for that increase goes in large part to news last June that Dell planned to cut 8,000 employees--or 10% of its workforce--coupled with the conclusion of an internal accounting probe (see " Dell Climbs Out Of Accounting Hell").

Dell's biggest push, going forward, is an effort to move the company past the direct-sales model pioneered by its founder (see " The Second Coming"). The company already claims its wares are available in 10,000 stores around the world. And Dell announced a deal Tuesday with Europe's Carrefour Group to sell Dell computers in 365 outlets in Europe next year.

Real-Life Fuzzy Meets Virtual Fun

2007-11-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

A toy is not always just a toy. Sometimes it's a fuzzy ticket to an online world. Just ask Isabelle and Cameron Chen.

The siblings, ages 8 and 10, knew just what they wanted when they made a trip to the mall in early November: a stuffed creature called a Webkinz. They aren't the only ones: Even before Thanksgiving, the cuddly Webkinz looked like one of the hottest toys of the coming holiday season.

At first glance, Webkinz seem like just another cute brood of stuffed animals. "We liked the tree frog," says Isabelle. They're not too expensive (about $10 to $15 apiece). But here's the best part: Every plush Webkinz comes with an Internet code. Enter that code on the Webkinz Web site and it opens up a free Web site filled with games, an interactive online version of the plush toy, safe chat rooms, empty virtual rooms for decorating, points (called KinzCash) to spend on virtual furniture and accessories, and many captivating ways to earn currency.

"We're saving up to get a backyard to grow carrots," confides Isabelle.

Canadian toy maker Ganz should be glad to hear that. Ganz launched Webkinz in 2005 but this looks like the biggest season yet for the little creatures. At Amazon.com (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ), the brand is one of two that merits its own link in the “What’s Hot” toys section (the other is Transformers). A reindeer Webkinz is currently the second best-selling toy on the site. Each animal produced by Ganz is a limited edition--the reindeer’s here in time for the holidays, but soon it will vanish like the first snow. Ganz has created more than 60 fleeting creatures.

The Webkinz site gives kids every reason to come back to the site again and again. Just like a conscientious parent, the site limits how many times a day kids can play certain games--a discipline guaranteed to make them yearn to come back tomorrow. The site received nearly 6.1 million U.S. visitors in October 2007, according to Internet tracking firm ComScore, up from 1.4 million visitors a year earlier. That makes it the most-visited, kid-oriented virtual world in the U.S., surpassing Neopets and Disney's (nyse: DIS - news - people ) ClubPenguin, according to ComScore. (Ganz doesn’t disclose internal numbers on site usage.)

It takes imagination for the stuffed toy to inspire play. Ganz doesn't seem to worry that kids will abandon the online world for the physical one. Quite the opposite, in fact. In the parents’ section of Ganz’ Web site devoted to helping parents limit kids’ time spent on the site, the company actually writes, “Encourage offline play with the Webkinz plush toy.”

The Ganz’ business model is clever. The company has figured out how to sell old-fashioned stuffed toys at a time when children are awash with addictive videogames, iPods and plenty of purely online kid worlds such as Club Penguin. And each new pet brings extra online benefits, too: more points, access to new rooms and additional online Webkinz.

The Webkinz craze began to pick up steam in fall 2006, and retailers have experienced shortages off and on since then. As retailers attempt to bolster their Webkinz inventory ahead of the holiday gift-buying season, parents are one step ahead. The number of Web searches for Webkinz increased 241% from the same week (Nov. 17) a year ago. A thriving eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ) aftermarket for highly sought-after retired Webkinz like Cheeky Dog and Love Puppy prices unused toys as high as $900 apiece.

Since Webkinz’ debut, Ganz has seen a few copycats attempt to emulate its success with variations on the buy-the-toy, use-the-site model. In April, Mattel (nyse: MAT - news - people ) launched BarbieGirls.com--a site anyone can access. But girls who own one of Mattel’s $60 Barbie-shaped digital music players get to do more on the site, like take a virtual doll to the beauty salon and care for virtual pets.

Smaller toy companies and products, including Bratz, Ty Girls, Bella Sara and Shining Stars, have all added exclusive online elements to their physical toys. Some earn revenues from advertising on their sites while others prefer to keep the sites free of child-targeted promotions.

Outside the U.S. retailers have been fusing the real-and-virtual world of games and toys even longer. Videogame makers such as Korea’s NCSoft popularized a multiplayer game model years ago for the series "Guild Wars," in which gamers buy the boxed software from a real store, then activate the game online--and never pay another cent.

Even Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) has taken a liking to the idea of making a physical object more useful by setting it up online. When it launched the iPhone in June, the company insisted that buyers take the device home and register it online to activate service, rather than hanging around in a store.

Cameron and Isabelle Chen would agree. Although they've played other online games, including Neopets, they say they're enjoying the Webkinz online world even more these days. The added Webkinz benefit: On the weekends, the plush Froggie gets to join them at the breakfast table.

Yahoo! Tries To Catch Widget Wave

2007-11-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

In a tech era dominated by Google, Facebook and countless hyped start-ups, one way beleaguered Yahoo! plans to stay relevant is by riding the Web widget wave.

Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) has been in the desktop widget business since it acquired tiny application platform-maker Konfabulator in July 2005. But since that time, widgets (small add-on applications) have moved online and gained plenty of buzz through their use on social networks and cultivation by Facebook, MySpace and most recently, Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people )'s OpenSocial standardized Web application platform. Nearly half of all U.S. Internet visitors in June 2007 used a Web widget, according to comScore.

But don't forget about the desktop. Yahoo! hasn't.

On Thursday, Yahoo plans to announce that it is revamping its desktop-tethered Yahoo! Widgets platform so that trendy developer firms that build widgets for popular consumer brands will have an easy way to make their existing widgets compatible with the Yahoo! platform. For instance, Yahoo! widgets used to be created only in Javascript. Now, they will also include programming languages such as HTML and Adobe (nasdaq: ADBE - news - people )’s Flash to enable Web tricks like streaming video.

It's all about building a big developer community—and of course, soaking up more eyeballs. Yahoo! is keen to embrace developer groups, including start-ups like Clearspring, MuseStorm and Netvibes, as well as independent developers who normally devote their time to big social networking platforms such as Facebook—and in the future—team Google, which includes MySpace. The goal is to see more widgets on the Yahoo! desktop widget platform, better use of those widgets and, of course, more visitors. Yahoo! has installed graphical and text ads on its widget site, but will not receive a share of revenue from widget-makers who choose to run ads within their Yahoo! Widgets.

“We’re working with all these Web guys to get them onto our desktop platform without changing much about what they’re already doing,” says Yahoo! senior product manager Jonathan Strauss. “And we’re helping them promote their widgets to the public. We think Web widgets and desktop widgets are complementary.”

At the same time, Yahoo! is offering embeddable widget-building advice, expertise and marketing services to those companies that use the mini-apps as part of an advertising campaign for major brands—much like the service Facebook said in November it planned to develop. (See: “ Facebook’s Big Play to Earn Big Money”)

Best Buy (nyse: BBY - news - people ) has already installed Yahoo!’s tool for embedding a widget onto its Web site. Target (nyse: TGT - news - people ) is also using Yahoo!’s widget technology. Yahoo! salespeople worked with the makers of Purina pet food to create a weather widget that inserts a picture of the user’s dog or cat into the application and suggests weather-appropriate activities.

