Imprisoned Indian politician Jayaram Jayalalitha has been granted bail by the country’s Supreme Court.
Former chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu Jayaram Jayalalitha was jailed last month for four years on corruption charges.
In a case that lasted 18 years, she was found guilty of amassing unaccounted-for wealth of more than $10 million.
Supporters wept on the streets when a court rejected an earlier bail plea.
Granting bail on October 17, India’s top court directed her to “complete all paperwork” relating to the appeal against her conviction within two months in the Karnataka high court.
Jayaram Jayalalitha was jailed last month for four years on corruption charges (photo AP)
Lawyers for Jayaram Jayalalitha, 66, had argued that she should be given bail because she is unwell and appealing against her conviction in a higher court.
However, the court warned Jayaram Jayalalitha it would not give her “a day more” if she failed to complete the procedures.
The Supreme Court also asked the former chief minister to ensure her party workers remained peaceful.
Her supporters’ protests against last month’s conviction meant they had to be forcibly dispersed by police.
The Karnataka court has sentenced Jayaram Jayalalitha and three other accused to four years in prison each, with Jayalalitha also facing a 1bn rupee fine ($16 million). The others have been ordered to pay a fine of about $1.6 million each.
As a business owner, there may come a time in your professional career that you want to sell the business. This is extremely common, but most business owners feel lost when it comes to the idea and implementation of selling their business.
Like any other sale, you have a variety of options when it comes to selling your business, and the following information will give you insight into some of the most popular selling options for business owners.
By Owner
Some homeowners opt to sell their homes themselves, and you can do the same with your business. Selling your business by yourself eliminates the fees you’ll spend on a real estate broker, which can often result in more money in your pocket after the sale is finalized. If you’re going to sell your business on your own, it’s a good idea to do some research on how to sell by owner. There are certain real estate laws and procedures you’ll want to familiarize yourself with to ensure you’re making a smart decision and not breaking any laws or making poor decisions.
Real Estate Agent
If selling your business on your own seems too difficult or stressful, you can always opt to use a commercial real estate agent. These individuals are experienced in selling businesses, and they’ll be able to advise you on the best possible moves to help sell your business. For example, if you want to sell a dental practice that needs some upgrades, your real estate agent will be able to explain why you should invest in the upgrades, or what you can expect to get if you don’t invest in the upgrades. Your real estate agent will also work tirelessly to advertise your business and make a quick sale. After all, they earn their money based on the sale of your business, so if it doesn’t sell, they don’t get paid.
Websites
The Internet is a powerful tool, and it can be just the thing to help you sell your business. Whether you’re selling the business on your own or using a real estate agent, you can advertise the sale of your business online. You can use general resale websites, such as Craigslist, to advertise the sale of your business, and you can even add it to the classifieds section of your local news outlet websites.
Other websites are specifically dedicated to selling businesses. For example, you should consider looking at websites like BusinessMart.com and BusinessBroker.com. These websites carry business listings from across the globe, and they’re aimed at providing valuable information to potential business buyers.
Closed Sale
Sometimes you can get lucky and already have an interested buyer in mind. If you’re in this situation, you’ll go through a closed sale. With this option, you don’t advertise your business as being for sale. Instead, you and the intended buyer create a contract and go through the process behind closed doors that eventually results in them receiving ownership of your business. Closed business sales are usually done when an investment company is interested in taking over, or if another member of the business (or even a member of your family) wants to buy it from you. If you are opting for a closed sale, be sure to have a good business lawyer on hand to ensure your needs are being met throughout the sale.
Being a business owner can be extremely rewarding, and it’s something that many people would like to accomplish at some point in their life. Some potential business owners want to do it for the freedom of being their own boss; others want to do it for the money; and some just want to do it to achieve a career goal.
No matter the reason you want to own a business, there are certain things you first need to know before buying a business.
Determine what type of business you want to own.
Some people want to desperately own a business that they jump right in and purchase the first one they see. This is not a good idea. In order to own a business and run it successfully, it’s important to consider buying a business that you have experience in. For example, if you have worked in the dental industry, then you’d be much more successful buying a dental practice than you would buying a restaurant, as you already know the ins and outs of what makes a dental practice successful. Do your research and determine the types of businesses that would make the most sense for you.
Find a business to buy.
Once you decide which type of business you want to buy, you then need to find a business that’s for sale. You can turn to newspaper advertisements, real estate agents, and even websites dedicated to selling businesses, such as BusinessBroker.com.
Another avenue to take would be to ask friends, family members and coworkers about businesses that they may know that are for sale. Sometimes business owners don’t want to hassle with the media or turn the selling of their business into a long process, so they try to sell the business quietly to avoid all the hassle.
Look into the business’s history and finances.
