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US President Barack Obama

US President Barack Obama has vowed to make job creation his top priority in 2010, in a bid to restore America’s faith in his change crusade after a first year in office soured by economic misery.

 

He said he would encourage small businesses to invest in the work force, announcing more stimulus money for job-rich infrastructure projects and tout his clean energy and green economy initiatives.

First quarter sales increase

I can’t decide if this news is counter-intuitive or not, but Forbes is reporting that Hermes will

post an increase in sales during the first quarter of 2009, a time when many retailers and brands

were feeling a big-time sales crunch. Why is that?

Well, the sales increase isn’t worldwide. Sales fell modestly in Europe and experienced a double

-digit decline in luxury-goods-obsessed Japan, but the brand saw increases large enough in non-

Japanese Asia to more than make up for decreases elsewhere. The increases were seen mostly in

South Korea and China, which many industry watchers regard as somewhat of a Last Frontier of

luxury retail.

So what does this tell us? First of all, we should all remember that signs of strength in the global

economy probably mean good things for those of us in America. Our economy is incredibly

interconnected with those of other nations, particularly China, and we can’t start to make a

significant recovery without signs that are trading partners are also ready to move forward

economically. Sales increases of luxury goods mean that consumers in other countries feel

confident in the direction in which the economy is headed, and maybe a little bit of that

consumer confidence will rub off on other markets. Lastly, it’s a good reminder to all businesses

that there are still markets out there that are spending money. Finding them may be a challenge,

but it can and will be done. So congratulations, Hermes, on a game well played.

Corioliss Hair-Cleaning Straighteners!

You lot were chatting about your GHDs on the bank holiday blather, and I was reading with interest. GornGal asked, “Anyone here clean their GHD?”. Bumblebee advised, “to clean them wipe the plates down with warm soapy water and a face cloth. Obviously dont get any water on the flex / plug. Wipe them dry with a towel and take care to dry the sides of the plates also – thats where most of the product from your hair will become lodged”.

Clairebear went one better and told us all the sad tale of what happened to her set. “I plugged in my GHD one morning and suddenly the room was filled with the worst STENCH imaginable! I plugged it out and had a look at it, and there was this weird sticky orange stuff on it – turns out I’d left it on the bedroom floor the night before and my dog had cocked his leg on it!”, she wailed. Yuck!

While what happened to Clairebear is (hopefully) an exception, the point stands – why wipe dirty plates over freshly cleaned hair? It kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

So I thought you all might like to hear about Corioliss’ C2 Digital Straighteners. They have a magic yokey called Nano Silver Technology, and it’s designed to destroy 99.9% of bacteria. Which means that if you’re a lazy so-and-so and didn’t have time to wash your hair, that’s no bother. These boyos freshen up AND straighten yer barnet! Think I’m fibbing? I’m not, cos I have a pair and it works. The one thing that’s not so ace is the fact that they smell a little like TCP, but it’s small price to pay – plus it doesn’t linger in your lovely straightened locks.

You can get a version with replaceable skins – mine are cherry patterned – there’s a sooooper long flex and a snazzy digital controler too. Serious thumbs up from me.

Azerbaijan condemns Turkish pact

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry said Turkey should not have normalised ties without a deal over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

During the war there in 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia out of solidarity for Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan’s government wants Armenia to withdraw troops from Nagorno-Karabach and return land.

Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord on Saturday, paving the way for the opening of their shared border.

Gritted teeth 

On Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the opening of his country’s border with Armenia would be tied to progress on the disputed region. 

“We want all the borders to be opened at the same time,” Mr Erdogan was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

“But as long as Armenia has not withdrawn from Azerbaijani territory that it is occupying, Turkey cannot have a positive attitude on this subject.” 

BBC South Caucasus correspondent Tom Esslemont says the rapprochement between Azerbaijan’s best friend and most bitter rival was never going to be plain sailing in Baku.

On Friday, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman told the BBC there was a chance that the Turkish-Armenian protocols might never be ratified by Turkey’s parliament and that he could not comment until they had. 

But a foreign ministry statement, circulated to Azerbaijan’s media after the agreement was signed on Saturday, said the move to open the borders would “call into question the regional peace and security architecture”.

A timetable for normalising relations between Turkey and Armenia was agreed in April, after a century of hostility between the two neighbours.

GOP mocks Obama’s peace prize, Russians praise it

While Russia’s president congratulated President Barack Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Republicans see the award as so outrageous that they’re using it to raise campaign money.

Obama won the prize “for awesomeness,” says the mocking GOP fundraising letter. Obama’s honor shows “how meaningless a once honorable and respected award has become,” says the letter, signed by Michael S. Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a different view. He said the award will encourage further U.S.-Russian cooperation. 

