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Sunday, August 12, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
More on the agenda for 'legendary' Usain Bolt
Jamaica's Usain Bolt reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the men's 200-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Jamaica's Usain Bolt reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the men's 200-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Jamaica's Usain Bolt, left, gestures after crossing the finish line to win gold ahead of silver medallist Yohan Blake of Jamaica, center, and bronze medallist Warren Weir of Jamaica in the men's 200-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Jamaica's Yohan Blake, left, celebrates winning silver with Jamaica's Usain Bolt, who won gold, following the men's 200-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Jamaica's Usain Bolt, third left, reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the men's 200-meter final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Jamaica's Usain Bolt gestures as he wins the finals of the men's 200-meter in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
LONDON (AP) ? As far as Usain Bolt is concerned, it's a done deal.
"I'm a legend now," he said.
But these Olympics aren't quite finished. And neither is he.
With the 200-meter gold medal in his pocket after a winning run of 19.32 seconds Thursday night, The World's Fastest Man now gets ready for the 4x100 relay. If he can lead the Jamaicans to a victory there, he'll be 3 for 3 at these Olympics, same way he was in Beijing four years ago.
He'll likely get a day off Friday for the preliminaries, then head back to the track Saturday for the final ? his last chance to set a world record, the only thing to elude him over a very fast week at the London Olympics.
The relay mark is 37.10 seconds, the third of three records Bolt set, or helped set, at the Beijing Games.
"I think there's a possibility," Bolt said. "But you can never really say it, because it's a relay and there's a baton. You never know. But for me, we're going to go out, enjoy ourselves, run fast as possible. It would be a good way to close the show again."
What a show he put on Thursday night.
Bolt opened the night, during introductions, by giving a royal wave to the 80,000 fans at Olympic Stadium on hand to see some history.
Then, he ran a race fit for a king.
Burning off the starting line, he took an early lead, then powered around the curve. By the time he reached the straightaway, only Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake had any chance to catch him. Blake actually closed the gap for a moment, but then Bolt reached back and found that fastest gear ? the one that has helped him become the first man to win the Olympic 100-200 double twice.
Blake finished second in 19.44 seconds and Warren Weir completed the Jamaican sweep, winning bronze in 19.84.
"The guy is just on another planet right now," Wallace Spearmon, the American who finished fourth, said between sobs of disappointment.
Bolt was comfortably ahead at the finish, so much so that he was able to slow down, put his left finger to his mouth and tell everyone to shush. It was less than six weeks ago that Bolt lost twice to Blake at Jamaica's Olympic trials and the world wondered if Bolt's days of dominating were over.
"That was for all that people that doubted me, all the people that was talking all kinds of stuff that I wasn't going to do it, I was going to be beaten," Bolt said. "I was just telling them: You can stop talking now, because I am a legend."
Another legend, Carl Lewis, has 10 Olympic medals ? won in individual races, relays and the long jump over a span of four Olympics ? and it's possible Bolt, who has whimsically spoken about trying the long jump, might want to look at reaching that number some day, too. He clearly has no love for Lewis. In the only awkward moment of an otherwise-engaging news conference, Bolt lashed out at Lewis, saying the American spends too much time casting aspersions about the possibility that the Jamaicans are dopers.
"Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him," Bolt said. "The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading for another athlete to say something like that."
But this was no day for bickering. It was a giant celebration.
The win sealed, Bolt took a meandering victory lap that included some old fan favorites ? his archer-like "To The World" pose ? and some new ones ? borrowing a photographer's camera and taking a few pictures. He also banged out five pushups on the track, one for each of the gold medals he has won.
While Bolt won his fifth career gold on the track, the Americans were piling them up in other corners of the stadium.
They went 1-2 in the decathlon (Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee) and triple jump (Christian Taylor and Will Clay), raising the U.S. total to 24 medals, one more than what they won in Beijing, with three days to go.
"It's infectious," U.S. men's coach Andrew Valmon said. "When you think about coming in, we had one team meeting. We made it about the athletes and talked about what we needed to do, heard the message one time, embraced it and took on the challenge."
There was one world record established: David Rudisha of Kenya won the 800 meters in 1 minute, 40.91 seconds, improving his own standard by 0.10.
Hoping to hone in on a little slice of the Bolt magic, Rudisha served up the prospect of a showdown over 400 meters against the Jamaican, who used to run that distance but abandoned it because it was too much of a grind.