The last thing you want to do as a new business owner is to invest in a company that isn’t financially successful or stable. This is why it’s extremely important to look into the business’s history and finances. Hire a business auditor to valuate the business for you so that you know if the asking price is in line with the value of the company. Look into the finances of the company to see how the profits and losses have aligned throughout the years. Is the company constantly seeing a profit, or is it often struggling to make ends meet? If there are major financial issues, it may be best for you to walk away.
Make sure this is the right decision for you.
Before you sign any papers that make you the owner of a business, make sure this is the right decision for you. Being a business owner is not an easy task, and it will require you to put in lot of hard work. If you’re looking to just sit back and get paid for doing nothing, owning a business is not the best option.
Not only will you need to put in long hours to transition the company to the new ownership, but you’ll also have to keep putting money into the business to keep it updated and up to any codes. If you have any hesitation about owning a business, consider holding off on the purchase until you know for sure it’s exactly what you want to do.
Police searching for missing Misty Upham in Washington have found a body they believe to be hers, officials say.
Misty Upham, 32, known for roles in August: Osage County and Django Unchained, has been missing for 10 days.
The body of a woman was found in a ravine near the White River on Thursday afternoon.
A medical examiner has yet to positively identify the remains or determine a cause of death.
A purse with identification belonging to Misty Upham was reportedly found at the scene.
Police searching for missing Misty Upham in Washington have found a body they believe to be hers
Misty Upham, a 32-year-old Native American actress was said to be suicidal at the time of her disappearance.
Her father, Charles Upham, told a local radio affiliate his daughter had been upset and had stopped taking medication for bipolar disorder and anxiety.
Misty Upham’s family said she moved to the Seattle area to help care for her father, who had suffered a stroke.
She was reportedly staying on the Muckleshoot reservation, and was last seen walking from an apartment south of Seattle.
Misty Upham was earlier nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for supporting role in the 2008 film Frozen River.
The New York medical examiner’s office has ruled that Joan Rivers died of brain damage from low blood oxygen.
Joan Rivers died on September 4 at the age of 81 after being on life support for a week following a cardiac arrest during a medical procedure.
The comedian’s death was classified as a “therapeutic complication”, meaning it was a known risk of the procedure.
Negligence is not suspected and was not listed as a contributing cause.
Joan Rivers died of brain damage from low blood oxygen
The medical examiner listed the official cause of death as anoxic encephalopathy due to hypoxic arrest – a condition caused when brain tissue is deprived of oxygen leading to brain damage.
Joan Rivers had been sedated with the anaesthetic propofol during her outpatient procedure examining the back of her throat and vocal cords.
She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital after she stopped breathing, where she was put on life support.
Hypoxia and cardiac arrest are rare side effects of propofol, but patients usually sign a waiver before surgery to confirm they understand the risks.
“I always tell my clients when they come through here, every time you have surgery you’re playing Russian roulette,” medical malpractice lawyer Steven Harris told Associated Press.
“The more surgery, the more the numbers can catch up with you – and as we know, Ms Rivers had a lot of surgery.”
The medical examiner’s ruling, however, does not prevent Joan Rivers’ family from filing a legal claim against the clinic where the procedure took place.
Joan Rivers’ daughter, Melissa, said she had no comment on the ruling.
President Vladimir Putin and key EU leaders have met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Milan to discuss the eastern Ukraine crisis.
The leaders of the UK, Germany, France and Italy were expected to press Vladimir Putin to do more to end the fighting.
Italian PM Matteo Renzi said after the talks he was “more positive” on prospects for a solution to the crisis.
The West accuses Russia of arming separatist rebels and sending regular troops to Ukraine. Moscow denies this.
Ukraine and the rebels agreed a truce in September, but each side accuses the other of repeated shelling.
The separatists control parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
More than 3,600 people have been killed since the fighting erupted in April, following the annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsular a month earlier.
Vladimir Putin and key EU leaders have met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Milan to discuss the eastern Ukraine crisis
Vladimir Putin, Petro Poroshenko and EU leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit in the northern Italian city.
The other participants in the meeting included UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Matteo Renzi.
Speaking briefly after the talks, the Italian prime minister said they were constructive but big differences remained.
“I’m more positive, I hope we can work together very strongly,” he told journalists.
Petro Poroshenko met Angela Merkel ahead of Friday’s talks, with both expressing regret that many points of a peace plan agreed last month in the Belarusian capital Minsk “had not yet been implemented”, German government sources were quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Angela Merkel also met Vladimir Putin for two-and-a-half hours late on Thursday, October 16.
Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that there were still “serious differences” between the two leaders over the origins of the crisis.
Angela Merkel said it was “first and foremost” Russia’s responsibility to make sure the peace plan was being followed.
Among other points, the plan envisages the withdrawal of heavy weaponry 10 miles by each side from the line of contact and the withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries from the conflict zone.
Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of nearly 18,000 Russian troops stationed near the Ukrainian border.
However, NATO says it has seen no sign of any major Russian pullback.