“I hope this decision would serve as an additional incentive for our common work to form a new climate in world politics and promote initiatives which are fundamentally important for global security,” Medvedev said in a letter to Obama. 

Steele said Obama hasn’t accomplished enough to deserve the prize. Numerous Democrats and independents have expressed similar views, although generally in less bombastic terms. 

Asking for contributions to the RNC of $25 to $1,000, Steele wrote that “the Democrats and their international leftist allies want America made subservient to the agenda of global redistribution and control. And truly patriotic Americans like you and our Republican Party are the only thing standing in their way.”

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro called the Nobel award a “positive step,” although he said it was more a repudiation of former President George W. Bush than a recognition of anything concrete Obama has done.

South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, cited a Zulu term — “Ubuntu,” which refers to the importance of community” — in saying Obama’s “leadership reflects the true spirit of Ubuntu because your approach celebrates our common humanity.”

Berlusconi’s daughter says fine hurts holding co

Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter Marina, head of his holding company Fininvest, said in an interview that a court order to pay 750 million euros ($1.1 billion) in damages to a rival put the company at risk.

A week ago a court ruled that Fininvest FIN.UL, which owns 38.6 percent of Italy’s largest private broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI), must compensate CIR (CIRX.MI) for bribing a judge in a 1990s battle to buy publisher Mondadori (MOED.MI).

Analysts have warned that the fine, which Fininvest hopes to avoid paying via a court appeal, could threaten any plans Mediaset might have to make acquisitions in Spain to build on its controlling stake in broadcaster Telecinco (TL5.MC).

“A 750 million euro blow would make anyone tremble. Such a sudden and major hole in our financial resources would put at risk our chances of developing,” Marina Berlusconi said in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper published on Saturday. The damages case has heavy political overtones as CIR is the holding company of the prime minister’s business and political rival Carlo De Benedetti, whose left-leaning paper La Repubblica is being sued by Berlusconi for leading what he depicts as a leftist campaign to discredit and destabilise him.

In 2007 Berlusconi, who is now 73, was cleared of criminal responsibility in the case because the charges had elapsed under Italy’s statute of limitations. His former lawyer Cesare Previti was found guilty of bribing a judge in 1991 to rule in favor of Fininvest in the battle with CIR.

But the judge said on awarding damages in the civil case last weekend that Silvio Berlusconi was “co-responsible in the corruption issue” because he owned the company.

Polish president signs EU treaty, only Czechs left

Polish President Lech Kaczynski signed the European Union’s reform treaty into law on Saturday, leaving the Czech Republic as the only country still to ratify the document.

The Lisbon Treaty is designed to streamline decision-making and give the 27-nation bloc a long-term president and a stronger foreign policy chief. It can only take effect when all member states have approved it. 

“Only (Czech) President Vaclav Klaus’ signature is missing. Europe eagerly awaits this to happen, Europe needs no more delays,” said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who attended the signing ceremony in Poland’s presidential palace.

Klaus set out his terms on Friday for signing the treaty, demanding an exemption to protect Prague from post-war property claims and safeguard the sovereignty of the judiciary.

Kaczynski, a eurosceptic conservative, signed the treaty at a televised ceremony attended by the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the leader of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek.

He stressed that the EU remained a union of sovereign nations and said it must remain open to new members, including countries in the Balkans and Georgia.

“The EU remains a union of nation states, a strict union, and let it remain so … Within a union of sovereign states we will achieve increasing successes,” Kaczynski said.

“We now have 27 member states. I am deeply convinced this is not the end… The EU, a successful experiment without precedent in human history, cannot be closed to those who wish to join … not only in the Balkans but also countries like Georgia.”

Kaczynski had refused to sign the treaty, which Poland’s parliament approved last year, until Irish voters backed it in a referendum. Ireland overwhelmingly approved it on October 2. 

Poland and Britain have already won opt-outs on the application of some of the provisions of a Charter of Fundamental Rights which will be given binding force when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified.

‘Phantom’ Sequel Sets London Premiere for Next Year

Get your subterranean church organs tuned and make sure your chandeliers are firmly affixed to the ceiling: The Phantom is returning to the theater. On Thursday, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced the initial details of “Love Never Dies,” his long-in-the-works sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera.” As Phantophiles already know, the new musical moves the story from a Paris opera house to the Coney Island boardwalk, where the Phantom and his love, Christine, once again cross paths (presumably not in line for the Cyclone, though the show is billed as “a rollercoaster ride of obsession and intrigue”).

