News

AP - Wall Street extended its big advance Monday as investors applauded a new agreement that will give Bear Stearns Cos. shareholders five times the payout than was outlined in a JPMorgan Chase & Co. buyout deal a week ago. Investors were also pleased by a stronger-than-expected housing report. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 230 points.

Reuters - Toronto’s main stock market index shot
up more than 200 points by midmorning on Monday as investors
temporarily shrugged off worries about the crumbling global
economy.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Monday on a surge in
financial shares following news that JPMorgan Chase & Co had
boosted its offer to buy Bear Stearns Cos five-fold to $10 a
share.

Google has added support for new APIs for accessing Contacts data and for YouTube browsing and uploading, as well as compatibility for the iPhone SDK, in version 1.4 of the GData Objective-C Client Library. Google’s Greg Robbins explains, “Perhaps you want your iPhone software to send photos to a Picasa Web Albums account, or keep a journal of phone calls automatically in Blogger. Maybe your iPhone application accesses a database of information…

Sold as Prie Rawhide ($25) but packaged separately under the Prie Rawhide and Prie Moccasin names, Tunewear’s five latest flip-style leather cases for the third-generation iPod nano use a combination of quality black or brown leather and distinctive stitching to completely protect the iPod inside. Though the cases still use increasingly stale flip-style face covers, the lids and cases are very thin, use magnets to stay shut, and include separate screen,…

I had the most votes in my latest poll of any poll I’ve done yet. The question was, "Do you own a gun?" The question has been in my mind over the last two weeks as the United States Supreme Court debates whether or not the 2nd amendment means that Americans have the right to own a gun. I have recently purchased a gun and enjoyed going out with my best friend to go to a shooting range to fire. I’m

In case you were wondering or in case you care … I’ve been working hard on cleaning up this website over the last few days. Last week I reached 2000 posts … well guess what … I trimmed 438 of them over the weekend. These were update posts like this one or posts that had bad links or outdated information. From this point on … I’m going to start eliminating posts (such as the one you are

Memorex has announced new models of its iWake Clock Radio for iPod in blue, purple, and red metallic finishes. The iWake is a clock radio with dual alarm function that lets you wake to your iPod, radio, or alarm, and features a bright LCD display, wireless remote, and built-in Universal Dock. “You need an alarm clock to help you get out of bed, but it’s also a key element of your bedroom space and interior design,” said Carla Pihowich,…

Ministers intend to take steps to counter a threat by property developers to
leave buildings unfinished in an attempt to dodge an impending increase in
business rates.<br/>
<br/>
The measures, which are due to be announced this week, pit the Government
against increasingly angry commercial developers - as the Treasury tries to
raise an additional £1 billion in business rates from buildings that are
unoccupied.<br/>
<br/>
John Healey, the Local Government Minister, will ask local councils to make
better use of existing powers, including forcing developers to speed up the
completion of building works so that they cannot dodge taxes by leaving
buildings incomplete.<br/>
<br/>
Owners of unoccupied commercial property currently pay little or no business
rates but the Government is planning to cut the existing reliefs from next
month. That prospect prompted Ian Coull, the chief executive of Segro, to
threaten to leave the roof off new unlet developments to avoid the rates
bill.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Healey told <i>The Times</i> that his plans amounted to “zero tolerance on
commercial vandalism” – and he specifically warned developers against
damaging complete but unlet properties. “It would be an extreme step for a
property owner to go to the lengths of deliberately vandalising their asset.
I do not believe this is likely and I expect the property industry to adapt
in a responsible manner.”<br/>
<br/>
Developers argue that leaving buildings incomplete helps them to save money if
they fear that they can no longer find tenants for a planned building by the
time it is built. Segro estimates that its rates bill will be £8 million
higher as the existing system of reliefs is scrapped.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Healey will also indicate that he is prepared to enforce 20-year-old local
government finance legislation allowing rate valuation authorities to decide
that for tax purposes a building is completed three months from the start of
construction even if in reality the building has not been finished.<br/>
<br/>
Tim Wheeler, the chief executive of Brixton, which owns warehouses valued at
£2.4 billion, told <i>The Times</i> this month that the imminent
changes to rates relief would mean that his company would demolish old
buildings earmarked for redevelopment far sooner than planned, leaving
“piles of rubble” in their place.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Wheeler has calculated that the scrapping of empty business premises rates
relief will reduce Brixton’s earnings this year by at least £5 million.<br/>
<br/>
Responding to the threat, Mr Healey said: “I will not tolerate any deliberate
dereliction and will act on new antiavoidance measures if necessary. That is
why I will be monitoring the situation closely and why I am reminding
councils of their powers to safeguard local areas from potential commercial
vandalism.”<br/>
<br/>
Owners of industrial property obtain 100 per cent rate relief when buildings
are unoccupied. Owners of other commercial property, shops and offices,
obtain 100 per cent relief for the first three months and 50 per cent relief
after that.<br/>
<br/>
However, from April 6 industrial property owners will obtain 100 per cent
relief for only the first six months that a building is vacant. All other
empty commercial properties would have three months’ rates relief and then
incur the full amount.<br/>
<br/>
The Treasury expects the cuts to generate an extra £950 million in the 2008-09
tax year and £900 million the year after, and ministers are hoping for a
further economic boost because landlords would be obliged to offer lower
rents to businesses to offset the risk of a hefty tax bill.

