Wal-Mart lowers profits guidance
Wal-Mart has trimmed its trading outlook for this year, citing a range of one-off costs including the closure of some stores in China.
The world's largest retailer said profits were likely to be at, or below, the lower end of financial forecasts.
Specifically, earnings for the current financial quarter, ending this month, would also be at, or below, forecasts.
The restructuring moves undertaken by Wal-Mart included the closure of 50 stores in Brazil and China.
Also, the cost of ending some franchise agreements in India would higher than previously anticipated, Wal-Mart said in a statement.
Bad weather in the US, which closed several stores, contributed significantly to poorer trading in the past few weeks. Cuts in food stamp benefits provided by the US government also weighed on sales.
Wal-Mart is due to report its full-year results on 20 February. Shares in the company fell 1% in early trading on Wall Street, although that was not out of step with the wider market.
But Wal-Mart's warning undermines how retailers are struggling. There has been disappointing news on profits and job cuts recently from other chains, including Best Buy, Sears, and JC Penney.
Also on Friday, toymaker Mattel reported weak sales, sending its shares down 10% at the start of trading.
Source-BBC
Argentines jockey to cope with economic turmoil
Prices are soaring, foreign reserves are falling and the peso has had its sharpest slide in 12 years. Instead of rioting, though, Argentines are falling back on tried and true survival skills learned in earlier, more dire times.
Some are hoarding dollars, while others stockpile goods or plough their savings into real estate.
More people ride bikes now following recent increases in public transportation fares. They eat out less and buy cheap, pirated DVD copies of the latest films rather than go to the cinema.
With inflation running at about 30 per cent, Sofia Basualdo, a 43-year-old geography teacher, has used shopping sprees to beat further price rises.
"I might pay one peso for a product today, but next week I'll likely have to pay two pesos," Basualdo said as she left a Buenos Aires supermarket pushing a shopping cart filled to the brim. "In this country, when you start smelling inflation it's best to buy and save."
Many Argentines note that the current economic woes are not as bad as Argentina's financial collapse in 2001-2002. Unemployment remains relatively low, and many people benefit from government handouts. Yet they worry the country may be at a tipping point.
"People are adopting defensive measures to survive," said Jorge Raventos, a political analyst and former spokesman for Argentina's foreign relations ministry. "People endure this by zig-zagging along, but it's hard to know how much they can take before they explode."
The thirst for dollars was fed over the past few days when the peso suddenly slipped 15 per cent against the greenback.
Although it is exceedingly difficult because of strict regulations, some people and businesses have succeeded in past years in sending their dollars out of Argentina as a hedge against inflation. Then Deputy Economy Minister Axel Kiciloff last year estimated Argentine individuals and companies had socked away up to US$200 billion in undeclared currency outside the country.
Like most people, Carlos Partcha, an 80-year-old retired journalist, has taken the simpler measure of buying US dollars and stashing them under his mattress — as he has done for more than a decade.
"We don't trust anything anymore. Not even the banking institutions," Partcha said. "I had saved in dollars, and when the banks froze deposits in 2001, I got pesos back and lost my money."
"We're so used to these levels of uncertainty that the Argentine has developed a sort of workout routine to deal with" economic instability, he said.
The crisis 13 years ago was so bad that one of every five Argentines was out of work and some reported going hungry. The peso, which had been tied to the dollar, lost nearly 70 per cent of its value.
Banks froze deposits and barricaded behind sheet metal as thousands of protesters unsuccessfully tried to withdraw their savings. At least 27 people died in protests and looting that swept Argentina in December 2001 as South America's second-largest economy unravelled and eventually defaulted on a debt of more than US$100 billion. Argentina saw a revolving door of five presidents over two weeks.
Restoring Argentina's sense of pride and sovereignty after that collapse has been the central goal of President Cristina Fernandez and her late husband and political predecessor, Nestor Kirchner. The presidential couple negotiated or paid off most of Argentina's defaulted debt, nationalised the pension system, and retook control of the national airline and oil company. They also kept energy cheap through subsidies and dug deep into the treasury to redirect revenue to the poor through handouts.
