Sunday, July 31, 2011

Is Mexico safe for spring break?

By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY

That's the 64,000 peso question these days, as debate rages.

On the one hand, the Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a warning discouraging students from going to Mexico for spring break because of safety issues.

On the other, Mexican officials say that tourism there increased last year, despite drug-cartel violence and the world's economic woes.

Big travel packager Funjet Vacations just announced that "despite a continued stream of negative media coverage, over 253,000 travelers visited Mexico from Texas in December and 210,000 in January compared to 224,000 and 196,000 in the previous year, respectively.


"The number of people flying out of Texas cities into Mexico is up 12% from last year, and December saw the most travelers for that month in a decade," said Mike Going, president of Funjet Vacations. "Year after year Mexico remains a top travel destination for both Funjet Vacations and the Texas market and we are optimistic about the forecast for 2011."

Funjet has some spring break deals in Mexico for under $600 for three nights, including all meals, booze and airfare.

Meanwhile, the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau is fighting back by saying that comparing the Caribbean's No. 1 resort destination to other parts of the country as far as safety goes is wrong. It says Cancun welcomed about 5.9 million international visitors, an increase of more than 400,000 over 2009. It also says it has camera surveillance in tourist areas, increased security, more lifeguards and a special call center for tourists.

The U.S. State Department does have a travel warning in place for Mexico, mainly emphasizing danger in border towns and cities such as Monterrey. The warning says, in part: "Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well."

I have just landed in Cancun and noted more security and tourist ambassadors. So far, I have yet to hear of serious incidents involving spring-break vacationers this year. Have any readers experienced safe trips or disturbing incidents in Mexico? Please share. I will be writing more about this, and also would like to know your feelings about travel to Mexico.

Posted Mar 9 2011 3:48AM

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Pabst Asked to Lower Alcohol Content in New Blast Drink

Blast Colt 45Calling the new Blast by Colt 45 beverage a drinking "binge-in-a-can," 16 state attorneys general called on Pabst Brewing Co. to cut the alcohol content in its malt beverage and change its marketing for the drink.

Blast is a malt beverage that comes in four fruit flavors -- strawberry lemonade, blueberry pomegranate, grape and raspberry watermelon. Pabst's marketing campaign features hip-hop/rap music star Snoop Dogg in edgy commercials aimed squarely at the 20-something set. The 23.5-ounce single-serving cans pack an alcohol concentration of 12% -- the equivalent of almost five cans of beer.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler penned the letter, which was signed by the other attorneys general and sent to Pabst. "At a time when we're fighting to prevent underage and binge drinking, we call upon Pabst to rethink the dangers posed by Blast, promoted by a popular hip-hop celebrity, as a 'binge-in-a-can' in sweet flavors and bright colors aimed at the youngest drinkers," Gansler said in a statement. "I hope our letter asking Pabst to take swift and responsible action will also be heeded by other companies who produce these unsafe 'supersized' alcopops."

The letter also compared Blast to alcoholic energy drinks that have been criticized over their marketing because they are packaged to look nearly identical to non-alcoholic energy drinks and consumers could unwittingly think they're safe to drink. The alcoholic energy drinks contain both booze and caffeine and the combination masks the effects of alcohol, creating a drunk-awake state. The alcoholic energy drinks are also sold in 23.5-ounce cans -- just like Blast -- and have between 6% and 12% alcohol offered in trendy flavors like watermelon.

Pabst refuted the letter's claims in a statement released by its public relations firm.

"Blast is only meant to be consumed by those above legal drinking age and does not contain caffeine," the company said in the recently released statement. "As with all Pabst products, our marketing efforts for Blast are focused on conveying the message of drinking responsibly. To that end, the alcohol content of Blast is clearly marked on its packaging, we are encouraging consumers to consider mixing Blast with other beverages or enjoy it over ice, and we are offering a special 7-ounce bottle for those who prefer a smaller quantity, among other important initiatives."

Gansler's letter said the level of alcohol in Blast is high enough that if someone drank the entire can, it would be considered binge drinking. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said binge drinkers account for more than half of the 79,000 annual alcohol-related deaths in the United States.

The letter was signed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Guam, as well as the city attorney of San Francisco.

California's Marin Institute applauded the letter, which comes on the heels of a petition drive by the alcohol industry watchdog group to stop marketing to youth and to fire Snoop Dogg -- popular with the under-21 crowd -- as its spokesman.

"Unfortunately a number of flavored, malt beverage alcopops are supersized," Marin Institute Executive Director Bruce Lee Livingston said in a statement. "We are hopeful that other attorneys general join this action against Blast, and also include similar dangerous products like Four Loko, Joose and Tilt."

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Pilot sick calls prompt flight cancellations

In June, Airline Pilots Association official Capt. Wendy Morse bemoaned the slow pace of negotiatons.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • New York and Newark, New Jersey, are hardest hit by the cancellations
  • The sick calls come as United Continental Holdings is in contract talks with pilots
  • The pilots association last month said that negotiations were moving at "a snail's pace"

(CNN) -- The recently merged Continental and United Airlines canceled 24 flights Wednesday due to pilot sick calls, which occurred as United Continental Holdings is negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the pilots, an airline spokeswoman said.

The airlines, which merged last year to become the world's largest carrier, said the sick calls began Tuesday, largely impacting the airports in New York and Newark, New Jersey, said airline spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.

The Air Line Pilots Association didn't have an immediate comment Wednesday, but last month, the association said much work remains before the merger could be considered a success. The association and the merged airlines are in contract negotiations.

Capt. Wendy Morse, chairman of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, made that remark as shareholders gathered for an annual United Airlines meeting.

"Until an agreement is reached, this merger cannot be considered anything close to a success," Morse said in a statement in June. "It's unfathomable that, more than one year after the announcement of the UAL/CAL merger, the company has not reached agreement with its pilots on a JCBA."

Morse said that without an agreement with pilots, "the company will never be able to achieve the full benefits of the merger."

CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report.

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Royal wedding gives kiss of life to British stocks

But can this latest wave of "cool Britannia" rub off on other, less glamorous British companies?

Justin Urquhart Stewart of Seven Investment Management thinks so. "Events like the wedding give a short-term boost to some companies. It helps to reinforce a positive view of the UK," he said.

It wasn't just haute couture brands that benefited, he added. Diageo, the drinks manufacturer, led the way with high-end goods - in this case with spirits such as Tanqueray gin and Johnnie Walker whisky. This company, he said, is still a good investment, not least because its products are so popular worldwide.

"We tend to have a negative view of the UK. But it is often very different overseas," Mr Urquhart Stewart said. "We take for granted our stability and our heritage, but many successful UK companies trade on that, and events such as the recent wedding and the Olympics will help bolster this view."

As with all investment decisions, diversification is key. Mick Gilligan of stockbrokers Killik & Co said: "There are UK companies and UK funds that look undervalued and could be a good investment bet."

One company Mr Gilligan likes is Cobham, the engineering firm that designs and manufactures aerospace and defence systems. While it might not seem to have much in common with handbag retailers, both rely on overseas demand to drive profits.

He is also positive on Tesco, again thanks to its expansion overseas. But given the current economic climate at home, he is bullish only about food retailers, so isn't currently tipping that other classic British brand, Marks & Spencer.

Looking closer to home, Mr Gilligan said both Lloyds Banking Group and National Grid had the potential to deliver good investment returns and grow their dividend streams. "Lloyds looks like a pretty cheap stock considering it has 30m customers."