Yahoo!’s efforts to grab some of the glow other companies have achieved with their Web-based widgets is smart—but it still doesn't compensate for the fact that Yahoo! is still largely invested in the decidedly less trendy world of desktop widgets. Start-ups including Slide, RockYou and iLike are further along in figuring out how to make money from widgets on exclusively Web-based platforms like Facebook.

Web tracking firms don’t currently measure the number of users of each type of widget, but, as Yahoo!’s Strauss notes, there are tens of billions of Web sites online that feature widgets while only about a billion computers run desktop widgets.

And while Yahoo! may have the most popular desktop widget platform, it still has plenty of competition. Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) and Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) both support their own desktop widget platforms. Even Google has a hand in the meager desktop widgets site with an unadvertised platform called Desktop Gadgets.

Roofing Mogul Dies After Fall From Roof

2007-11-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

One of the wealthiest Americans, who made billions of dollars in roofing, died Friday after falling from his garage roof.

Ken Hendricks died after falling through his garage roof at his Rock, Wis. home. He suffered a massive, fatal head injury from the fall and was pronounced dead early Friday morning. He was 66 years old.

"This is an enormous tragedy and a great loss to the family, associates, and the community," said ABC Supply in a statement. "Right now, we are focused on working through the initial impact of this tragedy with primary focus on the Hendricks family, as we keep them in our hearts, thoughts and prayers."

Hendricks made a fortune in the vocation he learned from his father. After dropping out of high school at 17, Hendricks worked side-by-side with his father, a roofer.

In 1982, he acquired three supply centers that became the first locations for ABC Supply. Hendricks used a string of acquisitions in the highly fragmented roofing industry to build his fledgling company into a giant. The wholesale roofing distributor is now the 122nd largest private company in the U.S. with annual sales of nearly $3 billion.

"We didn't invent anything. But even Jesus Christ had a roof, and it probably had to be repaired," Hendricks told Forbes in 2004 on the success of his company. (See: "Up on the Roof")

The success of ABC made Hendricks one of the wealthiest Americans. His fortune of $3.5 billion made him the 91st richest person in the United States.

Earlier this year, Hendricks attributed his rise to riches to a mix of luck, instinct, and determination. "Probably half of my success would be luck, and the balance would be my instincts and my perseverance to achieve my goals," he told Forbes.com earlier this year.

Jay-Z To The Out

2007-11-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

Shawn Carter, also known as "Jay-Z," announced that he is stepping down from his post as president of Def Jam Records at the end of this year. The rap mogul, who has announced his retirement from the hip-hop game more than once before, is relinquishing his executive title after three years at the helm. However, the hitmaker is not fully retiring, nor is he completely severing his ties with Def Jam (which is a unit of Vivendi (other-otc: VIVEF - news - people )'s Universal Musical Group). He will stay on as a signed artist under Def Jam's Roc-A-Fella label, a label he co-founded in 1996.

"While he will continue to be one of our signature artists, he will nonetheless be missed in this executive capacity," Chief Executive of the Island Def Jam Music Group Antonio "L.A." Reid was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. Def Jam did not say who would fill the rap star’s shoes.

Jay-Z's Christmas Eve announcement, doesn't come as a complete shock. Jay-Z presides over a vast hip-hop empire, that extends well beyond his 10 chart-topping solo rap albums. Ultimately, Def Jam's carrot may not have been sweet enough to keep Jay-Z focused on the label. Earlier this month, the New York Daily News said contract talks between Jay-Z and Def Jam had disintegrated. Citing an unnamed source, the paper said, "he wanted big, big money that was out of sync with the realities of today's record business....Everybody at Universal loves him, but they can't justify paying him the money he wants when so many people have been laid off."

The music industry is in a period of transition. Faced with declining CD sales, Def Jam is wrestling with the challenge of how to make money via the Internet.

Nevertheless, Jay-Z has the gravitas to demand the big bucks. His solo and collaboration albums have been wildly popular in the brick-and-mortar record stores and on-line. They have also been critically acclaimed. Throughout his career, Jay-Z has bagged 25 Grammy nods, including 5 this year. Three of these 2008 nominations are tied to “Umbrella,” a hit collaboration with Rihanna, a rising R&B artist that has been called his protégé (Jay-Z was instrumental in getting Rihanna signed onto the Def Jam label).

Jay-Z's talent to attract and cultivate talent will likely be missed at Def Jam. In addition to Rihanna, Roc-A-Fella has signed on other popular artists, like Kanye West and Ne-Yo.

With his executive role behind him, and his career as a Def Jam artist potentially nearing a close, it’s unclear where Jay-Z will go from here. His Monday statement was also obtuse: "It's time for me to take on new challenges," he said.

Many expect Jay-Z to use his new-found free time to focus on his nonmusic endeavors. In addition to being a part owner of the New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z has a growing nightclub franchise, the 40/40 club, a sports and hip-hop themed venue. He is also moving into real estate. According to the New York Post, Jay-Z may be teaming up with New York developers to erect a hotel or art gallery in the downtown Chelsea neighborhood.

China Cheers Alcatel-Lucent

2007-11-19T11:28:00.000-08:00

Another trip abroad for French president Nicolas Sarkozy, another raft of business deals benefiting French companies; this time including Paris-based network supplier Alcatel-Lucent. But unlike Sarkozy's previous exploits in Morocco and Libya, in this case the spotlight was on China.

Alcatel-Lucent (nyse: ALU - news - people ) said Monday it signed a package of mobile network upgrade and expansion agreements with Chinese state-owned operators China Mobile and Unicom, worth a total of 750 million euros ($1.1 billion). Network suppliers have had a rough end to the year so far, with price competition and declining sales hurting margins, but emerging markets like China are clearly still ready to spend on lucrative next-generation upgrades.

Shares in Alcatel-Lucent gained 14 eurocents (21 cents), or 2.8%, to 5.23 euros ($7.76) during midday trading in Paris. The sector enjoyed a push from the news: rival Ericsson (nasdaq: ERIC - news - people )'s 'B' shares rose 0.38 Swedish kronor (6 cents), or 2.6%, to 15.10 kronor ($2.41) in Stockholm, while Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) lifted 0.62 euros (92 cents), or 2.4%, to 26.62 euros ($39.48) in Helsinki.

Sarkozy's journey to China resulted in other deals for French companies such as Areva (other-otc: ARVCF - news - people ), but in Alcatel-Lucent's case the president's role seems to have been minimal. Although he attended the formal signing ceremony with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, the French government has no stake in Alcatel-Lucent.

By contrast, China has its fingerprints all over the deal. Alcatel-Lucent's Chinese subsidiary is directly managed by a state-owned body, which also controls 50%, minus one share, of the company. The firm, known as Alcatel Shanghai Bell, has a Chinese chairman who is also the company's representative to the communist party. With such strong roots in China, it is no surprise that the company enjoys a strong position: this year alone it won its parent several deals with China Netcom, China Telecom, Datang Mobile, Unicom and China Mobile.

"The presence of that subsidiary has helped for a long period of time," said Richard Windsor, analyst with Nomura International. He told Forbes.com it represented a "reasonably successful" strategy for Alcatel-Lucent, which has suffered three quarterly losses in a row this year and provoked concern over its future. (See "Alcatel Axes CFO")

"China Mobile and Alcatel-Lucent have established a strong relationship through years of close co-operation," said Wang Jianzhou, President of China Mobile. United Telecom Chairman Chang Xiaobing also said that his company was in a "long-term" partnership with Alcatel-Lucent.