Speaking ahead of the Milan talks, Vladimir Putin stressed that he would not be blackmailed by the EU and US over the Ukrainian crisis.
In what was seen as a direct reference to President Barack Obama, the Russian leader warned of “what discord between large nuclear powers can do to strategic stability”.
The two-day ASEM summit brings together more than 50 member states.
Goldman Sachs has reported a 50% jump in profit in Q3 2014 after a sudden jolt in bond market activity helped boost revenues.
The investment bank reported net income rose to $2.14 billion in the three months to the end of September.
That compared with $1.43 billion for the same period a year earlier.
Revenue from bond-trading leapt 74% to $2.17 billion, as Goldman benefited from the surprise exit of bond market supremo, Bill Gross, from Pimco.
The departure of Bill Gross from Pimco, the world’s largest bond fund, prompted investors to withdraw $23.5 billion from the company.
Goldman Sachs has reported a 50 percent jump in profit in Q3 2014 after a sudden jolt in bond market activity helped boost revenues
Strong US economic data in September and stimulus measures introduced by the European Central Bank (ECB), also helped jolt what had been a lacklustre bond market into life last month.
Total net revenue at the bank rose 25% to $8.39 billion.
“The combination of improving economic conditions in the US and a strong global franchise continued to drive client activity across our diverse set of businesses,” Goldman’s chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement.
Goldman Sachs has also been a big beneficiary of rising stock markets this year, helped by its advisory work on large deals including the $25 billion initial public offering of Chinese tech firm Alibaba on the US stock market.
Revenue from investment management, a business Goldman has been trying to build up, rose 20% to $1.46 billion.
The death toll of Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit has reached 28, officials say, after blizzards struck at the height of the Himalayan climbing season.
There are fears the final toll will be higher. Nine bodies were found on October 16 and about 220 people have been rescued, but many are still missing.
Nepalese, Israeli, Canadian, Indian, Slovak and Polish trekkers are among those killed.
Severe rain and snow in Nepal appear linked to a recent cyclone in India.
Tuesday’s exceptional weather was said to be part of the remnants of Cyclone Hudhud.
Most of the deaths happened when a blizzard hit a point on the Annapurna Circuit, a well-known trekking route in central Nepal.
The bad weather hit a resting place 14,800ft above sea level, not far below the circuit’s highest point, the Thorung La pass.
The death toll of Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit has reached 28, after blizzards struck at the height of the Himalayan climbing season
October is a popular trekking season and there were likely to have been many climbers on the passes.
Two military helicopters were sent from the capital Kathmandu to assist the rescue operation on Wednesday and nine people were rescued overnight.
Many more were rescued in Thursday’s search, with both private and military helicopters deployed.
Rescue operations were called off for the day when darkness fell on Thursday evening, but will resume again on Friday, October 17.
This has been a deadly year for Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering industry, which brings in huge revenues to Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries.
An avalanche on Mount Everest in April killed 16 Sherpa guides and resulted in a massive reduction of expeditions to the world’s highest peak.
The latest disaster comes during the peak trekking period. Thousands of tourists head to Nepal in October, many to enjoy its high altitude mountain passes and pristine beauty. But this freak heavy snowfall caught the trekkers off guard.
Nepal’s high peaks attract some of the world’s best climbers – but trekking is generally safe and appeals to masses of ordinary outdoor enthusiasts.
Apple has unveiled its newest tablets, iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.
The iPad Air 2 is said to be the thinnest device of its kind on the market.
It is 6.1mm (0.24in) thick and also adds a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
The device also gains an anti-reflective coating and a new chip, the A8X – a faster version of the processor in the company’s latest iPhones.
However, some analysts have questioned whether the upgrade will be enough to turn around iPad sales.
The iPad Mini 3 gains Apple’s fingerprint recognition component.
Some of the details were published by Apple, reportedly by mistake, on October 15.
Apple’s last earnings release revealed that it had sold 13.3 million iPads in the April-to-June quarter. That marked a 9% fall on its tally for the same period in 2013, despite the fact the company saw sales of iPhones and Mac computers rise.
It also contrasted with an 11% rise in the number of tablet shipments across the market as a whole – with Lenovo and Asus making some of the biggest gains – according to data from IDC.
According to the market research company, the iPad remained the bestselling tablet brand, but that its market share had dropped over the year from 33% to 26.9%.
One expert suggested that the recent launch of the 5.5in-screened iPhone 6 Plus, which shares most of the new iPads’ features, could further temper demand.
The iPad Air 2 is said to be the thinnest device of its kind on the market
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook has told investors he still believes that the tablet market will eventually surpass that of PCs, and has pointed to a recent deal with IBM – involving the two firms co-developing business-centric apps – as a way to get iPad sales on “a faster trajectory”.
Other new features of the iPad Air 2 include an eight megapixel rear camera that can capture timelapse and slow-mo videos. The front camera has also been upgraded to allow in more light and take a rapid succession of selfies.