For most investors, buying individual shares remains a high-risk game. Funds are more diversified, and there are a wide range investing in British companies. But, as Mr Urquhart Stewart pointed out, don't assume that investing in a FTSE 100 or FTSE All-Share fund means you are "buying British".

London is a very international stock exchange, he said, with more than half of the profits generated by FTSE-listed companies coming from overseas. "In many ways it is a commodities and mining index. This goes back to our strengths: stability, compliance and corporate governance. Would you rather put your money with a Kazakhstan mining start-up or a big international mining company that is listed in London but operates mines in that region?"

Ben Yearsley of Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Over the long term I believe emerging markets will have the growth story. But the UK market, particularly larger blue chips, remains attractive for those seeking less volatile investments and wanting to secure a dividend income."

He added: "Short term, the UK market does look cheap." Darius McDermott of Chelsea Financial Services said: "UK and global markets have had a strong run. While the UK economy may be floundering, stock markets do not move in line with GDP, and investors shouldn't forget there are many great British companies making things that the parts of the world with stronger growth need." The relatively weak pound has helped facilitate this.

There are funds that focus on "buying British". Unicorn Asset Management's �8m Outstanding British Companies fund has delivered a 52pc return over the past three years, against an average 15pc in the UK All Companies fund sector. Over the same period the FTSE All-Share delivered a 17pc return.

The fund usually holds between 30 and 50 British stocks. A spokesman said: "These are British companies providing niche services or products in areas where there is a high barrier to entry."

Among its bigger holdings are Advanced Medical Solutions, which makes skin glue. The fund also invests in Domino Printing, a hi-tech company that prints expiry dates on eggs, Rolls-Royce and Devro, which manufactures sausage skins.

Fund manager John McClure said: "People say British industry is dead, but our performance to date indicates that this is not the case. Most of the companies we invest in derive the majority of their revenue overseas.

"This is because we don't believe that GDP growth is coming from the UK, but companies here are well positioned to benefit from growth in other regions."

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One company dominates hotel websites ? Top Canada travel sites, July 23 2011

Four of the top five companies in the accommodation category of leading travel websites in Canada are owned by Expedia.

The quartet ? TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor France and TripAdvisor Canada ? have a 15% share of traffic in the category, with Booking.com in second place managing to attract 5%.

The remaining five sites have a 8% share of the market between them.

montreal site data

Most popular travel websites in Canada for the week ending July 23 2011:

Agency

RankWebsiteDomainPercentage of VisitsPrevious Position
1Expedia Canadawww.expedia.ca14.42%1
2Flight Networkwww.flightnetwork.com5.49%2
3Hotwirewww.hotwire.com4.87%3
4priceline.comwww.priceline.com3.43%6
5Expediawww.expedia.com3.11%5
6Travelzoo Canadawww.travelzoo.com/ca2.93%4
7itravel2000www.itravel2000.com2.70%8
8Quebecvacances.comwww.quebecvacances.com2.54%9
9Red Tag Vacationswww.redtag.ca2.49%7
10Orbitzwww.orbitz.com2.07%-

Destinations and Accommodation

RankWebsiteDomainPercentage of VisitsPrevious Position
1TripAdvisorwww.tripadvisor.com6.43%1
2Booking.comwww.booking.com5.32%2
3Hotels.comwww.hotels.com4.48%3
4TripAdvisor Francewww.tripadvisor.fr2.59%4
5TripAdvisor Canadawww.tripadvisor.ca1.99%5
6City of Torontowww.toronto.ca1.84%7
7InterContinental Hotels Groupwww.ichotelsgroup.com1.79%6
8Bonjour Quebecwww.bonjourquebec.com1.51%9
9Canada's Wonderlandwww.canadaswonderland.com1.19%8
10Sepaqwww.sepaq.com1.16%-

Airlines

RankWebsiteDomainPercentage of VisitsPrevious Position
1Air Canadawww.aircanada.ca28.84%1
2WestJetwww.westjet.com25.79%2
3Air Transatwww.airtransat.com5.80%3
4Allegiant Airwww.allegiantair.com3.46%4
5Porterwww.flyporter.com2.68%5
6acaeronet.aircanada.caacaeronet.aircanada.ca2.59%8
7Delta Air Lineswww.delta.com2.23%10
8Air Canada Employee Travel Sitetravel.aircanada.com2.01%7
9American Airlineswww.aa.com1.97%6
10Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airwww.alaskaair.com1.94%-

NB: Data courtesy of Experian Hitwise

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Tags: canada site data, hitwise

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Chuka Umunna: Policymakers must hold firm on reform of rating agencies

Competition for lucrative business puts pressure on agency staff to downplay risk and to collude with issuers, particularly when rating elaborate packages of structured debt. Evidence from within agencies bears this out. A 2008 survey of finance professionals by the CFA Institute found that 11pc of respondents had witnessed agencies altering ratings under pressure or influence from outside parties.

Furthermore, in internal correspondence published by US Congressional investigations, agency staff joked that "[a deal] could be structured by cows and we would rate it" and discussed "adjusting", "spinning" and "massaging" ratings methodologies in order to preserve market share.

The fact that around 95pc of the ratings market is controlled by just three agencies (Moody's, S&P and Fitch) does little to promote alternative business models. Indeed, the FCIC report explicitly cites "a lack of market competition due to [agencies'] government-induced oligopoly" in connection with inaccurate risk analyses.

New regulations, in the form of the 2009-10 European reforms and the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act in the US, go some way to improving accountability and transparency. But what is clear from the investigations conducted into the ratings business is that more drastic change is needed.

Without reform of agencies' incentives, greater competition will simply fuel what the US Senate report calls a "race to the bottom" in standards. In November, the European Commission floated a number of options for change, including the creation of a European agency, support for investor-owned agencies, an independent clearing board to allocate ratings business, a network of small and medium-sized agencies and an obligation on institutional investors to obtain their own ratings before purchasing a product. These ideas deserve serious consideration.

As others have said, a publicly funded agency could go some way to mitigate the risks of the issuer-pays system, while in the US the case for a clearing board has already been approved by Senate amendment. Yet the response paper issued in January by the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority largely rejects these proposals, placing great confidence in the modest, pre-existing EU reforms and calling for a "more narrowly focused" approach to further reform. It asserts that there is "no hard evidence that conflicts of interest in the 'issuer-pays' model lead to ratings inflation", a position inconsistent with the de Larosi�re, US Senate and FCIC reports and above all the massive collapse of AAA-rated securities during the financial crisis.

It is also inconsistent with a recent Bank of England paper that not only argues that "apparent conflicts of interest" need to be addressed, but goes further; exploring options to eliminate them through structural reform of agencies. The paper says the challenges of moving towards an "investor-pays" model "may not be insurmountable", adding the small number of agencies that currently operate this model "seem to have been able to both attract a subscriber base, and to keep ratings information 'private' to subscribers".

In protest at the moves by the Commission, in particular the proposal to make them legally liable for flawed downgrades, the agencies have reportedly threatened a "ratings blackout" of certain countries' sovereign debt. Nonetheless, policymakers must hold firm in their determination to push through reform. The 1997 Asian crash and the 2001 Enron collapse both exposed flaws in the way the agencies operate, yet their power remained unchecked and their failings went unaddressed then. We are well aware what followed in 2008 ? we cannot afford a repeat of that mistake in 2011 and beyond.