Britain’s biggest lenders are bracing themselves for fresh turbulence on the
wholesale markets amid suggestions that it may be weeks before the Bank of
England agrees to free up the banking system with a bumper cash injection.<br/>
<br/>
It is understood that, after a meeting with senior retail banking executives
late last week, the Bank is happy in principle to provide additional
liquidity when needed along the same lines as those agreed by the US Federal
Reserve – but that it needs time to work out the details.<br/>
<br/>
Extra liquidity is understood to have been one of the main requests made by
the banks at last week’s meeting, held with Mervyn King, the Governor. It is
also thought that the Bank is prepared to take a wider range of securities
to use as collateral against loans.<br/>
<br/>
The Bank confirmed over the weekend that it was considering ways to ease
pressure on the funding markets for banks. However, the UK’s lender of last
resort provided no firm details about the size or timing of any potential
cash injection.<br/>
<br/>
Sources close to some of the leading high street banks said that last week’s
meeting with Mr King had gone well. One said: “There has been some movement.
The Bank is looking at different measures.<br/>
<br/>
“This is the Bank of England, though. It will want to think very carefully
before doing this. Don’t presume anything will happen any time soon. It
could be this week, but it could be weeks down the line.”<br/>
<br/>
The Bank declined to comment yesterday, but on Saturday it did deny reports
that it was considering using public money to fund a mass acquisition of
mortgage-backed securities. It went on to say that it was “examining a
number of other options, but it is too early to go into any detail”.<br/>
<br/>
Short-term money markets have been paralysed since the middle of last year as
banks fearful about their exposure to the crisis in mortgage securities
become increasingly nervous about lending to each other. After fighting shy
of a public intervention, the Bank last week doubled to £10 billion its
auction of three-day money. Demand for it was nearly three times supply.<br/>
<br/>
The Bank is to hold another auction of three-day money this Thursday. It may
still use this scheduled sale to unveil further measures.