In addition the machine includes a new type of Wi-Fi chip that supports faster data speeds, including downloads at up to 866 megabits per second (Mbps).
The new tablets will become available to buy next week.
Apple also introduced a new model of its all-in-one iMac computer featuring what it said was the highest resolution display on the market.
The computer has a 27in display that has a resolution of 5K – 5210 by 2880 pixels – offering about five times the detail of a 1080p “full HD” television.
The basic model will cost $2,499 and is now available for sale.
Lenovo already sells the N308 – an all-in-one Android-powered desktop PC with a 19.5in screen offering slightly lower 4K resolution, while Panasonic has the Toughpad MB5025 – a 20in 4K computer that runs Windows 8.
Intel and Samsung have also announced plans to manufacture 4K screens for other all-in-one PCs.
But for now, large ultra-high definition screens are still a rarity in the computing sector beyond the use of separate monitors, which may aid sales of the new iMac.
Apple said the extra detail made it a superior option for editing photos and other visual tasks.
Apple also announced an upgraded version of its screenless computer, the Mac Mini, but there was no mention of an update to its Apple TV set top box, which last received a hardware refresh in March 2012.
The company also said that the latest version of its operating system for Mac computers – OS X Yosemite – was being made available for download this Thursday. The software is designed to allow data to be swapped back and forth with iOS-powered iPhones and iPads more easily than before.
It added that Version 8.1 of iOS, which introduces support for its near field communication (NFC)-powered payment service Apple Pay, would be released on Monday, October 20.
Shakira launched her latest perfume Rock! in Barcelona last week.
The fragrance, which comes in a guitar-shaped bottle, is apparently an expression of Shakira’s most daring part and is a celebration the music that moves the world.
Shakira wanted to capture that intense, indescribable feeling and moment of anticipation and excitement while going up on stage.
Shakira launched her latest perfume Rock! in Barcelona
This is a scent of raw power and energy. The composition is fresh and sharp floral-fruity. It opens with fresh Italian bergamot and sparkling, citrus notes of lemon and green mandarin. Passion fruit gives the composition strength and makes it energetic and urban, while the heart includes feminine notes of jasmine and orange blossom. The base captures patchouli, cedar and amber.
Rock! by Shakira is available as 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette.
Micropia museum, the world’s first “interactive microbe zoo”, opened in Amsterdam last month.
The 10 million euros museum is next to Amsterdam’s Artis Royal Zoo, whose director came up with the idea of exposing an array of living microbes in a “micro-zoo” 12 years ago.
Micropia’s director, Haig Balian believes the importance of microbes in our daily lives has been underestimated ever since Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed the microscopic creatures in the 17th century.
Microbes are often associated with illness, through viruses, bacteria, fungi and algae, but they are also essential for our survival and will play an increasingly important role in humanity and the planet’s future, Haig Balian said.
Micropia museum is the world’s first interactive microbe zoo
“Microbes are everywhere. Therefore you need microbiologists who can work in every sector: in hospitals, food production, the oil industry and pharmaceuticals, for instance,” he told AFP news agency.
Microbes are already used to produce biofuels, develop new type of antibiotics and improve crop yields.
Experiments have shown their future potential for everything from generating electricity to strengthening building foundations and curing cancer.
Each adult human body carries around 1.5 kg of microbes, and we would die without them.
Much of the museum – which claims to be a world-first – looks like a laboratory, complete with rows of microscopes connected to giant television screens.
Visitors can look through a window at a real-life laboratory where different kinds of microbes are being reproduced in Petri dishes and test tubes.
Step into a lift and look up to see an animation of a camera zooming on someone’s eye, revealing the tiny mites that live on our eyelashes. The camera then zooms in on bacteria on the mite and finally on a virus on the bacteria.
Visitors can watch microbes reproduce under a 3D-microscope, especially designed and built for Micropia, or see a giant scale model of the Ebola virus that’s ravaging west Africa.
A microbe scanner will instantly tell how many microbes live on a visitor’s body and where.
Bolder visitors can try the “Kiss-o-Meter” and be told how many microbes are being transferred as a couple kisses.
“Did you know that for instance there are 700 species of microbes living in your mouth? Or 80 kinds of fungi on your heel?” Haig Balian asked.
“A visit to Micropia will forever change the way you see the world,” he said.
European markets continue to tumble on October 16 amid fears of a global economic slowdown and the impact of the Ebola crisis.
The main stock markets in Germany, the UK and France fell more than 2%, tracking a sell-off in Asia and on Wall Street.
On October 15, London’s FTSE 100 saw its heaviest one-day fall in 16 months.
Borrowing costs for Greece and Italy rose, and investors looking for a safe haven pushed the gold price higher.
Analysts said that a raft of disappointing economic and corporate news had unnerved investors.
Recent poor data from China, Germany and the US have heightened worries that global economic recovery could go into reverse.