Bolt was more than happy to handicap that potential race.
"I think if I train, I can take Rudisha over 400 meters," he said.
Maybe someday.
But the goal heading to London was to become a "living legend," and while he's making a pretty good case for himself, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said it's too early to make such determinations.
"The career of Usain Bolt has to be judged when the career stops," said Rogge, who criticized the Jamaican four years ago for showboating by slapping himself on the chest at the finish of the 100.
"Let him participate in three, four games, and he can be a legend," Rogge added. "Already he's an icon."
An icon the Olympics would love to keep around.
Almost single-handedly, Bolt has helped track transform itself from a dying sport to one with a singular, smiling, worldwide star.
He turns 26 this month, however, and didn't sound completely sold on sticking around through the Rio Olympics in 2016.
"It's going to be a hard mission," he said.
But before he worries about that, there is more business to take care of at these Olympics.
"Tonight, all I've got to do is go home and rest," he said. "I've got the 4-by-1 coming up, and after that on Saturday, I'll party like it's my birthday."
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'Willy Wonka' director Mel Stuart dies at 83
Warner Bros. via Reuters
Mel Stuart, director of the 1971 film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," poses with the Oompa Loompas characters on the set of the film.
By Peter Gicas, E! Online
Mel Stuart definitely made our childhoods a little bit sweeter. The veteran director, who helmed the 1971 classic "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," passed away on Thursday. He was 83.
Per the BBC, Stuart died from cancer at his Beverly Hills home.
Marvin Hamlisch, composer of A Chorus Line and The Way We Were, dead at 68
Born in New York, Stuart spent much of his more than 50-year career creating documentaries and earned an Oscar nomination in 1965 for his John F. Kennedy-assassination film, "Four Days in November."
Celebrity deaths: 2012's fallen stars
And while he made more than 180 films, Stuart will undoubtedly be best remembered for bringing Roald Dahl's novel to life with Gene Wilder starring as the famous candy maker.
He is survived by his wife, Roberta, and three children.
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Friday Asia Digest ? Rise of Malaysia / The European Connection
Malaysian Office/Retail Demand Remains Healthy
Malaysia?continues to cement it?s status as one of Asia?s top rising stars,?as mentioned in last week?s digest, with demand for retail and commercial space increasing rapidly ? this in spite of relatively high vacancies, which have kept rents stagnant in the last 2-3 years. Investors and analysts do not seem to be viewing?this as an issue, however, pointing to the re-directing of capital towards the distressed European and US markets ? where recent rumours of recovery seem to have been premature ? as the main reason rent hasn?t yet caught up with Malaysian property prices, which are continuing to rise rapidly.
Union Investment Real Estate, a large?German investment group,?is only one of many who have recently?entered the Malaysian market, by acquiring Cap Square Tower, in?Kuala Lumpur (pictured on right), for RM440 million (141.3 million USD). The group plans to double their investments in the country in the near future. The group prefers to purchase existing buildings, echoing similar sentiments by other institutional investors, as soaring building costs are putting developers off new projects world-wide, particularly in the bustling Asian markets, known for decades as the world?s ?cheap labour? capitals ? a trend which is quickly reversing, as statistical data reveals. The group also plans the launch of an additional 1 Billion Euro fund, aimed at expanding their share in a large and diversified Asian market. Ulrich Dischler, the group?s managing director, was quoted saying that the German giant?s confidence ?stems from Asia?s robust economic fundamentals, which includes? its youthful demographic, dynamic workforce, rising income levels, growing? consumer base, sound public finances, sizeable external reserves and healthy? corporate balance sheets.? As a result, he claims, the firm is confident that rent, prices and occupancies will pick up in 2013-2014 all over the continent, as indeed seems to be the case in many countries in Asia in the first half of the current year.
Another giant planning on re-entering the global real-estate arena with two new funds worth 750 million USD is Leon Black?s Apollo Global Management. Black spun off Apollo?s real estate operations in 2000, only to reenter the industry eight years later to help reduce the firm?s reliance on revenue from traditional leveraged buyouts. About 388 buyout funds tied to Asia are in the market to raise a combined $130 billion, according to Preqin, a London-based firm that provides research on alternative-asset managers. These include KKR & Co., the private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, which got $3 billion in commitments during the initial fundraising for its second Asia-focused fund.