And with worries in the West that the liquidity crisis will hurt corporate spending and investment from network operators, the knowledge that there is long-term growth up for grabs in China will be of some comfort.

Mayawati Seeks Wide Platform To Speak For Poor

2007-11-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

Mayawati, the leader of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is now mobilizing support in other states. This past weekend, she came to Mumbai in order to reach out to thousands in the country’s commercial capital.

Fifty-one-year-old Mayawati (she only uses one name), whose Bahujan Samaj Party won elections with a large majority in Uttar Pradesh this past May, has her main support base among India’s lower castes (dalits). Because of societal discrimination, they are mostly economically deprived and lacking in a strong political voice.

No party has made such a concerted effort to reach out to this voter group. Given that dalits are increasingly aware of their political rights and are now entering the mainstream, whether in education or industry, Mayawati’s efforts to woo them are reaping rich rewards. The former teacher inherited the political mantle from the founding party President Kanshi Ram, whom she frequently eulogizes.

In Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Sunday, Mayawati spoke to a rally reportedly in excess of 200,000 people and re-emphasized her election message of social equality: “We shall not enrich the rich and affluent, but serve to bring a smile to the poorest of the poor in the remotest corners of India.”

But she was careful to point out that her party was not against the upper castes since their support was necessary to achieve social justice in India. And she promised to reserve places in education and employment across the board--for religious minorities and for the economically disadvantaged--if her party came to power at the national level. Analysts point out that the party is reaching out to all strata of society.

The government had earlier initiated steps to designate reserved places in the private sector for such groups and held sessions with industry on the issue. In a nation where the benefits of economic growth exceeding 8.5% since 2003 have bypassed large sections of society, issues like quotas are politically charged.

“Reservation in the private sector is an issue that’s here to stay, and when a leader as powerful as Mayawati takes it up, businesses have to think very hard and carefully about how to enter into a serious productive dialogue with underprivileged groups,” said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan.

Mayawati now represents a fourth force in politics, after the ruling Congress Party, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communists, says Rangarajan. He estimates she will get 40-50 seats in the lower house of parliament in the national elections in May 2008, which should make her contingent the third-largest nationwide.

Apart from Maharashtra, the state whose capital is Mumbai, the BSP is also reportedly looking at states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana. Rangarajan says it already has around 3% votes in these places.

Within her own state, companies have had a difficult time in recent months as protests over the entry of big companies into the previously largely unorganized retail sector gather steam. In August, Mayawati scrapped an agricultural policy she’d introduced to enable contract farming and asked Reliance Retail to shut its shops after protests. (See: “ Indian State Orders Closure Of Reliance Retail Stores”)

“She moved very fast on opening up a partnership with the private sector in agriculture. The relationship between large companies and the Indian farmers is fraught with tension, and Mayawati had to backtrack because of the vocal opposition,” said Rangarajan. More than a third of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, but it is one of the economy’s slowest-growing sectors.

Mayawati is not the first leader to reach out to India’s economically backward and lower castes. One reason why she was at pains to point out that her party would not forget its electoral base once it came to power was that she accused Congress and BJP leaders of having done precisely that. Political analysts acknowledge she now has a “significant impact” on state and national politics, but the true test of her leadership will be if the BSP manages to fulfill its election promises in Uttar Pradesh.

Microsoft Roundtables

2007-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has announced that the RingCam will now be seeing the light of day as the Roundtable. After all, who wants to touch VoIP software that is “so disruptive” that hardware suppliers won’t come within 100 yards of it? If you’re unfamiliar with the RingCam then I’ll fill you in on some details. Basically, it’s a videoconferencing device that will utilize VoIP in conjunction with a suite of telephony products that include a headset and 5.24-inch color touch-sensitive screen.

The few details that are available tell us that the package will be comprised of a basic softphone on a USB-style PC dongle that will connect to a Bluetooth headset. It makes perfect sense for Microsoft to supply its own hardware because we know there will be compatibility issues with some Bluetooth headsets. If you feel like dropping three g’s on a videoconferencing system that is bound to fail then by all means.

the twilight zone

2007-11-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

The line between science fiction and fact is a tenuous one.

Like, duh.

Big deal...every geek knows that...

It's interesting to read contemporary science fiction and compare it with the kind dominant in the Golden Age, or else the idiom epitomized by Heinlein, Asimov and Clarke in the 1950's-60's. That was hard science fiction. True, you have Crichton...always able to infuse a pop science idea into 350 pages of sex and violence, and all the baser instincts of man come to the fore...
I don't know about you, but though I like an occasional breezy thriller where all the wrong in the world is due to one obsessed man and all the characters use the same two cuss words...viz. Christ and fuck...these things lack the majesty of 'Rendezvous with Rama'...or the stimulating logical play of 'I, Robot' (the classic book by Asimov...not the movie with Will Smith)

At the other end...you have fantasy masquerading as science fiction. Nothing ticks me off like a fantasy book resting in a science fiction section...
What's the big difference, you might ask.

Another Russian Tycoon May Be Seeking Kicks In U.K.

2007-11-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Russian billionaires just can't get enough of England, it seems.

Along with frequenting London's poshest shops in Mayfair and Knightsbridge, a number of Russia's top businessmen have been eyeing English soccer teams.

According to press reports in the U.K., Vagit Alekperov, who ranks 48th on Forbes' global rich list, has set his sites on the Premier League club Birmingham City.

A spokesman for the team refused to confirm or deny reports that a company representing, Alekperov, the chairman of Russia's second-largest oil company, Lukoil (other-otc: LUKOY - news - people ), had made an approach.

In terms of prestige and clout, Birmingham City is a tier below Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, but with soccer clubs all the rage among the global elite, there aren't a lot of top names available to choose from.

Over the past year, Russian steel billionaire Alisher Usmanov has built up a stake in Premier League team Arsenal, making him its second-largest investor after Denver sports billionaire E. Stanley Kroenke. (See: " Usmanov Adds To His Arsenal")

Manchester United is owned by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer, Liverpool by George Gillett Jr. and Thomas Hicks, and Portsmouth by Russian businessman Alexandre Gaydamak. (See: " Battle Of The Billionaires")

Hong Kong casino baron Carson Yeung Ka-Shing has made a bid for Birmingham City, after building up a 29.9% stake for £14.7 million ($29.3 million). But two deadlines set by the board to complete a deal have expired, and with a final one looming Friday, the soccer club is expected to be back on the market very soon. (See: " Macau Winnings Flow To Bid For U.K. Soccer Club")

Though Birmingham City was recently promoted into the Premiership, the top league in English soccer, it is at bottom of the table. With a stadium that seats just 30,000 people and no top players, the club would require considerable investment to make it competitive. But for the 56-year-old Alekperov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $12.4 billion, it would likely be a drop in the bucket. The club is valued at around £50 million ($99.8 million).

Billionaire investors have proved to be a double-edged sword for English football clubs. While their money has allowed clubs such as Manchester City to catapault to the very top of the league, they have massively inflated salaries and transfer costs for players, leaving smaller clubs without a hope of attracting top players. Manchester City was taken over by the ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra over the summer, since which time the club has risen from virtual obscurity to fouth position in the Premier League. (See: " Soccer A Political Football As Thaksin Bids For Man City")

For the billionaires themselves, in addition to the huge prestige associated with ownership, the clubs have proved to be huge cash cows, as advertising revenues have soared

Queen Elizabeth 2.0

2007-10-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

Potential toursts who have had their plans of visiting London quashed by the strong pound can take some solace in the fact that it won't prevent them from catching a glimpse of the city's most famous resident.