? Chuka Umunna is the Member of Parliament for Streatham. He is a member of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee

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Saving money when traveling overseas

An American in Paris today may feel like the poet Rodolfo in the opera "La Boh�me" ? so romantic, so impoverished. A mediocre hotel room in the City of Light can cost $200 a night. Lunch can eat up $30. Summer transatlantic fares can run $2,000 round trip.

But if your heart is set on a European vacation, don't give up. You can bring your trip into affordable range by choosing the right season, taking one-stop flights, renting an apartment or house, buying a travel package or even hitting the high seas.

Here's a closer look at these saving strategies:

Go in spring, fall or winter: The U.S. dollar, which has lost value over the last year in Europe, was recently trading at $1 to 0.71 euros and 0.62 British pounds. That makes peak-season summer trips even more costly.

You can save hundreds by going off-season. The lowest round-trip, nonstop L.A.-Paris airfare was $1,851 for late August travel but only $1,383 in September, I found in an online search of random dates last week at Kayak.com. Hotels, especially in resort areas, are often cheaper too.

Take a one-stop flight: It's amazing what switching from nonstop to one-stop flights can do for your budget. In my online search, that change reduced my LAX-Paris round-trip fare by nearly $700 in August and nearly $300 in September. Allow two or more hours to connect; short layovers look great until you miss your flight.

Tom Parsons, chief executive of BestFares.com, a flight-deals website, added this tip: If your dates are flexible, wait until 60 days ahead or less to book your flights. You'll often find cheaper prices as carriers struggle to fill empty seats.

"You want to sit back and hold on to your dollars until you think you just can't hold on any more," he said. And if you booked your flights two or three months ago, he said, check to see if fares have fallen. Even with change fees, you may save by rebooking.

Rent an apartment or house: Photographer Ren�e Jacobs of Los Angeles, who has made five trips to Paris in the last six months to work on a book, pays as little as $130 a night to stay there. She uses online rental agencies to find apartments.

"The one I loved the most was 85 or 90 euros per night," she said. "It's incredibly small. But you stick your head out the window, and you have an incredible view of the Eiffel Tower."

Renting affords her privacy and "phenomenal" savings on food, she said.

Book through an established vacation rental service, such as http://www.vrbo.com, http://www.homeaway.com or http://www.flipkey.com; in Paris, Jacobs has used http://www.clickappart.com. Pay by credit card, which offers fraud protection that cash transactions do not.

Buy a package: By booking your hotel and flights in a single package, you can often get both for the price of the airfare alone. Find these deals online or by visiting a travel agent.

For instance, http://www.gate1travel.com was recently offering four nights in Dublin, Ireland, including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, hotel, daily breakfast, fees and taxes, for about $1,200 a person, double occupancy, for travel in late August. Another online vendor, http://www.adventurevacationsinc.com, had a similar package for a four-night Paris stay in fall or winter starting at less than $1,100 a person, double occupancy.

Hit the high seas: A European cruise can be surprisingly affordable because you pay many costs upfront in dollars, not in pricey euros or pounds.

"A cruise fare includes everything you absolutely need, such as transportation from port to port, food, entertainment, a kids club, water and coffee," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, a consumer information website.

Look to fall and winter for cruise fares as low as $499 a person, double occupancy, for seven-day eastern Mediterranean itineraries and $679 for the western Mediterranean, she said. Airfare is extra, of course, although a few luxury lines are offering free flights for select voyages.

jane.engle@latimes.com

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Home Sellers Provide Last-Resort Loans

A risky tactic when conventional mortgages are not an option

http://images.businessweek.com/mz/11/22/600/1122_mz_46mf_lenders.jpg

David J. Phillip/AP/Photo

Sue and Douglas Reed knew no bank would give them a mortgage?not with a bankruptcy and two foreclosures fresh in their credit history. They turned to Hilarie Walters, whose childhood home on 15 acres in Marshall, Mich., had been on the market since 2009, a year after she inherited it. Walters agreed in December to sell the property to the Reeds for $105,000. She also consented to a risky payment plan that in effect makes her the couple's mortgage lender. "They're paying me interest every month, but I'd rather have the money and be done with it," says Walters, an unemployed single mother who is using their payments to cover the mortgage on her Battle Creek (Mich.) residence. "It does make me nervous."

Financing provided by sellers, popular in the 1980s when mortgage rates reached 18 percent, is making a comeback in markets such as Michigan that have been hit hard by foreclosures and where tightening lending standards and years of economic distress have drained the pool of creditworthy buyers. For a small but growing number of people, it's the only way to get a deal done. "Anytime the market is in this much trouble, people have to find ways to get it to function," says Dennis Capozza, a professor of finance at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Capozza has direct experience with seller financing: He purchased a friend's foreclosed home a couple of years ago and then allowed him to buy it back in installments.

Last year 52,991 U.S. homes were purchased with owner financing, up 56 percent from 2008, according to Realtors Property Resource, citing data collected from county record offices. Such deals accounted for 1.5 percent of all transactions in 2010. Michigan, which has a 10.3 percent unemployment rate, leads the nation with about 1,600 home listings that advertise seller financing, followed by Florida, Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Texas, according to property website Trulia.

The risks in such deals are significant for both buyer and seller, says Jason P. Hoffman, a Faribault (Minn.) real estate attorney. "Each of them is seeking an advantage in an otherwise difficult situation, and they're hoping everything will work out as envisioned," Hoffman says. "It's an act of faith."

The Reeds, who put $25,000 down, make monthly payments of $565, reflecting a 7 percent interest rate, with the full balance due in five years. "This is the American dream, and we're going for it no matter what," says Sue, 56, who sells snacks from a trailer at estate auctions and going-out-of-business sales. "We'll either make it or it will break us."

The riskiest deals involve sellers who have bank loans on the properties, Hoffman says. Most mortgages contain a "due on sale clause," meaning the lender can call the loan if the home is transferred. While community banks sometimes grant exceptions, many homeowners take their chances, hoping lenders won't ask questions as long as the payments stream in, he says.

Some investors see seller financing as a marketing tool. Mark Cook, 30, a real estate agent in Lake City, Fla., says he sees an untapped market in people who have had their credit ruined by a foreclosure or short sale. Cook is working with a Canadian investor who bought and renovated four homes in Florida's Cape Coral and Fort Myers areas since September, selling them to buyers who needed financing. One more is for sale now, another is under renovation, and they have contracts to buy another handful of homes.

Cook markets homes to buyers with foreclosures in their credit history, as well as second-home purchasers and self-employed borrowers who don't show enough income on their tax returns to qualify for traditional financing, he says. He offers an interest rate of 9.95 percent and a balloon payment after seven years to buyers who can put down 20 percent in cash. "We are advertising in markets that are cheap, and we're satisfying the consumer's appetite for a bargain," Cook says. "Assuming you're not creditworthy and have cash, we are your avenue for buying a home."

Rebecca Hill, a 33-year-old high school science teacher, and her fianc�, Nicholas Lehman, bought an almost 2,000-square-foot house in Cape Coral through Cook for $107,000 on May 4. Her credit was damaged a year ago when her ex-husband lost a home they had purchased together in foreclosure, according to Hill. While they paid a premium for a seller-financed home, the monthly mortgage costs are $175 less than the rent they previously paid for a unit half the size, she says. "If I wait for my credit to be restored and then purchase, I'm not going to get a $107,000 four-bedroom home," Hill says. "That's not going to exist anymore."

