ENTERTAINMENT ON TUBE

8 X 10 Tasveer (2009)

2009-04-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Starring:

Akshay Kumar ... Jai Puri
Ayesha Takia ... Sheela
Anant Mahadevan
Javed Jaffrey
Uttara Baokar
Benjamin Gilani ... Jatin Puri
Girish Karnad
Rushad Rana
Pia Shah ... Sally Kohli
Sharmila Tagore ... Savitri

Director:

Nagesh Kukunoor

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The Mistress of Spices (2005)

2009-04-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Starring:

Aishwarya Rai ... Tilo
Dylan McDermott ... Doug
Nitin Ganatra ... Haroun Rehman
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ... Kwesi
Caroline Chikezie ... Myisha
Anupam Kher ... Geeta's Grandfather
Shaheen Khan ... Jagit's Mother
Sonny Gill Dulay ... Jagjit
Nina Young ... Doug's Mother
Toby Marlow ... Young Doug
Padma Lakshmi ... Geeta
Zohra Sehgal ... First Mother (as Zohra Segal)
Paul Bhattacharjee ... Satish - Geeta's dad
Ayesha Dharker ... Hameeda - Haroun's neighbor
Rebecca Bowden ... Bougainvillea Girl

Director:

Paul Mayeda Berges

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2009-04-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

2009-03-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

Oz ports edgy as Hamish hovers

2009-03-11T23:28:00.000-07:00

THE PORTS of Townsville, Mackay, Hay Point and Gladstone remain on high alert today as Tropical Cyclone Hamish continued to threaten north-eastern Australia

Cyclone reached category 5 at weekend

Danaos in crisis mode

2009-03-11T23:26:00.001-07:00

NYSE-listed container-ship owner Danaos Corporation has breached debt covenants and is moving aggressively to postpone newbuilds.

Danaos CEO John Coustas said in a statement after market close on Wednesday that despite his company’s $117M profit in 2008, “the extraordinary circumstances dictate that we take steps to prepare for a very challenging period of unknown duration”.

Coustas revealed that of 30 boxships on order, Danaos has now negotiated up to eight-month delivery delays for five vessels, for which $422M in payments are still due. He said that Danaos was in the “final stages” of delaying an additional five newbuilds for two to seven months, for which $386M remains due.

On the financing front, Danaos said that it has inked a new $299M loan facility with Deutsche Schiffsbank. Together with undrawn capacity, this will cover requirements for 2009 and a portion of 2010. Coustas added that Danaos is currently in discussions to secure additional financing for the unfunded portion of its newbuild programme.

Coustas disclosed that Danaos has breached several financial covenants and has either received waivers or is in discussions to obtain waivers. He also confirmed that the Athens-based owner will suspend dividends immediately, for an indefinite period.

The World's Worst Places to Work

2009-03-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hardship Posts

These days few workers feel confident enough to make demands of their employers. With the global economy enduring the worst downturn in decades, lots of workers in the U.S. and other countries are happy to have a job, any job. There are places, though, where it's so tough to live that employees can still get companies to pay them extra just for agreeing to work there. For decades, multinationals looking to expand into inhospitable places in the developing world have offered managers bonuses for accepting "hardship posts." While some companies are trying to cut costs by hiring managers locally instead of sending expatriates, many multinationals continue to pay top workers extra for agreeing to work in difficult locations.
When trying to figure out how much hardship pay they need to offer, companies turn to consultants like New York-based human resources company ORC Worldwide. The firm recently compiled for BusinessWeek a ranking of 55 cities (the top 20 of which make up this slide show) outside the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe that might qualify as hardship posts based on a set of criteria that includes levels of pollution, disease, political violence, and availability of goods and services. The list doesn't include some cities that are so obviously challenging—because of war or international isolation—that they're in another league when it comes to hardship posts. For that reason, you won't find Baghdad or Harare or Pyongyang on ORC's list. You will find, though, cities in Africa, Southeast Asia, India, China, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The worst of the lot? Lagos, Nigeria.

Stimulus Spending Boosts Japan's Train Manufacturers

2009-03-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

As electronics and auto companies flounder, global stimulus spending may aid Japan's rail companies

With plunging at a faster rate than Europe or the U.S., thousands of jobs lost, and failing politicians lapsing from one crisis to the next, it's been a miserable few months for Japan Inc. Yet amid mounting grim headlines, one deal stands out. On Feb. 13 the British government signaled that a consortium led by Tokyo-based Hitachi (HIT) had won preferred bidder status for a $10 billion contract to build and maintain rolling stock for train lines running along Britain's east and west coasts.