European markets continue to tumble on amid fears of a global economic slowdown and the impact of the Ebola crisis
Meanwhile concerns about the spread of Ebola and its impact on emerging markets have added to the worries. Companies linked to travel and tourism have seen their share prices fall in the past couple of weeks, offsetting hopes that the recent fall in the oil price would lower their long-term fuel costs.
The price of US crude has gone below $80 a barrel for the first time since June 2012, pulling down oil-related shares such as BP and Tullow.
Financial shares were among some of the biggest fallers across Europe. Royal Bank of Scotland was down another 3.6% after falling heavily on October 15.
Meanwhile, in France, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas fell 5% and 4% respectively amid worries about their exposure to a slowdown in southern European economies.
Greece’s borrowing costs rose on Thursday on fears about the country’s exit from the bailout it received during the financial crisis.
The yield on Greek 10-year bonds rose 85.2 basis points to 8.72% – its highest since January. Investors are worried that the country could struggle to borrow money once it is weaned off bailout money.
In Spain, Madrid’s benchmark IBEX 35 index fell 4.28% after a bond issue failed to raise as much as the government hoped.
Meanwhile, gold traded at a one-month high, while the price of copper and some other metals fell to multi-month lows amid concern that demand would fall because of an economic slowdown.
Elizabeth Pena was known for her roles in Lone Star, Rush Hour and TV shows like sitcoms I Married Dora and Modern Family, in which she played the mother of Sofia Vergara’s character Gloria.
Other film credits included La Bamba, Jacob’s Ladder, Batteries Not Included and Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
Elizabeth Pena’s manager told the Associated Press news agency she died of natural causes after a brief illness. The actress died in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 14.
Elizabeth Pena was known for her roles in Lone Star, Rush Hour
The Cuban-American actress was a familiar face from her dramatic and comedic roles on the big and small screens.
Elizabeth Pena caught the eye in 1986’s Down and Out in Beverly Hills, playing the maid Carmen alongside Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss and Nick Nolte.
She won the role, she said, by bribing a security guard at Disney Studios to let her in to see the casting director after an agent had told her she was not attractive enough for the role.
That led to parts in the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba and alien comedy Batteries Not Included.
On TV, Elizabeth Pena played a Hispanic housekeeper who married her employer in I Married Dora.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a major outbreak of Ebola in the US and elsewhere in the West is unlikely given the strong health systems.
President Barack Obama also said the risk of Americans getting the virus was “extremely low”, although he ordered a “much more aggressive response”.
Meanwhile authorities are investigating how Nurse Amber Vinson, who was infected when treating Thomas Eric Duncan in Texas, was allowed to travel on a plane.
Officials are trying to trace the 132 people who flew with Amber Vinson.
The Ebola outbreak has killed about 4,500 people so far, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
President Barack Obama said the risk of Americans getting the virus was extremely low, although he ordered a much more aggressive response (photo Reuters)
EU health ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the crisis, including the possibility of sending more troops to West Africa to help contain the virus.
Christopher Dye, WHO director of strategy, said the introduction of Ebola into the US or other countries in Western Europe was a matter “for very serious concern”.
“The possibility that once an infection has been introduced that it spreads elsewhere, is something that everybody is going to be concerned about,” he said.
But he added: “We’re confident that in North America and Western Europe where health systems are very strong, that we’re unlikely to see a major outbreak in any of those places.”
Earlier, President Barack Obama said the likelihood of a widespread Ebola outbreak was “very, very low”.
However, he promised a “much more aggressive” monitoring of Ebola cases in the US and reaffirmed plans to send a “SWAT team” of experts to any hospital that reported an infection.
Barack Obama cancelled a political campaign trip to chair a crisis meeting on Ebola on Wednesday and has cleared his diary for Thursday.
The president said it would be more difficult to prevent an outbreak in the US if the epidemic “rages out of control in West Africa”.
US health officials are facing new questions about the response to Ebola infections in Texas.
Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan was treated at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital but died of the disease.
HBO will launch a streaming-only membership for its content, allowing it to compete with companies like Netflix or Amazon.
The new service will allow consumers to cut the cord on cable without being forced to “borrow” a password, as some do now, to watch the company’s programming.
HBO’s standalone streaming service will launch in the United States in 2015.
Its aim is to serve the 10 million, and growing, “broadband only” homes, HBO boss Richard Plepler announced.
“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO,” Richard Plepler said.
The news was met with glee on social media, where “cord cutters” celebrated what some called the beginning of the end of bundled TV services. “Down with Cable!” and “Cord cutters, rejoice!” were the trending headlines greeting the news.
Traditionally, HBO, home to shows like Game of Thrones, Girls and True Detective, came as a premium option in a package of bundled cable TV channels, administered by a cable provider.