The bottom line: In 2010, almost 53,000 homes were purchased in the U.S. with owner financing?sales that might not have happened otherwise.

Gopal is a reporter for Bloomberg News.

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Michael Trapp Crashes Small Plane Into Lake Huron, Treads Water for 18 Hours to Survive (VIDEO)

5min.com

A New York man was forced to tread water for a whopping 18 hours in Lake Huron after his 2-seat Cessna plane crashed into the lake.

42-year-old Michael Trapp swam in Lake Huron without a life jacket for nearly a day as he "wasn't ready to die yet," the Associated Press reports.

The auto mechanic from Gouverneur, New York, left home on Tuesday to attend a family reunion in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He decided to fly his own plane because a round-trip ticket cost $922. "I said: I can fly there and back for 400 bucks and I wanted to do it," Trapp told reporters while recovering at a Saginaw hospital.

All was fine with the flight as he crossed over Canada, but the plane's engine started to sputter over Michigan. He contacted flight officials in Lansing to tell them he was going down while the plane was at 3,000 feet, Trapp told local Fox affiliate WWNY. He crashed near Harbor Beach, 105 miles north of Detroit.

"I just kept struggling and struggling," he said. He told reporters that he tried to use a credit card to reflect the sun to get the attention of nearby boats.

"It's amazing what goes on in your mind when you're laying in water and you look up at the skies and watch the shooting stars and watch meteorites go round. Gives you time to realize what's important in life at that point," Trapp told local New York station WWNY-TV while recovering.

Finally, at around 10:20am on Wednesday, Dean and Diane Petitpren, a couple from Grosse Pointe Farms near Detroit, saw him waving his sock in the water and took him aboard their yacht.

Pilot Crashes in Lake Huron, Swam 18 Hours

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Trade deficit with China matter of concern: India

Ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao, India on Tuesday said trade imbalance in favour of China was a matter of concern and India had sought greater market access to bridge it.

The issue is expected to come up during the talks between Singh and Hu tomorrow in the Chinese resort of Sanya on the sidelines of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) Summit.

"Trade imbalance with China has been a matter of concern.
It has been discussed at the highest level when the Prime Minister met Chinese President in Hanoi in October last," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told journalists accompanying the Prime Minister.

He noted that the trade imbalance in favour of China had gone up to USD 20 billion in the overall bilateral trade of USD 55 billion as of December 2010. The imbalance was about USD 16 billion till 2009.
Pointing out that the Prime Minister had termed the imbalance as "untenable", Sharma said India had sought more access in Chinese markets across the board so that the gap could be bridged.

He said China had assured India that it would give access through government contracts in sectors like pharmaceuticals and IT.

"We are trying our best to close the gap," said Sharma who was travelling with the Prime Minister to attend the BRICS Summit and the preceding BRICS meeting of Trade and Economy Ministers.

To a question, Sharma said India welcomes investments from everywhere, including China.

When pointed out that India had barred Chinese investments in certain sectors citing security concerns, he said some areas were sensitive in the context of national security and it was not specific to China.

In this regard, he noted that in December 2009, India had banned import of all mobile phones which did not have IEMI numbers (specific numbers that a handset carries which enables tracking it in case of a need).

With regard to China pushing Yuan as an alternate to dollar as currency exchange for trade, Sharma said such a stage had not been reached to warrant a comment.

National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon said the BRICS countries, at the upcoming Summit, would be signing an agreement under which the five member countries could grant credit among themselves in own currency.

On making Yuan as the international reserve currency, Menon said it was a larger issue that could not be settled by five countries.

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Michael Costantino, One-Handed Man, Suing the TSA for Discrimination

CBS New York

A man born without his right hand is suing the Transportation Security Administration after he believed the agency unfairly rejected him for a job, reports the Associated Press.

Michael Costantino, 32 and an amateur boxer, applied for a TSA job at New York's LaGuardia Airport about 18 months ago. After clearing a background check, interviewing and passing an initial test whereby applicants pick out weapons on an X-ray screen, Costantino left his interview thinking he'd landed the gig. His missing hand was never brought up, he says.

But, after a medical exam, which the TSA says is conducted by an outside company, Costantino was informed that he was disqualified because of his disability. He has since filed a complaint with the TSA charging the agency with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"They just made an assumption that he can't perform this job simply because he doesn't have a right hand - without any evidence to support it," Costantino's lawyer, Jonathan Bell told the New York Daily News.

Costantino was reportedly never asked to demonstrate his ability to perform tasks an airport screener might be required to do.

According to the Daily News, the TSA charged that Costantino could not conduct patdown searches using his palms or the backs of his hands, nor could he open zippers or snaps, record baggage tag information in logs, inspect pillboxes etc., according to their doctors.

"Anyone that knows me knows it's ridiculous for them to say I can't open luggage," Constantino told the paper. "I've fought in the Golden Gloves. I work out with former world champions. Opening luggage would be pretty easy for me."

The TSA could not comment, but said its rules require job applicants to "possess basic aptitudes and physical abilities, including color perception, visual and aural acuity, physical coordination, and motor skills," according to the AP.

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Investors return to Isas to escape rock-bottom interest rates

A total of �956 million was paid into UK-based unit trusts and Oeics (open-ended investment companies) between March 1 and April 5, the highest level for the period since 2002, according to the Investment Management Association.

Around �349 million was paid into Isa versions of funds between April 1 and 5, as investors rushed to use up their tax-free savings allowance before the start of the new tax year, more than double the �152 million that was paid in during the same period of the previous year.

"This coincides with two increases to the annual allowance in October 2009 and April 2010 and compares starkly to Isa outflows of over �5 billion over the preceding five years."

A total of �1.9 billion was paid into all types of unit trusts and Oeics, not just Isa versions of the funds, during March, in line with the recent 12-month average.

The total value of funds under management, including money held for institutional investors, rose by 1pc during the month to �583.2 billion.

Alan Easter, a director of Willis Owen, the discount broker, said: "These figures show that Isas are clearly still valued by investors. Despite the squeeze on finances, more and more people are attracted by the tax-free wrapper that investment Isas offer, and the potential for growth, rather then leaving their savings sitting idly in a low interest bank account."

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Saturday, July 30, 2011

10 great places to go dog sledding

If you're intrigued by the Iditarod (which starts Saturday), but aren't ready for more than 1,150 grueling miles of frozen tundra, ease into the dog-powered sport with a lesson or two. Whether you are a newbie or a mushing master, there are plenty of places to play in the powder and perfect your dog-driving skills.

  • Not only do you commandeer a cadre of Huskies from a handcrafted wooden sled, you may also spot buffalo and wolves along the trails just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park in Pray, Montana.

    By Lynn Donaldson

    Not only do you commandeer a cadre of Huskies from a handcrafted wooden sled, you may also spot buffalo and wolves along the trails just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park in Pray, Montana.

By Lynn Donaldson

Not only do you commandeer a cadre of Huskies from a handcrafted wooden sled, you may also spot buffalo and wolves along the trails just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park in Pray, Montana.

Outside magazine editor Chris Keyes�recommends places to caravan with canines and shares them with Sarah Sekula�for USA TODAY.