Queen Elizabeth II has launched her own YouTube website, " The Royal Channel", complete with old news clips and speeches, glimpses inside Buckingham Palace and a day in the life of several members of the royal family.

Buckingham Palace said the 81-year-old queen, who became Britain's oldest ever monarch last week after more than a century on the throne, was hoping to reach a wider, and younger, audience by creating a permanent presence for herself on the the popular video-sharing network, owned by Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ).

Video: Queen Of YouTube

"The queen always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people," Buckingham Palace said on Sunday.

Along with the rest of her family, the queen has been grappling with image problems, as personal scandals, and rumblings about the costs to tax payers and a monarch's place in 21st-Century Britain, have tarnished their once seemingly invulnerable reputation. (See: " Queen Elizabeth II Does Duty, Weathers Scandal")

Last week's comments by British historian David Starkey who described the queen as a poorly educated "housewife" in an interview with The Guardian, caused a media sensation but provoked none of the howls of outrage that it once might have.

Even though the home page itself may not look particularly innovative or snazzy - featuring the very traditional images of Beef Eaters and the palace - the decision to launch the website is a sharp move by Buckingham Place, which has increasingly faced accusations of being behind the times and out of touch with public sentiment. The number of viewers of online videos is expected to soar by 61%, to 183 million, by 2011, according to the research group eMarket, as even some of the world's leading companies latch onto opportunties for connecting with employees. (See: " YouTube Goes Corporate")

On Tuesday the queen's traditional Christmas Day message, usually just broadcast on live television, was uploaded on the YouTube site and by Thursday afternoon had received just over a half a million hits, according to YouTube. However more popular by far has proved to be the video of the queen's first Christmas message from 1957, which has received 850,000 hits.

Amazon Challenges Apple's Music Empire

2007-10-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com on Thursday added Warner Music Group to the growing number of labels that sell music free of copy protections in its digital music store.

The news is a challenge to Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ), which has built a digital distribution empire for copyrighted music around its iPod digital music player and iTunes music store.

Record labels are using Amazon as a counterweight to Apple's digital music might. Warner joins EMI, Universal Music Group and a pack of independent labels that sell so-called digital rights management-free music in Amazon MP3, the company's music store. Only EMI sells DRM-free music on Apple's iTunes store. And Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos is, in turn, using DRM-free music as a way to edge its way in with consumers.

Digital rights management schemes, such as Apple's FairPlay technology, limits how many times users can copy their music and what devices they can play them on. It can be a hassle for consumers, and it's a tricky business for Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who has to balance the competing interests of record labels with consumers.

Amazon is betting that by building a digital music store around DRM-free music it can throw Apple off kilter enough to grab a bigger slice of the digital music business, even as Apple's iTunes and rampant piracy disrupt Amazon's CD business. Because Amazon is selling music free from copy protections, customers can play the music on any digital music player.

The move helps Amazon get around an obstacle that has plagued Apple rivals such as Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) and Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ) whose digital music players couldn't play tracks purchased from Apple. The companies' digital music stores also couldn't sell music that was compatible with Apple's ubiquitous iPod.

The catch, of course, is music labels are hoping that users won't take the high-quality digital music Amazon is selling and pass it around the Web, at least not too much. But with compact disc sales already falling fast--thanks to music copied illegally from CDs and other sources--that's a risk music labels can't afford not to take.

Amazon's shares rose 1.51% to close at $94.25 in Thursday trading.

Microsoft Roundtables

2007-10-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Open Source "CAR" !!!!!

2007-10-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Open source is the new rage in technology. The idea is making technology open to community and allowing everyone to contribute to the final product. The idea is a huge success in software industry, and the open source softwares have clearly created a chill in the spine of paid software manufacturers.

But, the product i am talking about here is an open source CAR !!!. The car is named "c,mm,n" (which is pronounced as common). It was unveiled in the AUTORAI - Amsterdam motor show. The first model has been developed by three Dutch technical universities: Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede.

The appearance of the prototype is like a costly sport shoe. The current model is designed to seat 4 preferably thin and light people. The car has been designed to run on hydrogen and hence is eco-friendly.
And, finally the open source bit of it. All the technical specifications and designs of the car are available at the website :-)

c,mm,n

And best of all the information sharing is not only limited to the specifications. c,mm,n drivers can also easily share information on traffic conditions, route planning and parking availability.

This is a new initiative to make automobile industry community driven. Will this be the beginning of open source products in other core-engineering industries??

The Microsoft Success Story!!

2007-10-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

I found this video online which helps us understand what a great software manufacturer Microsoft is. Watch this video to know more.

Click To Play

To be honest Microsoft do a lot of quality work. No offense, but they also manage in doing crappy softwares.

Bruckheimer's Blockbuster Video Games

2007-10-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Car crashes, explosions, and violent fight scenes have always been the territory of big-budget Hollywood films. But now that film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer has signed an exclusive deal with MTV Games to create new and original video games, gamers can take part in the action-packed adventures of Bruckheimer’s world.

Bruckheimer, a former advertising executive who never went to film school, made a name for himself producing high-grossing features like Pirates of the Caribbean and Beverly Hills Cop.

On Wednesday, MTV Games, a division of Viacom (nyse: VIA - news - people )’s MTV Networks, announced the deal, which is Bruckheimer’s first gig creating video games. As part of the agreement Bruckheimer will build a game studio where a team of experts, artists, and storytellers will develop new game ideas, said the company.

“Video games represent a new and innovative medium for what we’ve always tried to do, which is to tell great stories,” said Bruckheimer. “But this medium is unique in that it gives the player control over how those stories unfold.”

Van Toffler, president of the MTV Networks Music & Logo Group, said that Bruckheimer’s talent for creating successful entertainment properties are a complement to the MTV Games vision. “There’s a huge intersection between the fans of Bruckheimer films, our audience and gamers, making the potential for this partnership to be as explosive as one of his blockbuster films,” he said.

Both MTV Games executives and Bruckheimer’s will collaborate on the development, production, distribution deals, and marketing of the games. The company said that some of the game concepts may be used in film and TV.

In August 2007 MTV Networks said it would invest over $500 million in video games for its over 300 websites and game systems.

It is uncertain how big of a budget the new studio will have.

Bruckheimer first partnered with the late Don Simpson, the film producer. After Simpson’s death, Bruckheimer became chief of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Bruckheimer has also had success in television, producing series such as CSI and The Amazing Race.

As a child, Bruckheimer was mildly dyslexic, but this didn’t stop him from becoming an avid photographer from an early age. Before becoming a filmmaker he went to school for dentistry and psychology. Later he got a job in the mail room of a New York advertising agency. Eventually he went on to found Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Television and has been awarded 6 Oscars, 16 Emmys, and 5 Grammys.

According to data on YouTube the website has now become the second-most-subscribed-to in December, with more than 17,000 users. That achievement loses a bit of its glamour, however, when you consider the winner was "Household Hacker" a web page that demonstrates how to create "quality items with little to no money and just a bit of imagination."

Digital Dreams: The Connected Living Room

2007-10-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

After gorging on turkey, pies and other holiday-related foodstuffs, there's no place most American families would rather be than in front of the television set.