At a time when people are increasingly watching programs streamed over the internet – whether on their phones or their plasma screen monitors in their living rooms, many consumers have expressed frustration at paying for traditional cable, only to receive dozens of channels they don’t want along with premium brands like ESPN or HBO.
While HBO currently offers a streaming service, HBO Go, it is only available to customers who already pay for HBO as part of a cable bundle
With the advent of Netflix and Amazon streaming services, more and more people are choosing to cut off cable altogether to save money, skip commercials and only watch what they want, when they want it.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has gone on record saying: “The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.”
While HBO currently offers a streaming service, HBO Go, it is only available to customers who already pay for HBO as part of a cable bundle.
It’s not uncommon for people to “borrow” a friend or family member’s HBO Go password to watch shows from home, and pressure has been on the subscription channel to provide the services as a stand-alone option.
Until today, analysts speculated that the company was unwilling to alienate cable companies who not only provided a large bulk of revenue, but dealt with HBO’s customer-facing issues like technical support and billing.
The company has tried a similar project in Scandinavia, he says, and earlier this year partnered with Amazon to provide HBO content as part of the online retailer’s streaming service.
Both moves allowed the company to evaluate the appetite for and effectiveness of a stand-alone service.
HBO did not provide details like how much the service would cost or how it would differ, if at all, from HBO Go.
Asian markets opened lower on October 16 after Wall Street tumbled on US economic data, fuelling growth concerns.
Data from the US showed retail sales and producer prices both fell in September, dimming expectations of an interest rate hike by the central bank.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 3%, briefly turning negative for the year before closing down 0.8%.
Japan’s shares fell more than 2% to a four-and-a-half-month low.
In early trading the Nikkei 225 was at 14,751.77. The dollar was at 105.92 yen, flat from New York trade.
Asian markets opened lower after Wall Street tumbled on US economic data
Among the losers were shares of Toyota, down over 2% after the automaker issued a recall of 1.75 million vehicles on Wednesday.
Hong Kong shares opened down almost 1% as the Hang Seng Index fell 226.55 points to 22,913.50.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 2,451.65 points after data showed that the rate of inflation in September fell, adding to evidence of a slowing economy.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was lower 1% at 5,194.80 points.
Shares of Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s largest independent oil and gas producer, were lower 0.1% despite its third quarter production results beating forecasts.
In South Korea, shares followed the global downtrend.
The benchmark Kospi was down 0.7% after the Bank of Korea cut its interest rate for the second time in three months on October 15, and also downgraded its growth forecasts for the economy for this year.
If you’re working toward your Masters Degree in Communications, then you understand the incredible value of a well thought-out creative pitch. This “shootout” is your first (and often only) chance to convince a potential client of your ability to promote their product successfully and therefore win their business. There are certain elements of your pitch – setting the stage, formatting well – that, when used correctly, can increase your likelihood of success. In the below infographic, learn these essential elements for developing a convincing creative pitch:
Amber Vinson is the Texas nurse who flew on a plane with more than 130 people on board on the day before she came down with symptoms of Ebola.
Amber Vinson, 29, who is the second person infected in the US, fell ill on Tuesday, October 14.
Both she and nurse Nina Pham, 26, had treated Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who died a week ago in Dallas.
A nurses’ union has said those treating Thomas Eric Duncan were not given full protection and had parts of their skin exposed
More than 70 healthcare workers who may have come in contact with him at the hospital are being monitored for symptoms, the hospital’s director has said.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Ebola mission chief says the world is falling behind in the race to contain the virus, which has killed more than 4,000 in West Africa.
On October 15, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it wanted to interview the passengers on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 from Cleveland, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas on October 13.
It said it was taking the measure “because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning”.
Amber Vinson flew to Cleveland on October 10, even though she was being monitored for signs of Ebola
Both Amber Vinson and Nina Pham treated Thomas Eric Duncan early in his stay at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas when he had “extensive production of body fluids”, said CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden.
A national nurse union told reporters on October 15 the health workers treating Thomas Eric Duncan had not been properly protected and called for all health workers treating Ebola patients to receive full protective suits and training from hospitals.
Union director RoseAnn DeMoro said staff treated Thomas Eric Duncan for days without the necessary protective gear, and hazardous waste was allowed to pile up to the ceiling.
The CDC has appointed a “site manager” in Dallas to standardize the protective equipment and supervise the method of putting it off and on.
Amber Vinson flew to Cleveland on October 10, even though she was being monitored for signs of Ebola and therefore should not have flown on a commercial plane, Dr. Tom Frieden said.
When Amber Vinson returned from Ohio, she was not showing symptoms of the disease, the crew has told CDC investigators.
Health experts say people who are not showing symptoms are not contagious.
On the morning of October 14, Amber Vinson came down with a fever and was isolated within 90 minutes. Her diagnosis was announced early on October 15.
One of the ill women is to be transferred to Emory University hospital in Atlanta, which oversaw the recovery of two US aid workers who had caught the disease in Africa.