Maine Dogsledding Adventures�
Millinocket, Maine

Revel in the thrill of dog-powered transportation as Alaskan sled dogs take you over rugged trails near Mount Katahdin. "You'll mush 25 miles through the forest and lake wilderness south of Baxter State Park to the company's own wilderness cabin on Nahmakanta Lake, where you spend the night," Keyes says. "The next day, head back another 25-plus miles by a different trail, stopping midday to build a big open fire and warm up with hot tea and lunch." (Through March 20.) 207-731-8888; mainedogsledding.com

Dog Power Adventures�
Prince George, B.C.

"Guests stay in the comfortable Musher's Den and are served a hearty Canadian breakfast each morning before hitching the teams and heading down the trail," Keyes says. "After a cold day's work in the mountains, relax over dinner in front of the fireplace. Guests are encouraged to involve themselves as much as desired, and help with the kennel chores is always appreciated." 250-967-4479; dogpower.ca

Absaroka Dogsled Treks�
Pray, Mont.

Nature lovers flock to these dog-sledding trails, just 20 miles north of Yellowstone National Park, where it's not uncommon to spot buffalo, bighorn sheep or the occasional wolf. "Students also learn about sledding equipment, canine physiology and training techniques," Keyes says. "The full-day tour includes a lunch of grilled buffalo steak and trout, with plenty of hot drinks, French onion soup and homemade bread and cheese. And in good Montana fashion, it's all served on a tanned deerskin." 800-468-9232; extrememontana.com

Wilderness Adventures Dog Sled Tours�
Lake Tahoe, Calif.

You can get a taste of the life of a musher while gliding through the Sierra Nevadas. "Cover up to 20 miles on a two-and-a-half-hour mush amidst beautiful terrain and breathtaking views," Keyes says. 530-550-8133; tahoedogsledtours.com

Credit: Laura Marin

Paws for Adventure�
Fairbanks, Alaska

This spectacular mushing site is located on a 280-acre homestead, just a 20-minute drive from downtown Fairbanks. "Two to three guides will take you deep into the wilderness after a training session, traveling up to 30 miles a day for six days and five nights." You'll mush toward the base of a glacier, camp at Tangle Lake, and spend two nights at comfortable Maclaren Lodge, Keyes says. 907-378-3630; pawsforadventure.com

Wolfsong Adventures in Mushing�
Bayfield, Wis.

Wolfsong offers day and weekend trips. A three-day outing includes two days of driving a team on four-hour trips with breaks for lunch, Keyes says. "Day three: Take time to ski, snowshoe or explore nearby ice caves, then strap on a headlamp for a nighttime mush run by moonlight." 800-681-9746; wolfsongadventures.com

Eden Dog Sledding�
Eden Mills, Vt.

"To escape the urban slush fest, you don't have to travel far: Eden Dog Sledding is only a four-hour drive from Boston," Keyes says. "Eden's Alaskan Huskies are never chained and free to roam the 75-acre property. The well-maintained, dog-dedicated trail system runs through quintessential New England scenery and, because of its micro-climate, continues to receive snow when the rest of the region thaws out." If you're feeling ambitious, owner Jim Blair can instruct you in skijoring, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with sled-dog mushing. You can trust his tutelage: He's a national skijor champion. 802-635-9070; edendogsledding.com

Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge�
Ely, Minn.

Wintergreen offers day trips, lodge-to-lodge dog-sledding vacations and dogsled camping adventures. However, it's best known for its Arctic trek to Qaanaaq, Greenland. "Along with getting the latest information on Arctic climate change, you'll snow camp in single-digit temperatures for 10 days and dogsled the snowy alien landscape for 300 miles over sea ice on coastal fjords and Arctic tundra," Keyes says. 877-753-3386; dogsledding.com

Voyageur Outward Bound's dog-sledding course�
Ely, Minn.

The course enables participants to explore backcountry terrain and hone survival skills. "You'll learn the importance of using your own body heat, exercise, food and properly layered clothing to stay warm in frigid temperatures," Keyes says. In the end, "students are encouraged to try a night or two of solo camping with the hounds." 866-467-7651; outward-bound.org

Nordik Adventures�
Bonsecours, Quebec

A rowdy pack of 45 huskies give guests an over-the-top welcome at this charming ranch. Soon after, the athletic canines are sprinting through a swath of maple trees by way of your French commands. Post-trail run, relax at the Halte Sucr�e bed and breakfast with a hot drink and a home-cooked meal. Fashionable mittens and hats made of llama and goat fur are for sale. nordikaventures.com

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Why People Buy Bankrupt Stock

Ignoring the odds and hoping for leftovers after the debts are paid

http://images.businessweek.com/mz/11/22/600/1122_mz_47mf_bankruptcy.jpg

Illustration by Graham Roumieu

Blockbuster's stock must be worth something, says Ron Krenn, a 48-year-old day trader in Daytona Beach, Fla., who hopes to profit on the equity of what was once the world's largest movie rental chain, seven months after it filed for Chapter 11. He's not alone. Since Sept. 23, the date of Blockbuster's bankruptcy, the stock price has ranged from 4 cents to 23 cents, with volume averaging 5.46 million shares a day.

Krenn and others who buy stock in bankrupt companies such as Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and Borders hope there will be money left over for equity holders after all the debt is repaid. It's an increasingly risky gamble. Bankruptcies are less likely than ever to return anything back to stockholders, according to a new study.

Once a company files for Chapter 11, creditors are paid first in order of their seniority, with shareholders coming last after senior lenders, unsecured creditors, and holders of preferred stock. Unless creditors are paid in full, shareholders get nothing. If the company reorganizes, any stock in the new company usually goes to creditors.

Of 41 bankrupt public companies that announced reorganization plans in 2009 and 2010, only four delivered returns to shareholders, according to a study by Andrew Wood, a student at the UCLA School of Law who works with Lynn LoPucki, a UCLA bankruptcy law professor. Of the companies that went through bankruptcy from 1991 through 1996, 44 percent had returns for shareholders. The figure was 78 percent for those that went bankrupt from 1982 to 1987. "The number of cases in which equity makes more than a nominal recovery has steadily declined since approximately 1987," wrote Wood. The study cites an increase in the amount of secured debt carried by companies as one reason for the decline in shareholder recoveries. Wood also found a decline in recoveries for unsecured creditors.

Some speculators beat the odds. LoPucki cites the case of Tronox, a producer of titanium dioxide pigment, which gave shareholders 5 percent of the new stock when it reorganized. The shares trade near $130, up from $123 when the company emerged from bankruptcy on Feb. 15.

Stock investors don't get a final accounting until a bankrupt company files a disclosure statement, which details the terms of recovery for each class of creditor and announces whether existing shareholders get anything. Until then, the stock continues to trade as secured creditors and unsecured creditors fight over the company's worth and investigate potential lawsuits that could bring money into the bankrupt estate. Some investors bet on the stock, while those who sold it short?borrowing shares and selling them, hoping to buy them back later at a lower price?unwind their positions. Purchases by short sellers can sometimes lead to a temporary runup in price.

Blockbuster, which has yet to file a disclosure statement, said in a May 9 regulatory filing that it "anticipates" its A and B shares will be worth nothing. Krenn, who bought Blockbuster shares for 6 cents each in February, says he saw the company's regulatory filing, but dismissed it. "I still believe there is more to this shell," Krenn wrote in an e-mail on May 12, saying he was buying stock on the dips and awaiting news on the value of the company's Italian assets.