But what to watch?

Football games, parades, movies and recorded TV shows are typical snooze-inducing fare. Ditto for much of what Hollywood has to offer, especially given the dearth of new shows due to the TV writers' strike.
In Pictures: Smart Ways To Connect Your TV To The Internet

Instead, some families might yearn to see something different on their 50-inch plasma HDTV. Perhaps they'd like to share some of that online video they've been watching or recording throughout the year. Nearly 50% of Americans, and more than 70% of U.S. Internet users, streamed or downloaded Web video in 2007, according to eMarketer.

From short clips off Google's (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) YouTube to movies and TV episodes downloaded from Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iTunes store or Amazon's Unbox store to home movies from friends captured on a digital camcorder, and maybe even a bit of illegally pirated footage, consumers are getting their video from an astonishing array of sources. Where they watch those pictures, however, is another matter.

Consumers are starting to have choices about what kind of screen--from laptop to big-screen TV--they want to watch their video on. It can still be expensive and tricky, especially to set up a wireless network for sharing video. But options are emerging. "We're still early when it comes to the awareness that you can even do this," says Hakan Olsson, a senior product planner for Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) eHome group, which includes the company's Media Center platform.

This past year, device makers shipped 6 million boxes designed to fuse the TV and Internet experience, according to a November 2007 study by IMS Research. But Microsoft estimates that about 27% of U.S. consumers are media-philes and tech-enthusiasts who might be ready to try moving the video they've been collecting on their computers into their living-room televisions. And researchers believe that within five years' time, consumers around the world may buy as many as 200 million devices that deliver digital video to television sets.

Microsoft, for instance, wants these digi-video trailblazers to use PCs running Vista (which includes Microsoft's Media Center software along with a slew of recently announced hardware boxes called Extenders. Microsoft's own game machine, the Xbox 360, is a bona fide extender. Other devices, starting at around $300, from companies including Cisco's (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people )Linksys and D-Link are about to hit the market, too. Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) has managed to build wi-fi into an HDTV that acts as an extender--but it will take a big bite out of your beer money with its $2,400 price tag.

Of course, Microsoft has tried to get consumers excited about such extenders before. The first batch appeared in 2004 but didn't catch on. The new extenders support more video formats--like DivX--and use the faster and sturdier Wireless N standard for streaming high-definition video over the air.

"We are so much further along now than we were four years ago," says Olsson. "Online video is actually available." Microsoft is planning an advertising campaign this winter to try to ratchet up consumers' interest in the new devices.

Even with the Media Center and its extender sidekicks, however, there are still glitches. It's hard to watch those ubiquitous YouTube Web clips: They arrive as streaming video directly from the Web and aren't downloadable. The Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii include browsers that can be tuned to YouTube and other video-streaming sites, but the experience isn't as good as a laptop. In truth, none of the PC-to-TV devices on the market today let consumers watch every video format under the sun. Until a leading product emerges, consumers will have to compromise and pick the device that best displays the kind of video that they want to watch most.

Even so, device makers are hard at work striking content deals to help them insert themselves--in the form of yet another set-top box--into your living room. Apple's TV device launched to much fanfare in March, and later added exclusive YouTube video searching and viewing. Lately, Chief Executive Steve Jobs hasn't been talking up the pricey silver box. He described it as a hobby for the company, won't say how many he's sold, and didn't mention it during the company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call. The device is popular among iTunes video addicts, but don't plan on using AppleTV to watch home videos and studio-made videos from other services, including Amazon's.

Got a hankering to watch the videos from Amazon's video store? In that case, you should consider a high-definition TiVo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people ). Those boxes can download video from Amazon, but they can't download much else. TiVo's digital video-recording software for collecting your favorite prime time and cable shows is top notch, but the small company still has a ways to go in working out on-demand video download deals with studios and Web services.

For consumers looking for a cheap and simple way to bring videos from the family PC over to the TV set, SanDisk (nasdaq: SNDK - news - people ) provides an option that eschews wireless networks altogether. The $100 TakeTV device is a USB flash drive that comes with TV-connector video cables and a remote control.

Because consumers must walk back and forth from the computer to the television set to drag and drop files onto the TakeTV, SanDisk Vice President Eric Bone says TakeTV relies on the old-fashioned "SneakerNet"--the tried and true technique of marching across the living room with stored data, an operation that dates back to the days of floppy disks, burnable CDs and DVDs. TakeTV has its limitations--it can only hold a few gigabytes of video, and can't display Web videos or those encoded in Windows or Mac formats. But it's hardly intimidating.

"People are still terrified of wireless, quite honestly," says Bone. "We're at a different level, bridging the gap between TV and PC. This consistently works. In the struggle for mass adoption, we're looking at what consumers want and getting rid of the pain points."

A-List Travel Tips

2007-10-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Between promotional junkets, film festivals and red-carpet appearances, celebrities can rack up as many frequent-flier miles as they do trips to rehab.

Hyperbole aside, just because they have access to the best seats on the plane, or are apt to FedEx their belongings rather than risk lost luggage, delays and decreasing in-flight perks have even the world's most seasoned jet-setters agreeing that air travel is worse than ever.

They also agree that there are ways to make it easier, more comfortable, and yes, more fun. To uncover them, Forbes.com talked to a variety of famous faces, from rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs to Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks to heiresses Ivanka Trump and Lydia Hearst, and got their best travel tips.
Complete List: Travel Tips From Frequent A-List Fliers

Celebrities, of course, have it a bit better than your average flier. For one, they usually travel first class (if not on their own private jet or that of a friend). And only a luxury hotel will do. Not only that, a celebrity can afford all the products that make a trip more comfortable--cashmere blankets, eye covers, special pillows--as well as the latest gadgets, such as laptops, Slingboxes and iPods.

Related Stories
World's Most Luxurious Hotels

Star-Studded Nightlife

But there are ways even the average Joe can make his journey more agreeable.

Top Tips
Kimora Lee Simmons, president of Baby Phat and creative director of Phat Fashions, wears lightweight fabrics on long flights. She also staves off dehydration by drinking lots of water. To keep her two children entertained, she brings reading material, games and toys.

When it comes to packing, Simmons swears by her Louis Vuitton luggage. ("I always need a bit of extravagance," she says.) Seems toting pricey gear makes traveling less of a chore.

Cross-country tours keep Barenaked Ladies lead vocalist Steven Page on the road for many months out of the year. He never leaves home without his noise-canceling Bose headphones, iPod and laptop.

And since the band is big on green alternatives, Page recycles his plastic water bottles, filling them up with tap water, shampoo or lotion, which he then totes along. He also uses a Canadian carbon-offset company, Offsetters.ca, which he gets through his travel agent. It calculates how many pounds of carbon dioxide his travels are generating, so the company can then plant enough trees (or use an increasingly popular alternative like methane capture) to offset the damage to the environment.

Then there are hotels. Celebrities favor luxurious ones, of course, especially boutique hotels. The Mondrian Hotel and the Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles, and the W Hotel Times Square and the Trump Hotel in New York were all recommended highly. Celebs also point to gastronomic delights such as Philippe Chow in New York, Tao in Las Vegas, Katana in Los Angeles and Prime 112 in Miami.

Montel Williams' chain of choice is the Ritz Carlton. He's also fanatical about tipping well and being polite to the staff.

"As anxiety-filled as you are," he says, "the person behind the counter has seen 60 people like you that day."