The world’s biggest live music companies are to take their battle for
supremacy to the Gulf states after announcing plans to turn the region into
the next lucrative staging post for rock’s biggest stars.<br/>
<br/>
Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which reinvented the Dome as a live music
venue, plans to lure acts such as Prince and Bon Jovi to the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) to perform in new, purpose-built arenas.<br/>
<br/>
Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter and AEG’s leading global
rival, is beating a similar trail. It has acquired a controlling stake in
Mirage, a leading Dubai-based promoter, which has hosted concerts by
Aerosmith and Shakira. Madonna, who has signed an exclusive music and
concert deal with Live Nation, is expected to add Dubai, the UAE’s main
city, to her tour circuit.<br/>
<br/>
The race to bring rock and pop to the Gulf is part of a wider effort to
develop the region as a centre of tourism. Emirates is intent on making
itself the world’s airline of choice, for example, a world in which millions
use it to fly to the area’s rapidly expanding resorts and developments.
Those resorts are already among some of the most exclusive on the planet,
The World, perhaps the best-known of them, and its peers built on so grand a
scale that they can be seen from space. And some of music’s most famous
names are allegedly buying their slices of these exclusive spots.<br/>
<br/>
Yet if the superstars are intent on spending money on seven-star hotel suites
and private islands, the Gulf remains a source of untapped income. Despite a
wealthy expatriate population, a young music-loving local audience and the
fact that 15 million visitors are expected to visit Dubai in the next
decade, the Gulf region has yet to establish a consistent infrastructure for
live music.<br/>
<br/>
With live performances replacing record sales for artists’ pension plans, the
region, overlooked so far by the likes of U2 and the Rolling Stones, is seen
as the next frontier for promoters to conquer. AEG Live has hired Thomas
Ovesen, the man behind some of Mirage’s biggest concerts, to oversee a new
live promotions office in Dubai. AEG Live hopes to operate arenas in Dubai
and Abu Dhabi, seating 10,000 to 15,000 fans and styled after its own O2 in
London, inside two years. Mr Oveson plans to draw young, wealthy music fans
from neighbouring states by staging Las Vegas-style residencies featuring
big names.<br/>
<br/>
Mr Ovesen said: “My vision is that the UAE will be the hub for entertainment
for the entire region. We believe the O2 model, where Prince played 21
nights, could really work in the region. The right type of artist can expect
to clear $1 million. But until now, the local live music scene has been
fairly insignificant.$”<br/>
<br/>
AEG plans to host Broadway musicals as well as pop concerts in its new arenas,
with the shows marketed at foreign expats living in Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
The company has promised to balance ticket prices so that the local Asian
population can attend. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG
Live, said: “A presence in that region is very important to us in terms of
growth and finance opportunities.”<br/>
<br/>
His Dubai-based rival Mirage Promotions, which secures acts such as Diana Ross
and Bryan Adams for corporate clients in the region, will be rebranded as
Live Nation after the US giant took a 65 per cent controlling stake. Elissa
Murtaza, its managing director, said: “Whilst our current focus is to be on
the burgeoning UAE, our position in the Middle East provides us with the
opportunity to expand our operations. Our new partnership with Live Nation
will help us to accelerate our growth by providing us better access to
talent and resources.”<br/>
<br/>
The Gulf does have a flourishing local music scene, which is reflected in the
recently launched MTV Arabia service and the arrival of a concert
infrastructure, but it does present some logistical problems for touring
international rock stars. Some artists have been unwilling to undertake a
four-day round trip to Dubai for a one-off show. Promoters also have to make
provision for an entirely car-bound audience. This month Celine Dion played
her first Dubai concert, at the Four Seasons Golf Club, charging £135 for a
platinum seat. Organisers had to promise the authorities smooth-flowing
traffic and car-parking for 9,000 vehicles before the concert could take
place.<br/>
<br/>
Western stars will have to respect local sensibilities. Last month, the Radio
1 DJ Grooverider was sentenced to a four-year prison term in Dubai after
admitting to carrying cannabis into the country. “They can have the
rock’n’roll but not the sex and drugs,” Mr Oveson said.<br/>
<br/>
He added: “Given the wealth of the country, the possibilities for charging for
high-end, quality shows are endless. Frankly, if Elvis were alive, he’d
consider a visit to Dubai in the next couple of years. I believe the future
is here.”

Joe Lewis, the British billionaire who has lost almost $1 billion ($£505
million) on his investment in Bear Stearns, is confident that he will be
able to block the takeover of the stricken investment bank by JPMorgan Chase
before the deal is completed in three months.

The RAF is launching covert bombing raids against schools and other key
landmarks across the country, acts of gleeful revenge for a litany of abuses
such as extra homework, detentions and humiliations in class.

The stock of unsold homes is rising steadily as the mood in the housing market
darkens, but the array of properties is failing to tempt buyers back as
homeowners demand ever-higher prices, according to Rightmove, the property
website.

A former Apax-owned Welsh consumer finance group with a £1.2 billion loans
book is poised to be sold within the next seven to ten days to an unnamed
rival private equity firm for as little as 1p.

EVERY Friday morning the business team here gathers to discuss possible news
stories. We call it the “wish list”. As well as genuine nuggets, it contains
wild tales and unsubstantiated allegations that we have picked up during the
week.

HE’S a rat, evolving in a festering pot of manure. I jump on his head and kill
him.” There were minutes to go before the toughest move in his career and
Gordon Ramsay was losing his temper as only he can<i>.</i> Dressed in
whites, he leapt up and stamped his feet repeatedly, as if killing vermin.
The glasses, the windows - the waiters – shook.

<a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/"><b>Economics</b></a>
<br/>
<br/>
<b>Retail sales</b> Britons are expected to spend £9.1 billion on shopping and
entertainment over the Easter weekend, some 14 per cent less than last year
when they splashed out £10.6 billion, according to the Centre for Economics
and Business Research. “The combination of bad economic news and bad weather
is unlikely to be the best background for spending,” the CEBR said. <br/>
<br/>
<a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/"><b>Banking
& finance</b></a><br/>
<br/>
<b>Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers</b>’ profits could deteriorate
significantly this year if the turmoil sweeping the capital markets
persists, according to Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency.

IF you can keep your head while others are losing theirs, better not shout
about it in today’s environment. What would Rudyard Kipling have made of a
frenzy that has taken us from the possibility of recession to a rerun of the
Great Depression in days?

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is considering throwing its weight behind calls for Sir Stuart Rose, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, to stand for reelection to the retailer’s board this year.