Some investors may trade on news about a bankrupt company without fully understanding it. Paul Rachmuth, a bankruptcy lawyer with Gersten Savage, represents Blockbuster shareholders. He says the sale of the company's assets to Dish Network (DISH) for $320 million on Apr. 7 effectively ended the chance that shareholders would get any money. Nonetheless, from Apr. 6 to Apr. 8, the stock rose 17 percent, to almost 7 cents a share. As of May 16, it was trading at just above 5 cents a share, giving the presumably worthless stock a market value of $9.7 million.

Jon Becker, 53, who owns a grocery store in Miami Beach, bought a few thousand dollars' worth of Blockbuster at 10 cents a share in February. He was still holding the shares when Dish Network bought the company's assets. Becker says he did not realize that the stock could end up worthless. He can't believe there was nothing on his screen to differentiate Blockbuster from other stocks he buys on E*Trade Financial (EFTC): "It's a different category than normal risk," he says. "If it's foreseeable shares would go to zero, I would think the powers that be would flash something?some kind of warning." Why did he buy a bankrupt stock in the first place? "My thought was, this is Blockbuster, it will come back," Becker says. It didn't. He finally sold at 7 cents a share.

The bottom line: Only 4 of 41 public companies that went through bankruptcy in 2009 and 2010 produced returns for shareholders.

Kary is a reporter for Bloomberg News.

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Wilderness to wildlife, Alaska's got it all

The Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park provides a stunning view of the mountains near Seward, Alaska.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Alaska is a huge state, so start by figuring out what kinds of things you want to do
  • Many travelers start in Anchorage, site of the state's largest airport and several trails
  • Denali National Park is home to North America's highest peak, Mount McKinley
  • Have you ever been to Alaska? Share photos from your journey

Editor's Note: CNN's Destination Adventure series takes a look at destinations for the wanderer at heart. We're kicking things off with Alaska. In this story, you'll find tips from a former resident who recently returned for a visit. Each week, we'll feature favorite regional foods, secrets from the locals and the best photos and stories from readers. Have you been to Alaska? Share your story with CNN iReport. Next week, we'll journey to Hong Kong.

(CNN) -- Alaska's a big place.

It sounds obvious, but it's an important fact to remember when planning a visit, because you won't get to see everything in one trip. I spent the first 24 years of my life in four different Alaska towns, and there are still new things to do when I go back to visit.

So tip No. 1 is to make some decisions: Do you want to camp in a national park? Hike to the top of a glacier? Go backcountry skiing? Catch and/or eat some of the best seafood in the country? See the northern lights? You won't be able to do it all, but with a bit of planning you can pack quite a few adventures into a week or two.

Here are some ideas for activities based on a recent trip I took with some friends:

As the state's largest city and home to its biggest airport, Anchorage is the place where many will start their adventures on the Last Frontier -- and our trip was no different. The city is surrounded by water on two sides and a mountain range on the third.

At sea level, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail skirts the city along the water. It's an 11-mile paved trail available for walking and cycling, or skiing and snowshoeing, depending on the season.

For those looking for more elevation, Chugach State Park is just east of the city and has several trails. I recommend heading up Flattop Mountain. It's a relatively short hike, just 1.5 miles from the trailhead to the mountain top, but the trail is steep in parts, especially near the summit. With a bit of care, though, most people shouldn't have too much trouble making it up and enjoying the sweeping view of the city and surrounding scenery.

On our trip, we left Anchorage after a couple of days and drove 130 miles south to Seward. From there, we spent a day hiking alongside Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. The National Park Service calls this 7.4-mile hike "strenuous," but seeing the ice field at the top makes the hard work worthwhile. And it doesn't get much better than an Alaskan Amber beer and fresh halibut once you make it back down.

If your legs are tired from hiking, you can work out your arms with a sea kayaking trip in Resurrection Bay. The clouds were low the day of our excursion, but we saw bald eagles in the tree tops and were escorted by sea lions as we paddled along the rocky shoreline.

To finish off our Alaska adventure, we left Seward and drove 360 miles up to Denali National Park, home of the tallest peak in North America, Mount McKinley. The public is allowed to drive only a few miles into the park, but there are buses that provide access farther into the wilderness. On our bus ride we saw bears, mountain goats, moose and coyotes. A few lucky visitors will get to see wolves, but sightings are rare.

After a few nights of camping in the park, it was time to drive back to Anchorage and catch our flights home. And even though we experienced a lot during our visit, there are plenty more adventures to be had when we go back.

Like fishing for king salmon on the Kenai River, or watching the northern lights while relaxing in natural hot springs, or downhill skiing in Hatcher Pass, or sailing along the Inside Passage, or panning for gold in the Tanana Valley, or ...

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Train running late? Blame high copper prices

Thieves lured by surging copper prices are creating a nightmare for European railways, sparking large-scale disruption, eroding profits and damaging their reputations.

Operators are pouring money into high-tech security measures they hope will prevent the theft of the metal after its price has more than tripled since early 2008 to over USD 9,000 per tonne.

"Railways in Europe turn into ATM (cash) machines for copper when prices spike," said Franco Fiumara, director of corporate protection at Ferrovie dello Stato, Italy's national rail operator.

"The number of thefts is directly correlated," Fiumara said. "It hits railway infrastructure heavily, and it's gotten much worse of late."

Copper thieves strike usually at night, targeting cables, signal boxes and dynamos at the heart of a railway's communication system. Most of the signalling equipment is exposed and cables run for hundreds of kilometres, easily accessible to thieves carrying a set of tools.

Last year, theft of copper wire around Europe caused well over 10,000 hours of train delays and tens of millions of euros in damages, five rail operators told Reuters. This year, in spite of heightened security, they expect more of the same.

New security measures include helicopter flyovers of thousands of kilometres of rail network, bulked-up security inside trains, legal measures against scrap resellers and research into copper substitutes.

But unless operators happen upon a viable alternative to copper -- or the metal suddenly loses enough value to become unattractive to thieves -- the war is likely to drag on, and with it the grinding delays for European commuters.

YOUR DELAY: 500,000 MINUTES

A spokeswoman for France's state-owned SNCF rail operator said most of the operator's 30,000 km of copper cables lie alongside train tracks, covered by a thin layer of cement. Thieves crack the casing, slice through the cable and spool up what they can. They can often steal hundreds of metres of the wire, which is several centimetres thick, in one raid.

Disrupting the flow of electricity in the system automatically provokes a red signal, fooling oncoming trains into thinking that another train is blocking their progress.

By the time a network operator discovers the problem, often late the next morning, time has already been lost. Even hasty repairs bring slowdowns that reverberate across a network.

Each rail operator measures the damage differently. Yet even the roughest estimates are alarming.

Last year in France, where some 132 million people rode high-speed trains, copper theft caused 5,800 hours of delays, triple the amount from 2009. The cost from damages rose to 30 million euros from 20 million in 2009.

"The delays are piling up and the consequences for commuters are very, very serious," Natalie Kosciusko-Moriset, France's transport and ecology minister, told a news briefing in March.

SNCF officials declined to provide a delay forecast for 2011 but said police had recorded some 50 copper-stealing events per week since the start of the year -- triple the rate of 2009.

The outlook is no brighter in Britain, where National Rail predicts that copper thievery will cause some 500,000 minutes of delays this year in addition to millions of pounds in damages.