But perhaps the best way to travel like a star is to, well, travel like a star. You can do this by signing up for any number of travel packages that mimic the vacation of a celebrity.

One outfit that offers such deals is TravelWorm. The 15-year-old travel agency generally caters to the Las Vegas crowd looking to mimic the expeditions of say, Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. This, according to CEO Ben Rafter, might include a stay at celebrity magnets like Caesars Palace, the Palms Hotel & Casino or the Venetian, then a limo ride to and bottle service at a popular celeb-haunt like Pure, Tao, Light or Moon. Sometimes Rafter can even honor a request to stay in the exact same room where Paris or Britney had a romp.

Celebrity worship run amok? Not really, says Rafter. People just want to make sure they get a "blue chip" experience, and they know that celebrities opt for only the best in travel.

Street Of No Dreams

2007-10-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Even the Federal Reserve Board now believes a growth recession awaits us. Maybe we drag along in second gear for several quarters until the home building sector rights itself, but I sense the wounds lie deeper and heal slowly.

Each month, I run the top 25 names in the S&P Index by market capitalization. I don't want to miss anything and conversely need to monitor the hand I've dealt myself. My brief, though pointed, comment on each stock is on each slide.
In Pictures: Top Stock Winners And Losers

Pickings are slim. Only half a dozen names light my fire: Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ), Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ), Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people ) and Altria Group (nyse: MO - news - people ). I expect Google to displace AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) and Procter & Gamble (nyse: PG - news - people ) by mid-2008, assuming the No. 4 slot. Possibly a 2009 challenge is Google neck 'n' neck with Microsoft.

At best, the U.S. seems destined for an extended period of slow growth. I hope to see one last roaring bull market before I go to the great barn in the sky, but it's not around the corner. There's too much repair work needed next year. In case you haven't noticed, the value sector of the market rests in negative territory, with growth out-performing almost 1,200 basis points. This disparity could stretch on for a couple of more years.

The predicament of Freddie Mac (nyse: FRE - news - people ) is instructive, because it's in trouble even though its mortgage portfolio is mainly plain vanilla, AAA home mortgages. About 10% is subprime paper, over $100 billion, and it's belching black blood. On $30 billion in equity, Freddie carries over $600 billion in mortgages, and guaranties another $1.5 trillion. Altogether, this is a $2 trillion-plus undertaking.

Quarterly losses for Freddie are running over a billion with no end in sight. When you mark its portfolio to market, you can add billions more underwater. In a recessionary environment it's not inconceivable that 90-day delinquencies and defaults rise to 3% over a two-year period of the retained mortgage portfolio.

The rule of thumb is that a default costs the lender 30% of the face value of the mortgage. Under this scenario, admittedly dire, Freddie loses $15 billion, net tangible assets halved. I'm assuming small losses in the insured portfolio as well.

Freddie needs to raise $5 billion in equity real fast. Single-A preferreds yield almost 8% today. Short of a government guaranty I don't know why any institution would risk owning this paper. The underwriters are working on a deal, so we'll know the answer real soon.

The subprime mortgages and collateralized debt market today is as chaotic as the worst weeks in August when the Street began its write-offs. There is no liquidity for this paper. Nobody's sure how to mark it to market, and hedging is very expensive.

All this reminds me of 1982 when Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM - news - people ) was bleeding from bad loans made in the Southwest and California. Paul Volcker had plunged the country into a deep recession to purge the inflationary excesses. We had double-digit interest rates and double-digit unemployment. What scares me today is we have near full employment, but the mortgage market is a $200 billion or more disaster.

So the market faces a high wall of misery. The financial sector of the S&P 500 Index is an 18% weighting, but it's even more of the index's earnings, 24%. Brokers, banks, savings and loans, and some insurance underwriters are bound to experience painful hits to earnings and net worth next year.

The energy and technology sectors of the index fare better because they're multinationals with under half their earnings power derived from the U.S. Consumer durables and the industrial heartland are suspect. Capital spending, already flattish, eases. Everyone takes a hit to his net worth as home prices drop another 5% to 10%. As consumer spending was way above trend over the past several years, relative to disposable income, we could now see a potentially big hit.

You can see how easy it is to talk yourself into a recession. The only bright spot in the S&P Index is health care, but it counts up to only a 15% weighting, not enough to make a difference. Despite oil flirting with $100 a barrel, Exxon Mobil's (nyse: XOM - news - people ) earnings declined almost 10% last quarter, a combination of cost pressures and shrinking margins in refining and marketing. If the country gets lucky and oil quotes ease, earnings for the energy sector will decline at least 10%.

Perhaps, I'm too generous in saying that earnings for the market hold up. Anything short of a growth recession sends them down. Wall Street's music sheets and bottom-up projections are now bound for revision downward, forcing the market to reset itself at least 5% lower. My call is 1,350 on the S&P 500 Index. Even American Express' (nyse: AXP - news - people ) credit card losses, normally a stable category, are rising.

Ben Bernanke must cut the federal funds rate drastically, but it will come too late to counter all the adjustable-rate mortgages resetting higher at present. So far, the administration is strangely silent on any relief fund initiatives. Congress hasn't stepped up to the plate either.

Jamie Lynn Spears: Not That Innocent

2007-10-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Does Viacom care about a 16-year-old's pregnancy? It does when that 16-year-old in question is Jamie Lynn Spears, the star of Nickelodeon's Zoey 101. In an exclusive with OK! magazine, released on Wednesday, Spears confirmed that she is 3-months pregnant with the child of her 19-year-old boyfriend.

Jamie Lynn, the sister of troubled starlet Britney Spears, has assumed a low profile, despite her sister's highly publicized and controversial lifestyle. While Britney was running through rehab, shaving off her hair, or sparring with ex-husband Kevin Federline in divorce court, Jamie Lynn and her mother, Lynne Spears, have largely avoided the public glare. Indeed, many considered Jamie Lynn the anti-Britney, able to eke out a showbiz career without the controversy.

But Wednesday's announcement thrusts the minor into the limelight, turning her into prime fodder for tabloids and ruthless bloggers. The fans will also have their say.

With Jamie Lynn now pregnant, Viacom faces a difficult decision: should it avoid a potential parental backlash by immediately severing ties with Jamie Lynn, or should it stand behind Spears? Viacom issued a supportive statement Wednesday, but did not detail the fate of Zoey 101 or Jamie Lynn's future at Viacom.

"We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn's well-being," Nickelodeon said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

Although Jamie Lynn never acquired the fame of older sister Britney she is a minor celebrity, starring in the popular Nickelodeon show operated by Viacom (nyse: VIA - news - people ). On the Nick network, Zoey 101 stands alongside other wholesome productions like Sponge Bob Square Pants and Jimmy Neutron. The kid-friendly sitcom focuses on Zoey (Jamie Lynn) and her adventures at a fictional boarding school, Pacific Coast Academy. The show, which debuted in January 2005 and is currently in its fourth season, even netted an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Children's Program" in 2005.