Asian Money & Soccer?May Hold Key to Euro Revival
More and more Asian money seems to be actively directed towards European soccer clubs, a trend that seems to be intensifying, with the latest indication given last week, when state-owned?China Railway 15th Bureau Group confirmed to be in talks with Inter Milan, the storied European club, to build a home stadium for the Italians by 2017. Chinese, Thais, Malaysians, Hong Kongers and Singaporeans are all involved in one way or another in European soccer clubs and enterprises, reveals a new book from the German Council on Foreign Relations, which explores how Europeans view Asia. Malaysian money now owns two clubs in the U.K., and Birmingham City, as it turns out,?is owned by Carson Yeung, a Hong Kong billionaire.
Inter Milan didn?t identify who was involved, saying only on its Web site that it was ?Chinese investors.??The Moratti family will keep the control of the company, while the group of Chinese investors will became the second-largest shareholder,? the company?s media release claims.?China?s railway construction companies, hit by a slowing economy at home and various scandals, including a high speed train accident last year, are seeking opportunities abroad with renewed vigor. The new stadium at San Donato in Milan will be one of the biggest in Europe, according to CCTV, the state broadcaster. Chinese soccer suffers from corruption and a lack of professionalism, and there are plans for Italy, home to some of the world?s greatest teams, to train Chinese players in the new stadium.
?
Global Gossip
* India, regrettably,?stubbornly refuses to ?straighten its act? and become an Asian property giant, despite the promising property market boom evident in recent years, with the Indian Rupee still experiencing historical lows against the US dollar. A USA state-department report reveals that the country?s bustling real-estate market, as well as other fast-flowing market segments, ?is widely used for money laundering. ?High-level corruption both generates and conceals criminal proceeds. Illicit funds are often laundered through real estate, educational programs, charities, and election campaigns. Companies use trade-based money laundering to evade capital controls,? the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2012 has said.
* Overseas money continues to flow into Australia?s hotel and commercial markets, where the country?s mining boom swiftly fills up accomodation vacancies, driving hotel vacancies averages around the country to heights not experienced in Australia for decades. The fact that Australia?s mining moguls are steadily sending their money overseas, to Singapore and Hong-Kong, China and Japan, as well as the fact that various sources warn that the mining boom has passed its peak, and has, at most, another two years left in it ? doesn?t seem to deter the investors, who continue to flock to Australia?s shores, buyoed by the speculative promise of capital gains. Making headlines this week, Australian Paramatta Lord Mayor Lorraine Wearne recently spent $60,000 wooing developers and banks in Singapore to get behind her vision for Sydney?s second CBD.
* Hong-Kong property prices continue to ?defy gravity?, steadily climbing despite whispers and promises of massive government land sales, stricter property purchase regulations and curbs, and the city-state?s positioning as the world?s most expensive real-estate market. The most amazing thing is, perhaps, that most analysts seem to agree that this trend is nowhere near its end, in stark contrast to evidence, which suggests Hong-Kong is in the midst of one of the world?s most severe property price bubbles. Interest rates in Hong Kong are at a historical low, currently in the range of? around 2.1?2.8 per cent. This is due to the fact that Hong Kong?s money supply? is more closely linked to US where interest rates are at an all time low. This? has led to cheaper cost of borrowing money, helping to strengthen property? purchases as many buyers now find servicing a mortgage cheaper than paying rent.
(Partial list of Sources ? ?Business Times?, ?Business Week?, ?Daily Telegraph?, ?New York Times?, ?New Strait Times?, ?Economic Times?, ?Bloomberg?,?World Property Channel?)
(Pic 1 -?Kuala Lumpur Central Business District?/ FullOfTravel, Pic 2 ? Nagoya, Japan / Ziv Magen)
Author: Ziv Magen
Ziv's Website: http://www.nippontradings.com
Ziv has written 13 articles for us.