"It's a massive, massive problem for us," a spokeswoman said. "Those delays are people not getting to business meetings, businesses losing customers, disruptions to an essential service that the country relies on."

In Italy, copper thieves hit a busy station in central Rome in January in a typical incident, tying up traffic for six hours in the early hours of the day. The train leading to Fiumicino, Rome's international airport, was delayed for up to 60 minutes.

Last year such incidents caused nearly 45,000 minutes of delays across Italy, and 10,000 minutes of theft-related delays have already been recorded in 2011, the operator told Reuters.

Belgium was hit hard with 48,000 minutes, while a spokesman for Spain's Adif state rail infrastructure firm admitted copper theft was a real problem but provided no data.

"It's easier (to steal) on domestic lines, because you can drive up with your car and go to work," said a spokesman for Belgium's SNCB operator. "But it's very dangerous for the guys who do it. Two months ago we came across a guy on the track who had been electrocuted."

CAUGHT RED-HANDED

In a rare video shown by French police, grainy surveillance footage shows two hooded men climbing out of a white van parked by the divider of a busy highway in the dead of the night.

Working with power tools, they crack open the casing that houses copper cable, spool up a length of it and toss the bundle into the open back of the van. At the end of the video, a police car pulls alongside them, sirens ablaze.

Examples of police catching thieves red-handed are rare, however. Thieves work quickly and usually race off before police have time to react, selling their goods to scrap yards, which pay in cash and ask no questions about copper's provenance.

Determined to even out the odds, Italy's railways have joined forced with utility Enel and Telecom Italia to put up a common front against thieves, beefing up security at a cost of some 10 million euros per year.

"As a railway company, we cannot do more," Ferrovie dello Stato said in a statement. "For fool-proof protection we could have turned the railway into a kind of subway, sealing it off completely, but that is not possible."

France unveiled its own battle plan in March, promising to spend 40 million euros over the next 18 months to fight theft on several fronts, from surveillance and prevention to funding for research into anti-theft technology.

Unveiling the plan, France's Kosciusko-Moriset said, "This is a very, very serious problem for commuters, a problem that exists everywhere in Europe." She said French police would work closely with counterparts outside the country.

In March some 50 helicopters from the Gendarmerie, or national police, started sweeps over thousands of kilometres of exposed track using infra-red vision to spot warm-blooded thieves. Police aboard trains and in stations will seek to spot suspicious behaviour on the railway.

"This is first and foremost a security risk," an SNCF spokesman said. "Some of the thefts have taken place at peak travel times and caused fires to break out ... The travellers themselves are at risk from these accidents."

SNCF funds also fuel research into high-tech foils for thieves, including tracker tags that cannot be melted, unbreakable casing and a notching system that causes cables to break into pieces when handled.

Another option is trying to use cheaper alternatives such as aluminium, zinc or optic fibres -- reflecting a trend among industrial users after copper for three-month delivery breached $10,000 per tonne in February.

But no substitute has yet proved a match for copper's flexibility and conductive properties, despite the high price tag attached. Replacing it with a comparatively poor conductor such as aluminium would force operators to retool at great cost, another dissuassive factor.

On the sidelines of the briefing at which France unveiled its anti-theft plan, an aide to the SNCF's boss whispered that replacing copper was still a far-off prospect.

"It's something to explore, but it's not our main bet," said the aide, who asked not to be named.

Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global in New York, cites the prospect of rising interest rates and higher oil prices to predict that copper prices could slip to as low as USD 8,500 by the end of the year.

"That's not going to prevent any of this thievery, because that's still quite high, and the thieves have a very good idea about the prices. These days, they're just as wired as we are."

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Russia's Far East? Yep, you can cruise there, too

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

Tired of the same-old cruise ports in the Caribbean and Europe? Here's something different: A voyage to Russia's Far East.

Orion Expedition Cruises has announced plans for two new expedition sailings in the region to kick off on June 18 and June 28 on its newest ship, the 100-passenger Orion II.

The 10-night "Natural Treasures of the Russian Far East" voyages will begin and end in Sapporo and Petropavlovsk, Russia (which both have international flight access) and follow a string of 32 volcanoes that stretch across the Bering Sea, known as the Northern Ring of Fire.

ALSO ONLINE:�A Cruise Log guide to new ships on order
GALLERY:�A photo tour of the new Disney Dream

Orion says passengers will have the chance to a climb a caldera wall to a hydrothermal field with hot springs and sulphur crystals, and visit local markets in seaside villages, among other outings. Native wildlife also will be a top draw, including arctic foxes, whales, seals and some of the world's largest eagles, the line says. The Orion II carries a fleet of small Zodiac boats to take passengers into locations larger ships cannot access to watch wildlife.

The region's attractions include the rugged Kamchatka Peninsula and the sparsely-populated Kuril Islands, and Petropavlovsk is home to picturesque Russian Orthodox churches and one of Russia's few remaining statues of Lenin.

Founded in 2004, Orion is an Australia-based expedition cruise company that offers adventure-focused trips to Antarctica, Papua New Guinea, Borneo and other off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Fares for the Russian Far East voyages start at $6,930 per person. More information is available on the line's website, orionexpeditions.com.

Cruise Loggers, would a cruise to Russia's Far East interest you? Share your thoughts below.

Posted Mar 9 2011 7:33AM

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ISAs hit 9-year peak as savers target equity markets

ISAs make up 18pc of all authorised funds under management in the UK. Savers can currently invest up to �10,680 a year in the tax-efficient products, which can either be invested into stocks and shares, or partly in cash, with the remaining balance in stocks and shares.

Jane Lowe, director of Markets at the IMA, added: "The last two tax years have together seen a big jump in ISA inflows to more than �7.5bn. This coincides with two increases to the annual allowance in October 2009 and April 2010 and compares starkly to ISA outflows of over �5bn over the preceding five years.

"In terms of net retail sales equity funds have remained the top choice for retail investors over the last five months."

Elsewhere, the IMA revealed that UK domiciled funds under management grew to �583.2bn at the end of the tax year, from �509.9bn a year earlier.

In March, the leading asset class was equities with net retail sales of �739m, the fifth consecutive month that equities outsold bonds. Bonds had been the most popular asset class throughout the previous four months. In terms of distribution, �5.4bn worth of sales were made through intermediaries in March, �4.2bn through "fund platforms" and �1.1bn through direct channels.

Alan Easter, director of advisory Willis Owen, said: "These figures show that ISAs are clearly still valued by investors, which is good news given how tough conditions are at the moment. Despite the squeeze on finances, more people are attracted by the tax-free wrapper that investment ISAs offer, and the potential for growth, rather then leaving their savings sitting idly in a low-interest bank account."

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Crane lowers NYC fire truck into exhibition space at World Trade Center site

NEW YORK (AP) ? A fire truck that rushed to the aid of victims on 9/11 returned to the World Trade Center site Wednesday as it was lowered like a huge flag-draped coffin into exhibition space for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

The truck was from the city fire department's Ladder Company 3, which helped civilians escape from the trade center's north tower on Sept. 11, 2001. The vehicle had sped to the twin towers from its firehouse in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood with 11 firefighters aboard ? all of whom died when the towers collapsed.