For several years, Argentina enjoyed annual growth of seven per cent fuelled by the high prices foreigners paid for the country's soybeans and other agricultural commodities.
But now, Argentina suffers from a shortage of dollars, one of the world's highest inflation rates and an inability to tap into global credit markets because of its debt default.
Argentina's economy this year is expected to expand by no more than 1.5 per cent, mainly because of lower commodity prices and waning demand from China for its agricultural goods. The government's policy of nationalising private firms has also spooked investors.
Inflation estimated last year at 28 per cent and projected to be even higher in 2014, forces rounds of wage and price negotiations. Hugo Moyano, one of Argentina's most powerful union leaders, recently said inflation is "eating up salaries" and "must be corrected and compensated."
The government recently eased tough restrictions on exchanging pesos for foreign currencies after they backfired by pushing many Argentines to buy dollars on the black market.
Independent economists say the government's pullback on currency controls is just a bandage for a wounded economy that needs to contain inflation by dialling back public spending. The government, in turn, blames banks, energy companies and big businesses, accusing them of speculating with the peso and raising prices to provoke instability.
Kicillof, now the economy minister, on Wednesday announced agreements with business leaders aimed at keeping the peso's sharp depreciation from leading to higher prices for consumer goods. Producers of steel, aluminum, metal products, petrochemicals and plastics are to hold prices to the levels of January 21 — the day before the peso's big drop.
Amid fears of even higher inflation, Argentines are seeking to protect their wealth by buying cars and real estate.
"I'm investing in my own house, building it with my husband. That gives me security because I don't have to pay rent that constantly goes through the roof," said Miriam Rodriguez, 35, a maid who lives on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. "Bricks are a good way of guaranteeing some stability."
Rodriguez said rising prices have forced her to make other changes. She's stopped buying clothes as well as top brands at the supermarkets, and she canceled her Internet and cable TV service. When she gets together for a dinner with friends, everyone brings their own food.
"I'm not worried about the dollar," she said. "I don't even have money to go trade for dollars."
IMF predicts economic growth for St Kitts-Nevis
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting economic growth as high as three per cent for St Kitts-Nevis in 2014.
An IMF mission Friday ended a three-day visit to the twin island Federation conducting reviews of the three-year US$84-million Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) the country has with the Washington-based financial lending institution.
The IMF team headed by Judith Gold said that there has been considerable progress under the authorities’ economic reform programme, noting that after a four-year contraction of economic activity there were firm signs of a recovery in 2013.
It said that Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 1.7 per cent with a pickup in tourism and construction, notwithstanding declines in the manufacturing and communications sectors. Employment also showed signs of improvement with the number of total employees up by 10.2 per cent and wages up by 5.1 per cent in the first half of 2013. Inflation has remained low at 0.6 per cent.
Gold said notwithstanding the challenges associated with the prolonged recession and the debt restructuring, the financial system has remained stable.
She said the recovery in tourism receipts and strong increase in Citizenship by Investment (CBI) application fees contributed to a narrowing of the current account deficit from over 20 per cent prior to 2011 to about 11-12 per cent in 2012 and 2013.
Pressure mounts for Apple to expand its horizons
Apple reshaped technology and society when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone seven years ago. Now, the trend-setting company is losing ground to rivals that offer what Apple has stubbornly refused to make: smartphones with lower prices and larger screens than the iPhone.
The void in Apple's line-up is a major reason why the company's quarterly revenue may be about to fall for the first time in more than a decade, much to the dismay of investors who are worried that Apple Inc is losing its verve and vision.
Wall Street vented its frustration after Apple reported late Monday that it sold fewer iPhones than analysts anticipated during the holiday season. Apple compounded that disappointment with a forecast raising the possibility of a slight revenue decline in the current quarter. It would be the first time that Apple's quarterly revenue has dropped from the previous year since 2003.