For Hitachi, a sprawling conglomerate that makes everything from flat-panel TVs to nuclear plants, the British contract could not come at a more important time. Hitachi expects to lose $7 billion in the financial year that ends later this month, marking it as one of Japan's worst-performing large companies. This year, despite the huge loss for the group, railway-related sales at the company are forecast to jump a healthy 17%, to $1.5 billion. The British deal, if finalized in October, should see Hitachi and its partners John Laing and Barclays Private Equity supply up to 1,400 train cars. The consortium will also service the trains over a 20-year period.

A $200 Billion Credit-Crunch Buster?

2009-03-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

The federal government on Mar. 3 provided some long-awaited answers on how it plans to unlock consumer and small business credit markets, which have been frozen more solid than an icy tundra.

The $200 billion joint Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Treasury program, known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, is intended to get money flowing for small employers, student-loan providers, credit-card issuers, and auto lenders.

TALF was first announced late last year, but with only hazy parameters and few details. Whereas the better-known Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was created to bail out banks, TALF's purpose is to induce investors to buy up AAA-rated securities backed by new consumer and small business loans by offering $200 billion in low-interest loans to would-be investors. The idea is that these securities will spur enough investor interest to eventually generate up to $1 trillion of lending.

Since last year, the credit markets have been essentially at a standstill with no new investors willing to purchase securities backed by consumer loans.

Requests for loans—which have to meet certain terms and conditions—will be accepted starting Mar. 17, and funds will start being dispersed later in the month. The program will run through December, but could be extended. The $200 billion of Fed backing could also be increased if needed

Time to kill the big banks?

2009-03-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- What's the best way to fix the nation's banking system? Well, at least two senators making the rounds on the Sunday morning political TV gabfests think it's to let the megabanks fail.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R.-Ala., said on ABC's "This Week" that the most troubled banks are already dead and should be "buried."

Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., added on "Fox News Sunday" that big banks had to fail even if it meant that shareholders will "take a beating." (Note to Sen. McCain: with the stocks of both Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) down more than 90%, shareholders already have taken a beating.)

So is the solution really that simple? After already propping up two huge banks, Citi and BofA, with $90 billion in bailout funds and hundreds of billions of dollars in loan guarantees, should the government just shut them down the same way that the FDIC closes small, community banks?

Talkback: Should big banks like Citi and BofA be allowed to fail?

There is some merit to the idea that Citi, which Shelby derisively referred to Sunday as a "problem child," and BofA have done so much damage to the economy already that they should no longer be allowed to survive -- at least in their current form.

"Letting more banks fail is something we should at least consider. Blanket capital injections for all banks no matter how healthy they appear to be seems to be counterintuitive," said J.W. Verret, senior scholar for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. "Some banks need to go through FDIC receivership."

And the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. does do a good job of taking over small banks and finding a buyer for them quickly -- often a purchaser is announced the same day that the bank fails.

But closing a bank the size of Citi or BofA -- which is what Shelby appeared to suggest Sunday -- is more complicated.

Europe shares slip after US data

2009-03-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Most European shares fell after the release of US unemployment data, which sent New York's Dow Jones down slightly adding to Thursday's losses.
The Dax in Frankfurt lost 0.8% and the Cac 40 in Paris slipped 1.4% though London's FTSE 100 edged slightly ahead.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei 225 had fallen 3.5% taking its lead from sharp Wall Street losses.
Payrolls figures for February showed that 651,000 jobs had been cut while the jobless rate rose to 8.1%.
Japan woes
In Japan, exporters' stocks tumbled on Friday, amid fears that the strengthening yen would make their products uncompetitive.
The Nikkei closed down 260.4 points at 7,173.1.
Shares in Honda Motor, the country's second-biggest car company, fell 3.8%.
Shares in Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second-largest bank, slipped 2.7%, taking their lead from sharp falls in Citigroup stock in the US, which fell below $1 for the first time on Thursday.
"If you see fire breaking out in someone else's house, it causes worries about your own, too. The latest development in the US corporate sector is very worrisome," said YS Rhoo, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities in Seoul.
US shares were knocked on Thursday when auditors expressed "substantial doubt" that General Motors could stay afloat. Shares in the carmaker closed down more than 15%.
'Signs of recovery'
Investor hopes that China would expand its stimulus package had pushed markets higher earlier in the week, but shares fell around the world on Thursday when Premier Wen Jiabao failed to announced any expansion of the package.