 

In a news release, press representatives for “Love Never Dies” said that its world premiere would take place at the Adelphi Theater in London on March 9; its Broadway opening is scheduled for November 11, 2010, at a theater to be determined, followed by an Australian run in 2011. The London production is to star Ramin Karimloo (of London’s “Phantom” and “Les Misérables”) as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess (of Broadway’s “The Little Mermaid”) as Christine. It will be directed by Jack O’Brien (“Hairspray,” “The Coast of Utopia”); its creative team also includes the lyricist Glenn Slater (“The Little Mermaid”), the set and costume designer Bob Crowley (National Theater’s “Phèdre”) and the choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Broadway’s “Legally Blonde”).

Deaths as typhoon pounds Japan

At least two people have been killed and dozens more injured in Japan, as a powerful typhoon sweeps its way up the main island of Honshu.

Typhoon Melor is the first such storm to make a direct hit on Japan in two years.

Packing gusts up to 200kmh, Melor made landfall before dawn on Thursday, tearing roofs off scores of buildings and forcing the cancellation of flights and train services.

According to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency, more than 11,000 people have been taken to emergency shelters, while more than 40,000 homes were without electricity.

The two people confirmed killed were both struck by flying debris from trees felled or uprooted by the storm.

In the Japanese capital, Tokyo, train operators delayed or cancelled service on many lines, leaving commuters stranded across the city during the busy morning rush hour.

Parts of the city also experienced power cuts.

Japan’s meteorological agency warned that large swathes of the country, including Tokyo, and the western industrial hub of Osaka, were at high risk of landslides as the typhoon moved along the archipelago.

Japanese car giant Toyota announced that because of the typhoon it would halt production at all 12 of its  domestic plants for one day.

The typhoon had weakened slightly as it churned across Honshu, but was “still very dangerous,” said Takeo Tanaka, a weather forecaster from the agency, said.

“Winds are violent and rain is torrential. You should also be on guard against mudslides.”

Melor is the latest in a series of typhoons and tropical storms to batter east Asia this year.

Japan is among the best prepared countries in the region for handling typhoons and has built extensive defences against floods and landslides, including storm surge barriers to protect coastal areas. 

But despite these precautions typhoons can still cause widespread death and disruption.

In August at least 25 people were killed when Typhoon Etau caused flash floods and landslides in Japan, even though it avoided a direct hit.

The deadliest storm to hit Japan was Typhoon Vera in 1959 which tore through Honshu, causing widespread flooding and leaving more than 5,000 dead in one of Japan’s worst natural disasters.

Iran says some countries offer it nuclear fuel

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that some countries had offered to provide Iran with uranium enriched to 20 percent for use as nuclear reactor fuel, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran has always insisted on its right to carry out its own enrichment of uranium for a nuclear program which it says is for purely peaceful purposes, mainly to generate electricity.

It rejects Western suspicions its real intention is to build an atomic bomb, which would require uranium enriched to around 90 percent. 

“There have been some proposals by individual countries and groups of countries. We are ready to hold talks with anyone interested. Our experts will soon start talks with those sellers,” Ahmadinejad said.

He said Iran could also buy nuclear fuel from the United States, its old enemy. “We want to buy fuel. We can buy it from anywhere and America can be a seller,” ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

Western diplomats say Iran agreed in principle at October 1 talks in Geneva to send about 80 percent of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for processing. It would then be returned to Tehran to replenish dwindling fuel stocks for a reactor in the capital that produces isotopes for cancer care. 

Some experts said the non-proliferation purpose of this deal — reducing Iran’s accumulation of enriched uranium that could possibly be diverted for weaponization — would mean little if Iran accelerated its own uranium enrichment rate. 

Ahmadinejad made no mention of Iran sending its uranium abroad for further enrichment. So far no purchasing agreement had been finalized, he said. 

SANCTIONS REPRIEVE

“Representatives of some countries have said that France is ready to provide nuclear fuel for the Tehran reactor … they (France) should officially propose it, then we will review it,” state broadcaster IRIB quoted the president as saying.

IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying last week’s talks with six world powers — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — in Geneva “were constructive and a positive step forward.”

The Geneva talks are expected to win Iran a reprieve from tougher U.N. sanctions, although Western powers are likely to be wary of any attempt by Tehran to buy time to develop its nuclear program.

Iran also agreed with the six powers in Geneva to allow U.N. inspectors access to a newly disclosed nuclear site.

The underground enrichment plant near the holy Shi’ite city of Qom was kept secret until Iran disclosed its existence last month. Diplomats say it did so after learning Western intelligence services had discovered the site.

World powers at the next round of talks aim to press Iran for a freeze on expansion of enrichment as an interim step toward a suspension that would bring it major trade rewards. Iran has repeatedly rejected such demands.