Thomas Eric Duncan, who was the first person to be diagnosed in the US with Ebola, started showing symptoms of the disease just days after he arrived in Texas from Liberia, where he contracted it.
An initial set of 48 people who were in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan before he was admitted to hospital are nearing the end of the window in which they could develop an Ebola infection.
Neil Patrick Harris has announced he will host the 87th Academy Awards on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Neil Patrick Harris made the announcement by posting a cheeky video on Twitter.
The 41-year-old actor wrote: “I’m in!” as he gets off the phone, before circling the words “Host the Oscars” on a bucket list.
Neil Patrick Harris has announced he will host the 87th Academy Awards on February 22, 2015
Neil Patrick Harris, known to many for Doogie Howser MD, has hosted the Tony Awards and the Emmys but he said this realized a lifelong ambition.
“To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true,” Neil Patrick Harris said in a statement released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs called Neil Patrick Harris “the consummate entertainer”.
The news caps a busy week for Neil Patrick Harris, who released his autobiography and features in the nation’s number one film, Gone Girl.
A&E Network and Activision have teamed up to expand the Duck Dynasty franchise into the gaming world, with a video game launching on PlayStation and Xbox.
The T (Teen) rated Duck Dynasty game is available now for $49.99 on the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. It’s available for $39.99 on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, and the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC. Users of the Nintendo 3DS hand-held system can buy a $29.99 version rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and Up), which features a more animated look at the show, along with a variety of mini-games.
A&E Network and Activision have teamed up to expand the Duck Dynasty franchise into the gaming world
Players take the role of John Luke, the oldest son of Willie and Korie Robertson, as he earns his feathers as the newest member of the family’s duck call business. While learning the ins and outs of duck hunting, John Luke will run into all of his eccentric relatives, including Si, Jase, Phil, Kay and more. Along the way, players will get to take part in comical quests, airboat racing, truck and ATV driving, shooting galleries, shotgun golf, fishing, frog catching, collectible hunts and more while exploring the famous Robertson backwoods homestead.
For a limited time, fans who purchase Duck Dynasty at release can play Uncle Si’s exclusive Redneck Logic™ trivia challenge, which tests players’ knowledge of the show for a chance to win a bonus in-game reward.
Retailers have announced their hours for this year’s Thanksgiving weekend.
Black Friday marks the traditional kick-off to the holiday shopping season, and the shift toward opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving is continuing.
Macy’s will open most of its department stores on Thanksgiving night at 6 p.m., two hours earlier than last year’s 8 p.m. Thanksgiving opening.
The stores at Arundel Mills also will open at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 27, but will close at 1 a.m. before reopening on the actual Black Friday at 6 a.m., the Hanover mall said today. Retailers among more than 200 at the mall include Best Buy, Coach Factory Store, The Disney Store Outlet, H&M, Michael Kors Outlet, New York & Company Outlet, Nike Factory store and SaksFifth Avenue OFF 5th, among others. Last year, the mall opened at 8 p.m. but stayed open all night.
At The Mall in Columbia, White Marsh Mall and Towson Town Center, some stores are choosing to open from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving, while others will be open from midnight to 6 a.m. on Black Friday. But the shopping centers won’t open mall-wide until 6 a.m. on Black Friday. Department stores at the malls will set their own hours.
Macy’s will open most of its department stores on Thanksgiving night at 6PM, two hours earlier than last year (photo Getty Images)
Macy’s issued a statement today saying it’s opening earlier in response to the customer-driven trend toward early shopping for Black Friday.
“Macy’s aims to accommodate customers who count on us to be there when they are ready to shop,” the retailer’s statement said.
“In response to the significant, sustained customer interest in last year’s opening on Thanksgiving, both at Macy’s and at many other retailers, we will be opening our full-line department stores at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.”
Macy’s added that its employees volunteer to work that day. Some workers prefer to work Thanksgiving and have time off on Black Friday. Those who work an opening Thanksgiving shift will be given incentive pay.
“Our people are able to make their own decisions about how they contribute to our most important and busiest weekend of the year,” the retailer’s statement said.
“In just a few days, the large majority of the shifts have already been filled voluntarily.”
More shoppers will wait until Thanksgiving weekend to start their holiday shopping this year compared to last year, according to a survey released today by The NPD Group.
Shropshire businessman Chiles Cartwright has become the first candidate to be fired from this year’s The Apprentice after Lord Alan Sugar failed to buy into his sales tactics.
Chiles Cartwright, 35, fell foul of the show boss after contestants were split into male and female teams and asked to take on all of the sales challenges featured from the previous nine series in a bid to grab the largest profit.
He owns two companies, a consultancy business and a building materials supplier.
Chiles Cartwright took on the role of project manager for the first task but fell foul after failing to complete and losing the task.