Bank nationalisation 'not needed'

2009-03-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

ord Mandelson has reiterated that the government has no plans to nationalise the banking sector. His comments come two days after the government increased its stake in Lloyd Banking Group to 65% from 43%. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, the business secretary said nationalisation would be neither necessary or desirable". Lord Mandelson admitted banking regulation should have been stronger, and change was now needed globally. 'Influence' Speaking in regard of the government's increased stake in Lloyds, and its 68% share of RBS, he said he remained

A Lost Generation ?

2009-03-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK — When it seems like there is no hope; when the economy is said to be in “shambles” (as Warren Buffet aptly described it) THAT is exactly the time to take a deep breath, step in and buy stocks.

At least that used to be the common wisdom.
Nowadays, investors are scrambling to sell into strength in an attempt to hang on to whatever money they have left.
Even with stocks at 12-year lows, there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to buy.
Baby boomers have lost more money than most can realistically recover in time for retirement. Younger workers have seen a decade of savings evaporate.
When discussing the latest headlines of yet another tycoon charged with swindling billions from investors, a friend of mine recently commented, “Ponzi schemes? I think the whole system is one big ponzi scheme

Focus on jobs at China congress

2009-03-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, China — When the National People’s Congress met in Beijing last year, the mood was cheerful and the recurrent theme was the Summer Olympics and rapid economic growth

Inside the cavernous Great Hall of the People, Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a two-hour “government work report.”Much like a state-of the-nation speech that the Chinese premier delivers to the parliament every year, Wen focused on domestic issues, outlining China’s plans to get its economy back on track in the face of the global economic crisis.
The more than 3,000 delegates listened intently, following Premier Wen reading through the 52-page text. A few delegates took notes keenly. Others listened expressionless

Family sedan: Chevrolet Malibu

2009-03-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Pricing: $21,605 - $26,880
Mileage: 30 mpg Hwy, 22 mpg City
When Consumer Reports announced

its "Top Picks" among 2009 model-year

cars, only one product from a U.S.

carmaker made the list. But some car

shoppers are interested in supporting

domestic manufacturers - especially

with the industry in peril as it is these days.

And there are some excellent choices out

there, says Consumer Reports auto editor Rik Paul. While some vehicles would require sacrifices for buyers, others are among the very best in their respective classes - regardless of national origin, he said.
The Chevrolet Malibu, for instance, competes fairly well against popular cars like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, Consumer Reports says. It has also proven to be "Very Good," in their estimation, for dependability

2009-03-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Top 50 rank: 1Rank in Computers: 2 (Previous rank: 2*) Overall score: 7.07
Why it's admiredIt's been a rocky year for Apple: CEO Steve Jobs' health made headlines, and critics said Cupertino wasn't being open enough about it. But customers remained loyal to the brand that made white ear buds cool. As much of the computer industry struggled, Apple shipped 22.7 million iPods during its first quarter (up 3 percent from last year), 2.5 million Macs (up 9 percent), and 4.4 million iPhones. No wonder Apple tops our Most Admired list for the second year in a row. --Alyssa Abkowitz Address: 1 Infinite LoopCupertino, CA 95014Phone: 408-996-1010Website: www.apple.com

Another Source of non-OPEC oil output growth disappears

2009-03-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

As I've said many times, the crucial role

Russia played since the late 1990s as the

main growth driver for non-

OPEC oil production will be sorely missed.

But the US Energy Information Agency (EIA)

forecast three countries would step up in 2009

to reverse the 2008 fall in production: the US,

Brazil, and Azerbaijan. Now one of these countries

says their 2009 output will be flat.

2009-03-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

Pakistan, Jordan to enter into FTA

By Khalid MustafaISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Jordan have decided to ink free trade agreement (FTA) on goods in meetings held on March 4-5 in Jordan’s capital Amman, a senior official at the commerce ministry told The News.“Jordan has a population of six million, with a whopping per capita income of $2,500.” Trad ...
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2009-03-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Surging U.S. Jobless Rate Pressures Obama Administration for More Action The jump in the U.S. unemployment rate to the highest level in a quarter century last month suggests the recession is deeper than the Obama administration forecasts and additional measures may be needed to restart growth.

Cota guilty in Cosco Busan mishap

2009-03-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

Daily News
07 Mar 2009

JOHN Joseph Cota, the pilot who directed the Cosco Busan into a bridge abutment in San Francisco Bay in November 2007, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to charges stemming from the mishap.
Cota, who had already been stripped of his master’s license by the Coast Guard, pleaded guilty to violating the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Migratory Bird Treat Act, in the collision that ripped a hole in the box ship’s bunker tank, spilling 177 tonnes of fuel into the bay – a spill that killed thousands of birds ...