| Japan Foreign Reserves To $1 Trillion
3/6/2008 7:08:09 PM Japan's reserves of foreign currencies, gold and International Monetary Fund special drawing rights increased by US$11.94 billion in February over the month before, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Finance.
Reserves totaled $1.01 trillion, marking the first time Japan's reserves passed the $1 trillion mark. Japan joins China as the only other country with foreign reserves of more than $1 trillion.
The increase in February reserves was the ninth consecutive month of gains, and followed an increase of $22.68 billion in January.
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Penthouse Puts Out $500M for Social Networking Sites
Penthouse Media Group, Inc. (PMGI), the parent company for Penthouse magazine and the owner of extensive online properties, announced Wednesday that it is spending $500 million to acquire Various, Inc., the owner of numerous social networking sites, including AdultFriendFinder.com, one of the Web's leading dating sites. The transaction is one of the largest ever for an adult business. "Various is an attractive addition to our already strong print platform, and one that puts Penthouse in a very robust position in the ever-growing online social networking arena," said Penthouse Media Group CEO Marc Bell said in a statement. "We like where the business combination puts us and that this transaction will enhance PMGI's current and future licensing, print and interactive ventures." In addition to AdultFriendFinder.com, Various owns and operates a network of more than 25 other popular sites, including JewishFriendFinder.com, OutPersonals.com, and Cams.com, which advertises itself as "The Wildest Live Webcams." A Massive Customer Database Clearly, a leading attractor for Penthouse Media Group is the staggeringly large member base that Various commands.
Gonzalez, Baghdatis latest seeds to fall in Las Vegas ATP
Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez and number three Marcos Baghdatis became the latest seeds to tumble out of this ATP hardcourt tournament on Thursday. Chile's Gonzalez, playing in his first tournament since suffering an abdominal injury that sidelined him for almost a month, fell 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to Russia's Evgeny Korolev in the second round. "It was a great match for me," Korolev said. "I was feeling really great. The conditions today, everything was perfect. I found my touch, I found my game." Gonzalez, who won his most recent event at Vina del Mar last month, couldn't get past Korolev, who recorded the final four points of the tiebreaker after wasting several match points earlier in the second set. "I was a little bit surprised, a little bit nervous, a little bit (upset)," the 100th-ranked Korolev said of his missed chances.
Poll shows Labour still Rock with voters after bank panic
The same poll showed Tory leader David Cameron had become Britain's least popular party leader, with an approval rating below that of both Gordon Brown and the Liberal Democrats' Sir Ming Campbell. And another poll found public trust in the Government hardly shaken by the Northern Rock panic. In that Populus survey, 56 per cent of people said they trusted Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling, down just five points since earlier this month, while only 18 per cent trusted David Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, down nine points. And most voters blamed the Northern Rock crisis either on financial problems in the American mortgage market, or the bank's own management, rather than the Government. The findings of both polls are a boost for Mr Brown. The ICM poll for The Guardian gave Labour an eight point lead over the Tories - 40 per cent to 32 - with the Lib Dems on 20 per cent.
How to Spot the Next Hot IPO
VMware is pioneering virtualization software. FCStone provides risk management services to commodity traders. In short, you are unlikely to see these five companies rubbing shoulders at any particular industry trade show. So what ties all of these hot issues together? It isn't necessarily pent-up market demand. Yingli shares actually fell by 5% on its first day of trading. Redemption came after investors flocked to the shares as a way to play the hot -- literally and figuratively -- sector of solar energy. Sometimes a hot IPO shows its winning ways right away, of course. Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT) went public at $17.50 last year, soaring 70% higher on its first trading day. A hot financial IPO in a subprime-shaky 2007? Yes, but this is actually a software company providing enterprise solutions to the banking industry in China.
A beginner's guide to Universal Orlando
Rental cars: $178-$306 including taxes for a week in mid-May, depending on which company you rent from.
Airport shuttles will deliver you to hotels along International Drive for $15/person one-way or $25/person round-trip. Taxis from the airport to International Drive range $33-$39 one-way. The I-Ride Trolley can take you from any of the International Drive hotels to Universal: $1 for single-ride tickets; $9 for a seven-day pass. Kids 12 and younger ride free when accompanied by an adult. Or, you can stay at one of the hotels on Universal property and ride the free boat to the parks.
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AS CONSUMERS AND lenders suffer the harsh consequences of the credit crunch, another industry is experiencing a boom in business: debt collectors. Just ask Sandy Lubin, owner of the Credit Bureau of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Based in Grover Beach, Calif., Lubin's 28-employee firm serves as both a credit bureau, selling consumer credit reports to businesses, and as a collection agency, recovering medical and property management debts, such as unpaid rent. While the credit reporting side of Lubin's business has dropped "fairly substantially," the collection side has seen a 10% increase in new business this year a trend he predicts will accelerate as the weakening economy and rising debt levels take their toll on consumers' finances. "We're fortunate because we have both sides of the business," he notes.
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