Apple's stock shed US$44, or eight per cent, to close last Tuesday at US$506.50, marking the company's largest one-day drop in a year. The sell-off leaves the stock about 28 per cent below its peak of US$705.07, reached in September 2012 when Apple's leadership in smartphones and tablet computers was still generating robust revenue growth.
Since then, Apple has been relinquishing market share to Samsung Electronics Inc and other companies that primarily make devices running Google Inc's Android operating system. Those competitors offer a broader selection of designs and prices than the iPhone and the iPad.
That trend is one of the reasons that Apple's revenue growth hasn't exceeded 6 per cent in any of the past three quarters. By contrast, Apple's quarterly revenue was consistently increasing by at least 20 per cent two years ago and even exceeded 70 per cent during the 2011 holiday quarter.
Apple remains in stellar shape financially, coming off a US$13 billion profit in its most recent quarter -- more than all but a handful of companies make in an entire year. The Cupertino, California, company also is sitting on nearly US$159 billion in cash.
But Apple's stock is unlikely to bounce back to its previous high unless the company's growth accelerates.
The challenges facing Apple have been most glaring in the smartphone market.
Phones in less affluent parts of the world are selling for less than US$200. By comparison, iPhones sold for an average of US$637 in Apple's most recent quarter. Even Apple's cheaper iPhone 5C is just US$100 less than the high-end 5S.
Meanwhile, a variety of Android phones boast screens measuring five to 6.5 inches diagonally, while the latest iPhones are all four inches.
Apple's insistence on catering to the upper end of the smartphone market with only one choice of screen size is undercutting the company's growth, International Data Research analyst Ramon Llamas said.
"There is a gap where Apple is not playing, and it's clear that many users want some of these other things in a phone," Llamas said.
As a result, Apple's share of the smartphone market fell from nearly 19 per cent at the end of 2012 to about 15 per cent last year, according to IDC. Samsung remains the market leader with a 31 per cent share at the end of last year, up a notch from 30 per cent in 2012.
Apple tried to widen the iPhone's appeal with the cheaper 5C, which was essentially a recycled version of the iPhone's previous generation. To make the 5C look like something new, Apple dressed it up in a brightly coloured array of plastic casings.
In Monday's conference call with analysts, Apple CEO Tim Cook made it clear that the 5C didn't sell as well as the company anticipated, though he didn't provide specifics. Cook hailed the 5S model as the star performer in the company's holiday quarter.
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies
Oscar-winning American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in New York, police say.
The 46-year-old was found in his Manhattan apartment after a friend called the emergency services.
The police said the cause of death was an apparent drug overdose.
Hoffmann made his name in the 1990s in films including Boogie Nights and the Big Lebowski, before winning the best actor Oscar for his 2005 portrayal of writer Truman Capote.
Throughout his career he featured in independent films as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible III.
His latest role was in the Hunger Games series of films.
As well as films, he also starred in Broadway plays and was nominated for two Tony Awards.
British actor John Hurt, who starred alongside Hoffman in the 2003 drama Owning Mahowny, said the news had hit him "very hard".
"He was a great actor, a great member of the film and theatre community. An extraordinary talent, directorially as well as an actor. He'll be greatly missed," he told the BBC.
Hollywood stars have also paid tribute.
"Dear Philip, a beautiful beautiful soul," tweeted actor Jim Carrey.
"For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much. Bless your heart."
Last year Hoffman told celebrity news website TMZ that he had sought treatment for drug abuse.
He told the website he had used prescription drugs, and briefly heroin, before seeking help.
Hoffman has over 60 film credits to his name, including Magnolia and The Master with director Paul Thomas Anderson, for which he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar.
He made his debut as a film director in 2010 with the New York-set Jack Goes Boating, in which he also starred.
British film critic Jason Solomons said he "lit up the screen".
"He'd take the weirdest parts and give them a human element. He was a fantastic director as well and showed a real touch with actors," he said.