Chiles Cartwright owns two companies, a consultancy business and a building materials supplier
The girls came out on top in the task which saw them selling an array of items from a choice of hot dogs, t-shirts and coffee, leaving the boys to face a grilling in the boardroom, and Chiles Cartwright under the cosh as the leader of the most poorly performing of two male sub-teams.
Chiles Cartwright said after he was fired from BBC’s The Apprentice: “I’m absolutely gutted about coming out first, I would have loved to have been in longer, but I don’t really look back on things. If I woke up in the morning and someone said to me, <<You can be on The Apprentice for one episode>>, I’d still take it.
“I was concerned about going out in the first week because it’s not enough time to get to know people, if I could have stayed for a couple of weeks my ability would have shone through. I still feel I would have been the most credible candidate in the process, had I survived after week one.”
Chiles Cartwright explained that he had been shocked by the chaos of the first week, which this year welcomed 20 candidates instead of 16.
Amanda Bynes, who was recently arrested for DUI and accused of shoplifting, could be hospitalized for a year.
Amanda Bynes, 28, was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital in Pasadena, California, on October 10 and her doctors are reportedly going to court to obtain an LPS Hold, which would allow medics to confine her to hospital or another secure facility and administer medication against her will and lasts up to 12 months, TMZ reports.
A judge will grant the special type of conservatorship if they feel a patient is “gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism”.
Doctors were previously granted an LPS Hold on Amanda Bynes over a year ago following a series of erratic incidents, including setting fire to a stranger’s driveway and dousing her dog with gasoline, but the court order expired last month so it is likely a judge will be asked to grant another within a week.
Amanda Bynes was recently arrested for DUI and accused of shoplifting (photo Twitter)
It is believes an LPS Hold won’t be sought until Amanda Bynes has been given a diagnosis.
It has been claimed that the troubled star feels utterly betrayed by her parents Rick and Lynn Bynes after they secretly arranged for her to be taken to hospital in California.
A source claimed Amanda Bynes says her relationship with her mother and father has been “destroyed forever” and she is furious with them for tricking her into seeking treatment.
She spent five months in a treatment facility in July 2013 when she was placed under involuntary psychiatric hold.
Amanda Bynes was released in December and appeared to be getting her life back on track until a conservatorship giving her parents control of her affairs came to an end last month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials are seeking 132 people who flew on a plane with a Texas nurse on the day before she came down with symptoms of Ebola.
The nurse, the second person to catch Ebola in the US, became ill on October 14.
Both she and nurse Nina Pham, 26, had treated Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who died on October 8, in Dallas.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Ebola mission chief says the world is falling behind in the race to contain the virus, which has killed more than 4,000 in West Africa.
On October 15, the CDC said it wanted to interview the passengers on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 from Cleveland, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas on October 13.
It said it was taking the measure “because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning”.
The CDC officials are seeking 132 people who flew on a plane with a Texas nurse on the day before she came down with symptoms of Ebola
Both the newly diagnosed nurse, who has yet to be identified, and Nina Pham treated Thomas Eric Duncan early in his stay at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas when he had “extensive production of body fluids”, CDC director Tom Frieden told reporters on Wednesday.
The second nurse flew to Cleveland on 10 October, even though she had had “extensive contact” with Thomas Eric Duncan and was being monitored for signs of Ebola and therefore should not have flown on a commercial aeroplane, Dr. Tom Frieden said.
Nina Pham subsequently became ill and was diagnosed with Ebola. When the second nurse returned from Ohio on Monday evening, she was not showing symptoms of the disease, the crew has told CDC investigators.
Health experts say people who are not showing symptoms are not contagious.
“We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement,” Dr. Tom Frieden said, meaning, for example, in chartered flights or ambulances.
On the morning of October 14, the second nurse came down with a fever and was isolated within 90 minutes. Her diagnosis was announced early on October 15.
One of the ill women is to be transferred to Emory University hospital in Atlanta, which oversaw the recovery of two US aid workers who had caught the disease in Africa.
Bank of America has reported a net profit of $168 million in Q3 2014, down from $2.5 billion a year earlier.
Total revenue was $21.4 billion.
The huge drop in profits was due to a previously announced $5.3 billion mortgage-related settlement with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies.
Most areas of the business improved profitability compared with a year ago.
Bank of America has reported a net profit of $168 million in Q3 2014, down from $2.5 billion a year earlier
“We saw solid customer and client activity and improved profitability in most of our businesses relative to the year-ago quarter,” said Bank of America’s chief executive Brian Moynihan.
The bank’s property business posted a loss of $5.2 billion, compared with a loss of $990 million a year earlier.
Profits at the asset management arm rose slightly to $813 million, while those at the global banking division rose by a quarter to $1.4 billion.
The global markets business turned a loss of $875 million to a profit of $769 million.
On October 14, rival JP Morgan reported a profit of $5.6 billion for Q3 2014, while Citigroup posted a $3.4 billion profit.