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Friday, August 10, 2012
New middle class driving Brazil economic makeover
In this July 31, 2012 photo an orthodontist reaches for a box containing a patient dental mold at the Simetria orthodontic clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Not long ago, it would have been all but unthinkable for the majority of Brazilians to undergo pricey dental work but in fact, an estimated 40 million people have joined the ranks of Brazil's middle class between 2003 and 2011, according to the Fundacao Getulio Vargas economic think tank, providing them with greater purchasing power. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this July 31, 2012 photo an orthodontist reaches for a box containing a patient dental mold at the Simetria orthodontic clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Not long ago, it would have been all but unthinkable for the majority of Brazilians to undergo pricey dental work but in fact, an estimated 40 million people have joined the ranks of Brazil's middle class between 2003 and 2011, according to the Fundacao Getulio Vargas economic think tank, providing them with greater purchasing power. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this July 31, 2012 photo, Flavia Soares da Costa has her braces adjusted at the Simetria orthodontic clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Not long ago, it would have been all but unthinkable for the majority of Brazilians to undergo pricey dental work but in fact, an estimated 40 million people have joined the ranks of Brazil's middle class between 2003 and 2011, according to the Fundacao Getulio Vargas economic think tank, providing them with greater purchasing power. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this July 31, 2012photo an assistant, left, overlooks as Flavia Soares da Costa has her braces adjusted at the Simetria orthodontic clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Not long ago, it would have been all but unthinkable for the majority of Brazilians to undergo pricey dental work but in fact, an estimated 40 million people have joined the ranks of Brazil's middle class between 2003 and 2011, according to the Fundacao Getulio Vargas economic think tank, providing them with greater purchasing power. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ? The orthodontist bent intently over Flavia Soares da Costa's open mouth, tightening the glimmering silver brackets that are remaking her smile.
Not long ago, it would have been all but unthinkable for the 33-year-old former secretary and single mother to undergo such pricey dental work.
But Costa's fortunes have recently improved, with a promotion and a raise that brought her disposable income.
In fact, an estimated 40 million people such as Costa have joined the ranks of Brazil's middle class between 2003 and 2011, according to the Fundacao Getulio Vargas economic think tank, providing them with enormous purchasing power and sparking businesses to come up with new marketing techniques to woo them.
For most of its modern history, Brazil has been a nation of the starkest economic divides: Super rich, super poor. Businesses that sold anything but the most basic items trained their sights on the upper strata.
Now, Brazil is a major player in a global economic shift that is seeing formerly "developing" nations morph into "middle income" countries ? where a burgeoning middle class is driving a boom in business to capitalize on the sea change.
From gyms to hair salons, travel agencies to home appliance stores, "everyone wants to dance with the new middle class," a recent opinion article in the Folha de S. Paulo daily said.
The metamorphosis is largely the product of a decade of mostly solid economic growth and an array of cash-transfer social programs that pay Brazilians a stipend for meeting social goals, such as keeping their kids in school.
The economic think tank defines the middle class, or Class C as it's known here, as households with monthly incomes of $600 to $2,590. In 1993, just over 45 million people were considered Class C. In 2011, their ranks had swollen to more than 105 million ? accounting for 46 percent of the country's buying power.
Similarly, the economy has grown to meet demand.
In 2000, 4.2 million small businesses had less than 100 employees, according to the Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses, a private industry group. A decade later, 6.1 million small businesses had such workforces, and the number of larger businesses doubled to 60,000.
"Practically all companies across the board are interested in getting a piece of this market, if only because of the sheer numbers involved," said Renato Meirelles, CEO of Data Popular, a marketing firm specializing in the middle and lower classes. "Tapping into this market can prove extremely lucrative."
Entrepreneur Alex Todres is a case in point. The 30-something Sao Paulo resident founded ViajaNet, an online travel site that posted $100 million in sales in 2011, its second year of operation.
Todres and partner Bob Rossato loosely copied the design and function of the website of their former employer Decolar.com, Brazil's leading online travel portal, tweaking it for middle-class customers, many of whom are first-time flyers.
They replaced jargon that on other Brazilian travel sites would normally be in English, such as "gate" and "boarding card," with plain Portuguese. The pair also made it easier for customers to pay in installments ? an ingrained habit in Brazil, where consumers tend to buy even low-ticket products like tennis shoes and irons in ten monthly payments.
"The product that we offer is essentially the same as the competition," Todres said in a telephone interview. "The difference lies in the purchasing experience."
A similar strategy paid off for Luiz Otavio Temido, CEO of the Simetria chain of orthodontic clinics in and around Rio de Janeiro.
In beauty-obsessed Brazil, straight, white teeth are almost as much of a status symbol as fast cars. So braces, along with computers, cell phones and college degrees, often count among the newly minted middle class' first investments, said marketing specialist Meirelles.
"For a long time, braces were seen as something that was reserved for people in Ipanema or Leblon," said Temido, referring to two of Rio's most chic, highest-rent neighborhoods. "Our innovation was to introduce techniques that made it possible to make care both high-quality and affordable."