Jamaica Jazz and Blues big acts deliver
At the end of his performance on night 3 Saturday it was a standing ovation for the artiste who delivered all his expected favourites and more.
‘Everyone Plays the Fool’, ‘Don't Know Much’ and ‘Don't Go’ were among the top tracks dropped on loyal fans, some responding with wild screams.
Aaron Neville hooked the audience immediately after he was introduced onstage, with a medley including the Drifters’ Stand by Me, and Sam Cooke’s ‘Cupid’ and ‘Chain Gang’.
But Neville did not stick to one genre of music and evoked frantic screams as he ventured into reggae music with renditions of Bob Marley's ‘Three little Birds’ and ‘Stir it Up’.
He was equally impressive delivering gospel selections including, ‘Study War No More’, ‘Lay down my Burden’, ‘When the Saint s Go Marching’, and ‘Amazing Grace’.
Veteran country and western crooner Crystal Gayle took Jazz & Blues patrons down memory lane on night 3 of the music festival Saturday at the Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium.
During her lively performance, the seasoned artiste, who disclosed that this is her first trip to Jamaica, had her local fans singing word-for-word to all time favourites such as ‘Talking In Your Sleep’, ‘Long and lasting Love’,‘Those were the Days’ and ‘Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’.
The country/pop star sporting her trade-mark nearly floor-length hair, interacted freely with her appreciative audience throughout her entertaining set.
Chaka Khan rocked the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium with a lively set filled with mega-hits from her 40-year career.
Taking to the stage at 11:10 pm, the svelte artiste delivered all the songs which have made her famous and earned obvious appreciation, participation and applause from what was the largest audience of the three-night festival.
‘I Feel for You’ opened her set and ‘I'm Every Woman’ was the closing note. In between Chaka Khan kept the tempo with ‘What You Gonna Do for Me’, ‘Sweet Thing’, ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘Through the Fire’.
In the end the legendary American singer/songwriter left the Jazz and Blues stage with the audience begging for more.
A light drizzle close to the end of the set did not dampen the mood at the Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium in Jamaica Sunday morning as the O'Jays rained down hits from the 1960s and 70s in the penultimate act of the Jazz and Blues Festival 2014.
Dressed in full white, the trio rocked the stage and had their audience singing and dancing to the group's impressive catalogue that goes back some 40 years.
With their slick choreography they delivered R&B staples ‘Back Stabbers’, ‘I love Music’, ‘Love Train’, ‘Used to Be My Girl’, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and more for the large audience inside the venue.
In the end the persistent squalls sent patrons scampering for shelter with local act Beres Hammond left to close night 3 and the festival.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Woody Allen accused of sex abuse by adopted daughter
The adopted daughter of Woody Allen has renewed claims the filmmaker "sexually abused" her as a child in 1992.
In an open letter, Dylan Farrow accuses Allen of molesting her in a "dim, closet-like attic" at the age of seven.
Ms Farrow, now 28, also criticises Hollywood's continued celebration of "a predator [who] brought chaos into our home".
Allen was investigated over the abuse allegations at the time of the incident, but was not charged.
A panel of psychologists, appointed by US prosecutors and the police, concluded that Dylan had not been molested.
The case caused controversy when a prosecutor later said there had been "probably cause" to charge Allen, but he had chosen not to, in order to protect the child.
The movie director has always maintained his innocence. He has previously accused Dylan's mother, Mia Farrow, of fabricating the claims after their highly publicised break-up in 1992.
Dylan Farrow opens her letter, published on the New York Times website, by asking: "What's your favourite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: when I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house.
"He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually abused me".
Ms Farrow, who now lives in Florida under a different name, said she developed an eating disorder and was self-harming following the incident.
"That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up," she writes.
Of the panel who dismissed her claims back in 1992, Ms Farrow says: "Sexual abuse claims against the powerful stall more easily. There were experts willing to attack my credibility."