A crane lowered the 60,000-pound truck, shrouded in a white protective covering and decorated with the flags of the Fire Department of New York and the United States, 70 feet into the site as family members of firefighters who died on 9/11 wept, dozens of firefighters saluted and bagpipers played the national anthem.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, FDNY Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano and about 100 members of the FDNY, including all of the members of the current Ladder Company 3, stood solemnly during the ceremony. The company's current fire truck, parked nearby on the site, raised its ladder in salute as the crane moved the shrouded truck to an opening in the roof of the museum, which is in the bowels of the site.

The under-construction One World Trade Center skyscraper towered over the ceremony, its mirror-like skin shimmering under the hot sun. All around were signs of rebirth and reconstruction: Cranes hovered over the site and construction workers in safety helmets milled around as dust choked the air.

To some, the ceremony was like a second funeral for the Ladder Company 3 firefighters who died nearly 10 years ago.

"It's almost like saying goodbye again," said Carolyn Brown, 47, of Westbury, N.Y., whose brother Patrick "Paddy" Brown led the firefighters of Ladder Company 3 on 9/11. "It's also more closure."

She dabbed her teary eyes with a tissue during the ceremony, and afterward said she hoped that museum visitors who see the truck will be reminded of the sacrifice that her brother and his fellow first responders made.

"They gave their lives for everybody else here," she said, adding that simply seeing the damage to the fire truck would likely elicit a physical reaction. "When they see that, it's going to mean more. They will see it and feel it."

Maureen Dewan-Gilligan, whose 35-year-old brother, Gerard Dewan, was a firefighter with Ladder 3, also hoped visitors to the museum would react viscerally.

"I would like them to remember that the fire engine was crushed in a heartbeat," she said.

Michael Moran, a member of Ladder Company 3 who got relieved from duty on Sept. 10, 2001, and whose brother died on 9/11, said bringing the rig back to the trade center was part of the healing process.

"I think it's a nice tribute to the guys of Ladder 3," he said. He also hoped people would see the rig as a symbol of the firefighters' sacrifices. "They gave up all their tomorrows on Sept. 11."

Cassano said museum visitors will be able to learn the story of how members of the FDNY did their job on that day.

"They didn't ask any questions. They went to those buildings, not knowing who they were going to rescue," he said. "They knew people were in trouble. Unselfishly they gave their lives."

Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, said the fire truck is emblematic of what first responders did on 9/11.

"This will be the authentic vehicle that will tell that story," he said.

The fire truck had been stored in a climate-controlled room at a hanger and was escorted to the site by the current Ladder 3 truck. The cab of the truck was destroyed in the towers' collapse and its main body and ladders were damaged and contaminated.

The memorial plaza opens to the public on Sept. 12, a day after the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack. The museum will open next year.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the trade center, the deadliest single event for emergency responders in the U.S.

The truck will join the remains of other emergency vehicles at the museum, including from the New York Police Department, the Port Authority Police Department and FDNY.

___

Online: http://www.911memorial.org/

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Greek debt restructuring: delay is the deadliest form of denial

The cause was that too much money was lent against assets that could not support that debt ? the asset in this case being the long-run growth potential of the Greek economy. The lending was a mistake, on the part of both lender and borrower, for loan "oft loses both itself and friend", as Polonius reminds us. The solution is to write off a large portion of the debt in return for bringing the government deficit to zero: the lenders will lose some of their money; the borrowers will suffer a recession.

At present, Greece does not pay the market rate on its debt, and does not have to go to market to finance its deficit ? it borrows the money from the other euro member states at a rate far below what the market would charge. Even at that rate, Greek debt explodes unless it can run a government surplus before interest payments of more than 10pc of GDP.

Greece faces the fiscal tightening with nothing to sugar that pill at all. Default or restructuring are officially ruled out, and Greece is part of the single currency (any suggestion of exit is even more emphatically denied). No democratic country either can or should take such bitter medicine. It would kill, not cure, consigning Greece to at least a decade of savage recession. The idea is pure fantasy.

The bail-outs are a palliative ? they address the symptoms but not the cause. But they are also a way of buying time for German and French banks, the primary source of the lending. Foreign banks lent too much to Greece and are sitting on a marked-to-market loss of around 50pc on those loans. But they are in the process of offloading that debt, mainly to the ECB. There is no virtue in excessive lending ? indeed, it was the cause of the financial crisis.

A Greek default would mean the shareholders in the lending banks would lose heavily, and the banks themselves would need to be recapitalised, largely by German and French taxpayers. Our estimates suggest a 70pc loss on their loans to Greece. In effect, that is a fiscal transfer from German and French to Greek taxpayers.

The more quickly they accept that, the better for everyone, and the likelier it becomes that the euro will emerge stronger ? not just a monetary union, but an Economic and Monetary Union, like it says on the tin. Further delay puts at risk both the loan and the friendship ? in the form of the currency union.

Greece could be forced to exit the euro, no matter how stout are current denials.

? Erik Britton, a former Bank of England economist, is a director of Fathom Consulting

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Akatsuki Resort Samui Opens with US$2,000-night Promotion

Akatsuki Resort on the western coast of Samui island in Thailand, has soft opened with a promotion of US$2,000 per night, valid until 31 December 2011.

Tucked away on Lipa Noi Beach, the luxurious new resort accommodates group bookings for 15 guests at a time, or 17 at capacity.

The resort is available for private use only, and comes complete with 4 pools, onsite spa, concierge team, accomplished private chef, personal guide, driver and butler, as well as numerous entertainment and relaxation spaces.

Akatsuki is the mastermind of Tokyo-based architect Riccardo Tossani who has fully integrated the philosophy of ?living with nature? into the design of the property.

The basic concept is intuitive to the site?s local culture, climate and locality, and results in a design that is stylish and functional yet luxurious with minimal dependence on artificial energy. It is built entirely from recycled wood, and uses natural ventilation and shade for optimum guest comfort.

Akatsuki sits on a beach facing five rock islands across a lagoon: a series of infinity pools cascade down from a grand entrance pavilion to the beach lawn, with private habitation and amenity pavilions either side, reflecting the ocean view beyond.

Its five individually-styled suites are each self contained, allowing exceptional privacy for guests. Each has its own unique design features and is named after a Japanese element that reflects the zen-like nature of the design.

Akatsuki also features three main pavilions for communal use: the ?Dining Pavilion? with large outside deck overlooking the beach, the ?Theater Pavillion? equipped with a state of the art home theater sound system suitable for entertaining and small business meetings, and the ?Living Pavillion? for relaxation, decorated with sofas and cushion-laded cabanas. A fourth small Pavilion or sala is poolside and provides a breezy shaded resting place.

Akatsuki has its own private spa, A-Spa, offering a wide menu of pampering and relaxation treatments for body and soul ? from massages and facials to manicures and pedicures. Treatments can also be in the privacy of suites if preferred.

An experienced management and concierge team is dedicated to helping organise any events guests might desire from private beach picnics and dinner parties to boat cruises, fishing expeditions or local shopping.

Khun Olive is the resort?s personal chef skilled in a wide range of cuisines including Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Italian. She boasts 15 years of experience and prepares exquisite meals rivaling the best hotel restaurants on the island according to personal request ?served in a choice of indoor or outdoor dining locations.

As a self-contained private resort with top class catering services, Akatsuki is capable of hosting events from wedding receptions, to birthday parties, anniversaries and product launches to off-site meetings and incentives for small companies.

Despite its tranquil location, Akatsuki is only 20 minutes from the main shopping and entertainment area of Koh Samui, Chaweng, and major tourist attractions.�

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