While Jamie Lynn is a rising star at Viacom, she may see the doors close shortly. The company has severed ties with controversial stars in the past. In 2006, Viacom effectively booted Tom Cruise for strange antics. In August 2006, Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, decided not to renew its 14-year partnership with the star. The union had been incredibly lucrative for Viacom, but Cruise's behavior--i.e. his couch-jumping moment on Oprah and connection with Scientology--was considered a liability. "It's nothing to do with his acting ability. He's a terrific actor,'' Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone told The Wall Street Journal. "We don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot." (See: "Tom Cruises Over To MGM." )

Like Cruise, Jamie Lynn's actions may not be legally actionable (although the statutory rape law in Louisiana requires that a minor be 17 to consent), but Viacom is likely worried that her actions will disturb her fan base and the entire Nickelodeon audience. Although she could move to another network, like MTV, which is also owned by Viacom, it is unclear where she could fit in, at least in the near term. Unfortunately for Jamie Lynn, so much of her brand and public identity is dependent on her wholesome credibility. Of course, she can take solace in the fact that she is not alone.

Earlier this year, 18-year-old High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens profusely apologized after naked pictures of herself surfaced on the Internet. Disney, the company behind the wildly popular High School franchise, decided to stand by Hudgens.

How To Spy On People

2007-10-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

"No one cares more about the things you do than the person that used to be married to you," says Jacalyn F. Barnett, a New York matrimonial lawyer.

Indeed, everyone knows that the government engages in pervasive surveillance of citizens in its prosecution of the war on terror. And, it has been widely reported that Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) and Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) accumulate personal data on Internet users as well. But, the most pervasive form of electronic surveillance nowadays comes from people you know--your boss, your business competitor, someone on a journalist’s beat, and even your spouse.
In Pictures: How They're Watching You

Want to zero in on someone anywhere on the planet? Just call GeoEye (nasdaq: GEOY - news - people ). GeoEye is the premier provider of geospatial imagery to its commercial customers to help them better map and monitor the world. GeoEye operates a constellation of Earth imaging satellites, mapping aircraft, an international network of ground stations and advanced imagery processing capabilities.

And, if that's not revealing enough, GeoEye plans to launch its next-generation Earth imaging satellite, GeoEye1, in late first quarter or early second quarter 2008. GeoEye1 will be the world's highest resolution and most accurate commercial imaging satellite with a ground resolution of about 16 inches. Just think, one could punch up Angelina Jolie and see what she's doing anywhere in the world--with the camera lens only 16 inches away.

On the other hand, if you don't care what your favorite movie star is doing geospatially, but are more curious about what your wife or business rival is doing on the Internet, you can bug her computer with a program known as "Pandora" available online for $49. Pandora will send to your computer a log of everything the target is doing. Yes, e-mails, Web site visits, draft letters--right down to the last keystroke. Pandora, named for the first woman in Greek mythology whose curiosity unleashed a multitude of sins, can be physically installed in the target's computer by one with access.

It seems our entire culture is enmeshed in a thicket of electronic gadgets for bugging, visual surveillance and computer monitoring, which all but put the traditional private detective out of business. The president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers has said that there is electronic evidence in almost every case. "It has completely changed our field."

No longer the need for the high-priced gumshoe to follow someone around. Too labor intensive. Just install surreptitiously in the target’s car a GPS vehicle tracking system, available on the Internet for $700, and follow her travels on your computer screen while you stay at home with your other eye, perhaps, on a football game.

Is your child's nanny up to no good while you are out on the town? Follow her movements about the house with a $600 motion activated digital video camera neatly concealed in a clock, a book or an air purifier.

Is your employee consulting lawyers in preparation for a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against you? Tap into his litigation strategy and discover the strengths and weaknesses of the case by intercepting office e-mail communications with his attorney. All you need do is warn the employee of an e-mail policy in place that provides, among other things, that your computers are to be used for business purposes only; that employees have no personal right of privacy in the material they send or receive through your computer systems; and that you reserve the right to access and disclose material on your system. A Manhattan judge recently ruled such communications outside the attorney/client privilege since the employee was warned that his boss was "looking over his shoulder."

And if you get into litigation, almost all private information, if relevant to the lawsuit, is fair game for subpoena. Banking, brokerage and credit card records may reveal the most sensitive financial information. E-Z Pass bills may disclose clandestine journeys or secret meetings. Telephone records may tell a tale of who you know, who you talk to, how frequently and how long. If you think your life is an open book, you're right.

Eavesdropping is dangerous and may even be criminal. Bernard Kerik, former New York City police commissioner under Rudy Giuliani, and Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro raised eyebrows recently over reports that he allegedly assisted her in bugging her estranged husband's boat.

Hewlett Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) chairwoman Patricia Dunn was indicted after she allegedly ordered intrusive spying on board members and journalists in a hunt for who was leaking business secrets to the press. The charges against her were later dropped in the "interests of justice." The private detective involved pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges. The company settled the civil suits for a reported $14.5 million.

In most states and in the federal system, anti-eavesdropping laws largely prohibit interception type surveillance such as wiretapping. There have been few reported convictions. However, federal law, as well as New York law, generally allows recording of a conversation if one of the parties to the conversation consents. Such a recording is not deemed an interception. The recording, if relevant, would probably be admissible in evidence. In California, however, such one-party recordings are deemed inadmissible.

Meanwhile, the "great game" continues in cyberspace. And the names aren't changed to protect the innocent.

h'O'le in CD

2007-09-26T23:21:00.001-07:00

here are some nice CD cover images that i found online. all designed with the CD hole as the center of the picture

This media was selected by iamboredr.com

Camouflage.. Kewl.

2007-09-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

This is camouflage at its best. During the 2nd world war, after the Japanese attack on pearl harbor the Americans had to protect their asses. This image shows a nice camouflage for an aircraft plant - Lockheed Burbank.

160by2.com

2007-09-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

160by2 is an India based messaging portal. I like the name a lot. Its catchy and also gives a gist of their business plan. 160by2 is a simple web site where from you can send any number of messages to any mobile phones inside India, and the service is completely free of cost. Now you might ponder how the service provider makes money out of the whole deal. The idea is simple and self descriptive. This is a generation of context specific, target specific advertisements. Web has been completely transformed by this idea. Now it has hit the SMS industry.

Any person who has used a mobile phone and has sent messages would know that the maximum number of characters that any message can contain is 160. Even in this site it is 160 characters long. But the users don’t get to use more than half of it, which is 80. Now where did the other half go?. The website guys have come up with a simple solution for context specific ads on mobiles. They use the message content to generate the ad and they use the remaining 80 characters to send the ad along with the url or address or tel.no. to the customer.

So what should I do if I want to send messages to my friend without spending any money?

Go to the site www.160by2.com . Get registered. All registrations happen involving your mobile phones. Even your password is sent as an SMS. Once done login and type some message content (less than 80 characters) and give the receiver’s cell phone number and press send. That’s it, your message has been sent. The receiver would have got a message which has 80 characters of your message and 80 characters of the context specific ad. The ads are generated with the help of keywords which are extracted from the message that user sends using the proprietary algorithms that the developers have come up with.

At present I don’t find any great ads which accompany the messages that I have sent. It’s mostly an ad for the website itself. But personally I like the idea and since the technology is omnipresent and the fact that many advertisers prefer context specific ads over regular ads, we can expect more ads appended with the messages. The message delivery is lightning quick at present but the performance will come down once the number of users become more. Let’s hope the site tries to maintain the performance level.

Finally, the idea is new and makes sense to me. If it clicks we might just see a new revolution in the making and the website owners must thank me for this post in the blog. If it doesn’t click then it has nothing to do with this blog post of mine.