She said she decided to break her silence after two decades, when Woody Allen's latest film, Blue Jasmine, was nominated for an Oscar last week.
Source-BBC
Oscars: Best song disqualification explained
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has detailed the reasons why a contender for this year's best original song Oscar had its nomination revoked.
Bruce Broughton, it said, "undermine[d] the integrity of the voting process" by telling "at least 70" fellow Academy members he had composed the song.
"The nominating process for original song is intended to be anonymous," the Academy's statement continued.
Broughton, it said, "should have been more cautious" as an "Academy insider".
The title song to Christianity-themed film Alone Not Yet Alone had its nomination rescinded on Wednesday after it was decided Broughton's actions "were inconsistent with the Academy's promotional regulations".
Broughton, a former Academy Governor, said he was "devastated" by the decision, telling the Christian Post newspaper his character had been "besmirched and sullied".
The Academy's latest statement follows robust criticism of its actions from an Oscar-winning producer, who suggested the move had been motivated by "faith-based bigotry".
In a letter seen by the Hollywood Reporter, Schindler's List producer Gerald Molen said rescinding a nomination from a film with a Christian message would see the Academy accused of "needlessly offending middle America".
The Academy, however, insisted Broughton "took advantage of information that few other potential nominees are privy to" by telling members of its music branch that he composed Alone Not Yet Alone.
The composer, it continued, had acted "in a way that made it appear as if he were taking advantage of his position to exert undue influence", calling into question whether the voting process was "fair and equitable".
In his email, Broughton wrote to a number of music branch members to "boldly" direct their attention to "entry 57" on the DVD compilation they had been sent by the Academy.
The Academy said his actions contravened "a long-standing policy and practice... to prevent favouritism and promote unbiased voting".
The ousted track has not been replaced by another contender, leaving four compositions to compete for this year's best song award.
One of them, Let It Go, features in hit Disney animation Frozen, which boosted its Oscar chances on Saturday by winning top prize at this year's Annie Awards.
The film, an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, was named best animated feature on Saturday, one of five prizes it took home from the Los Angeles event marking the year's best achievements in animation.
More prizes were handed out on Saturday by the Writers Guild of America, which gave its main awards to futuristic romance Her and maritime drama Captain Phillips.
Spike Jonze's script for Her was named best original screenplay, with the best adapted screenplay accolade going to Billy Ray's script for Paul Greengrass's fact-based thriller.
TV shows Veep, Breaking Bad and House of Cards were also recognised by the guild at ceremonies held simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York.
Source-BBC
Jamaican Deejay John Wayne is dead
Jamaican deejay John Wayne, who rose to prominence during the 1980s with the hit song Call the Police, died yesterday at the Kingston Public Hospital.
His brother, deejay Patrick 'Penny Irie' Cephas, told Splash the cause of death was renal failure.
John Wayne, whose real name was Norval Headley, was 51 years old.
His career started with sound systems such as Black Scorpio, Studio Mix and Kilamanjaro.
He broke through in 1985 with Call the Police, done on the sensational Sleng Teng beat produced by Lloyd 'King Jammys' James.
He had another hit in the 1980s with Mi Nuh Response.
Norval 'John Wayne' Headley is survived by seven children and eight grandchildren.
Source-Splash
Denver Broncos quarterback regains NFL record
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning broke the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season on Sunday.
Manning, 37, threw four touchdowns in a 37-13 win against Houston Texans to take his total to 51 for the season with one game left to play.
He regained the record that he held for three years before New England quarterback Tom Brady broke it in 2007.
"I really feel like it's a team accomplishment, certainly an offensive accomplishment," said Manning.
Manning set the new record with a 25-yard completion to tight end Julius Thomas in the fourth quarter.
He added: "A lot of people played roles in this. I think it's a unique thing to be a part of NFL history, even though it may be temporary. Brady will probably break it next year and the year after, so we'll enjoy it for as long as it lasts."
Source-BBC