Temido was able to sharply cut costs by creating multi-chair offices instead of private rooms in his orthodontic clinics, and relying on lower-paid hygienists and dentists.
Passing those savings onto patients allowed Temido to court the lower middle class. Patients at Simetria pay a flat fee of $50 a month, or an average of about $1,200 per treatment. That compares with top clinics in wealthy neighborhoods, where treatments often start at around $10,000, Temido said.
"I always had this complex about the gap in my front teeth, so this is something I've always wanted," said Simetria patient Costa, who got braces as soon as she was promoted from law firm secretary to the head of the firm's administrative service. "Things are getting better, and this is proof."
To woo consumers such as Costa, nationwide gym chain Bio Ritmo launched the lower-cost Smart Fit gyms, which are equipped with high-tech machines but don't offer classes. Exclusive Sao Paulo-based beauty salon Jacques Janine created the low-cost Basic Beauty branches, while pricey chocolate-maker Kopenhagen launched its own more affordable line, Cacau Brasil.
In a mall on Sao Paulo's gilded Avenida Paulista, 24-year-old Natalia Santos paced around the Taita jewelry and gift shop, holding gold-plated rings and precious-stone earrings up to the light, giving them a hard eye.
Four years ago, she never would have shopped in the area's expensive shops. Her work as an office administrator then brought in $400 a month, which when combined with the income of her father, the only other earner in the home where she lives, kept her household under the official middle-class line.
But Brazil's economic expansion and record low levels of unemployment, among other factors, have helped drive up Santos' income, as her employers gave her raises to reward her hard work and keep her from taking jobs elsewhere. She now makes $850 a month.
"Four years ago, I never would have bought like this, on impulse," Santos said shortly after spending $45 on a ring for herself and a violet sachet for a friend's engagement party. "I think it's absurd to buy so often and I always have regrets, but I love to spend."
Even TV Globo, the broadcaster behind the nightly soap operas that dominate ratings with high-drama sagas of the rich and fabulous, is courting the middle class.
"Avenida Brasil," the story of a young woman's vengeance on the nouveau-riche stepmother who abandoned her in a landfill, and "Cheias de Charme," about a trio of maids-turned-pop stars, have become hit soaps by featuring middle-class protagonists. In an unusual move, the show's handful of upperclass characters are relegated to the background.
Marketing specialist Meirelles said catering to the middle class requires first understanding the audience.
"Here in Brazil, there's a real problem in understanding how the lower middle class thinks," he said. "This lower class doesn't hold up the elite as a model. The reference for these people is not the rich, but rather the neighbor who succeeded."
With Brazil's commodity-driven growth slowing over the last year, the government is looking to domestic consumers, particularly the Class C, to spur on the economy. The Central Bank has slashed a benchmark interest rate to a record low, hoping it will spark consumer spending by generally making credit more available.
But skeptics worry that the new consumers are already too indebted to shoulder the lion's share of future growth. Economists estimate 20 percent of Brazilians' household monthly income goes to debt payments, and the Serasa Experian credit rating agency said that in the first half of 2012, consumer defaults in Brazil were 19.1 percent higher than in the same period last year.
Between her braces and the night classes she's taking toward her undergraduate degree, Simetria orthodontic patient Costa says she taps out her disposable income every month.
"It's a big investment in my future," she said.
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Police Warn Of Business Marketing Scam | St. Joseph Post
Captain Kevin Castle tells us they took a report from R&W Tow and Recovery about the scam.
The owner of the company said he received an email the day before with an advertisement from a company calling itself ?Eagle Marketing Group?.
(NOT to be confused with the parent company of St Joe Post, or radio stations K-Jo 105.5/Q Country 92.7/680 KFEQ/ESPN 1550)
The e-mail ad said it was selling tv spots, and later that day a man with out-of-state license plates came to the business with a poster of the advertisement. ?Castle says the man had an invoice and was attempting to collect money for selling the ads.
Other businesses in past years have been approached in a similar manner, according to Castle.
?The businesses on the ads have not authorized the use of their names, ? Castle said in the advisory, ?and the advertising spots are not believed to exist. ?
?In past instances, business who ?purchased? the ads, learned their checks were quickly cashed and the subjects selling them had left town.? ?
Source: http://www.stjosephpost.com/2012/08/09/police-warn-of-business-marketing-scam/
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