FREE ONLINE VIDEOS

2007-09-08T03:15:00.001-07:00

If you have an internet connection that doesn’t place any hold on the download volume, and if you are interested in watching whole movies online, and if you feel you tube doesn’t offer the content that you desire, here are some sites that might interest you. These offer free movies which can be streamed and viewed. You can find the latest content from cinema and television in these sites. But the content is all in flv format and so the quality is poor. Some of these sites also offer online flash games and are good boredom busters.

TV Links - http://www.tv-links.co.uk/
Joox - http://joox.net/
Mytheater.org - http://mytheater.org/
Watch-Movies - http://watch-movies.net/
Online Cinema - http://www.onlinecinema.org/
Cinema Tube - http://www.cinematube.net/
Open flv - http://openflv.com/
Alluc - http://alluc.org/
Quick Silver Screen - http://quicksilverscreen.com/
Peekvid - http://peekvid.com/
Watch TV sitcoms - http://www.watchtvsitcoms.com/
All of TV - http://www.alloftv.net/
Movie Forumz - http://www.movieforumz.com/
Plenty of Vids - http://plentyofvids.com/
Sly Fox TV - http://www.slyfoxtv.com/
Channel Chooser - http://www.channelchooser.com/
Box Sweeper - http://www.boxsweeper.com/
Shows 4 me - http://www.shows4me.com/
Vid 2 c - http://www.vid2c.com/
Just vids - http://www.justvids.org/

HATE NOTEPAD???

2007-09-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

Notepad is an in-built text editor which comes with Windows operating system. But I haven’t seen a more irritating editor than notepad. It has the least number of text processing options. It takes an eternity to open large files, especially for log files. All the indentation that we make gets messed up when the file is opened in notepad. An windows solution for this problem is WordPad. But I personally don’t like WordPad too.

So when there is a necessity there must be some open source fella who thinks in the same way as I did. But unlike me he developed some products to replace notepad. And to play my role in the whole scene I review the free products which can be used as notepad replacements.

Notepad ++ - This is a lightweight editor which can be used to replace notepad and may be some IDEs too. Notepad++ is the ideal tool for freebie geeks like me. The tool offers text highlighting and auto-completion facilities which cannot compete with a dedicated IDE but can be quite a handful when u have to make simple editing and source file debugging. The author provides a large number of customization options like zoom, tiling, and window positioning. The editor also provides multi document handling which will come in handy when playing around with a large number of logs, source files, XML, etc.The editor also supports Macros. The product is protected by GNU public license and is completely FREE!!!

Visit: http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm for more on the product and downloads

Programmer’s Notepad – As the name suggests this is a notepad which is meant for programmers and aims at making the programmers by providing color coding and code wrapping. The editor enables the user to create projects and workspaces. The UI provides options to place multiple windows and lets the user play around with those. Programmer’s Notepad supports macros which helps programmers handle redundant text. This provides an added functionality which has become so very vital to any programmer these days - Access to Google, with the help of the toolbar. This editor is again free for use and an open source.

Visit: http://www.pnotepad.org/ for further info.

TextPad: this is the third product that I want to cover in this post. TextPad my personal favorite amongst the free editors. A simple no fuss editor. Its great for opening large documents. TextPad doesn’t offer any great aid to the programmers as such. But a no nonsense tool nevertheless. The editor provides warm start which starts the editor from the same state where it was closed lastly. TextPad also supports macros and a surprise is the java-compile option and applet launch option available in the tool bar. The product is free for evaluation but is not an open source as such.

Visit: http://www.textpad.com/

Magic with photos

2007-09-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

Photosynth is a product rolled out from Microsoft Live Labs in collaboration with University of Washington. It can crudely be called an online-image-gatherer. The software can be associated with the booming “Participatory Panopticon” culture, which means sharing visual content on the web to be accessed by the whole internet community. The software application is ideally viewed by Microsoft as a one-stop shop for images online.

Photosynth has been developed with a vision of making photographic tours possible on the internet. Which means one can have a whole tour of a live place using nothing but his computer and this application. The developers promise to give a comprehensive 3d view for the locations. The preliminary results shown in the promos and the demo are very impressive.

The project is aided by the SeaDragon project which is a zooming UI tool which allows the users to view tera-pixel sized content on the screen and allowing the users to zoom to any depth by refreshing only selective section which is requested by the user. This functions similar to Google earth (uses Asynchronous JavaScript And XML) where only the section of the map which is requested by the user is provided.

Photosynth works by using a web-bot or a crawler which is an application that surfs the internet to collect information. Photosynth uses an image crawler. This collects all the freely available images online. These images are related primarily using their meta-tags. But the beauty is that the relationship is not only based on these tags. The image processing engine that these guys have developed actually creates an image level relationship between the images. So in effect when all images are rearranged based on their relationships they produce a 3d view. Actually the 3d rendered matrix shows the various source images and the places where they fit in. The user can zoom, pan, walk- through, share images, etc with the image matrix.

Imagine seeing the streets of Rome in a 3d perspective using nothing but images that many people have taken from the same location. You can zoom into the clock in the cathedral or sign board in the street side restaurant or look at the janitor cleaning the window in a nearby building or look at the beautiful mosaic pattern on any of the stain glasses. The opportunities with such a product are immense.

As most of the Microsoft products this again is a product developed with brutal capitalistic intent. Microsoft already has started collaborating with NASA to find options of using this product in their space programs.

For more information visit,

http://labs.live.com/photosynth/default.html

Surface Computing

2007-09-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

To begin with, let’s have a look at a fictional precedent. Asimov’s Foundation series mentions a kind of computer-user interface for a space navigation computer which uses direct manipulation of the pilot’s hands as the means of input. This is more like the extreme end of interfaces- Virtual Reality type stuff. Although it doesn’t quite match that degree of sophistication, Surface is an extremely imaginative and intuitive interface device. Just look at the videos on http://www.microsoft.com/surface.

It is an interesting exercise to think out how this device works. As it turns out, Surface has a multi touch screen and can be made to recognize glasses (in a restaurant setting). The trick is- the do it with cameras. Look for the details of the working on www.popularmechanics.com . There is already talk of casinos acquiring this device. Surface, once in sale, is projected to cost $5000-10000. And the worst thing is, it may even be worth every cent.

The application that particularly blew me away was the way you can share files from cell phone to cell phone. That’s about as intuitive as you can get in a human-machine interface. In my own opinion, I have always wanted a drawing board-computer…perhaps Surface can be adapted to that application as well. Surface isn’t the only product of its kind; Jeff Han from New York University’s Courant Institute (http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/) has been working in this area, too.

Products that make you go zeeboomba (Microsoft's Surface and Photosynth)

2007-09-08T02:38:00.000-07:00

We all like to complain about Microsoft. In a tense moment, we may even feel compelled to liken the company’s behavior to one of a man not satisfied with stepping on the corns of lesser mortals, but wanting to run a tank over them. But you have to love their products. Look at the recent stuff.

In the past, Microsoft’s ‘Eureka!’ (or should we say zeeboomba) type products haven’t quite matched similar innovations by other companies, or have simply failed to catch on. Two new products make you look at Microsoft in fresh awe.

Microsoft Surface and Photosynth. The first is a goddamn good piece of hardware, and the second is equally brilliant software.

Blooper complains, as usual, that he wrote about ideas similar to Surface in an unpublished Science Fiction story of his. Stinker reminds you that Blooper is the man who predicted the optical harp 5 years after it was patented.

We also have Stinker writing on Photosynth