Britney Spears dazzles critics in Las Vegas
Pop star Britney Spears has received rave reviews for the opening night of her Las Vegas residency on Friday.
"Spears stomped into town with a 21-hit salute," wrote Marco della Cava in USA Today, noting the show "artfully melded spectacle with stagecraft".
MTV's Sophie Schillaci highlighted the "larger-than-life production, blaring beats and rapid-fire dance moves".
But the LA Times' Mikael Wood observed: "She was wearing a microphone, though it wasn't clear she was using it."
"The singer appeared to be lip-syncing for the majority of her performance.
"That went for high-energy dance numbers such as Womanizer as well as slower-paced ballads like Perfume," said Wood, who went on to praise the event's "elaborate razzle-dazzle".
"The vast majority of the show was lip-synced," agreed Keith Caulfield in Billboard.
"Only occasionally were any seemingly live vocals heard [and] there was a certain thrill in actually hearing Spears breathing into the microphone - however infrequent."
Despite that, Caulfield praised the "non-stop hits bonanza" and pointed out that the tightly-choreographed Gimme More gave Spears "a moment of Vegas redemption" after her infamously lacklustre performance of the song at the MTV Awards, held in the city in 2007.
Britney: Piece Of Me is named after the 32-year-old's tabloid-baiting hit single from 2007.
A retrospective of her 15-year pop career, the 24-strong setlist includes hits such as Toxic, Scream and Shout, Womanizer and Baby ...One More Time, with only two songs culled from her recent, under-performing Britney Jean album.
Among the crowd on opening night were fellow pop stars Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, who posted several pictures of herself enjoying the show on Twitter.
"If you told me I'd be front row and center on @britneyspears opening night 10 years ago I would've never believed you," she wrote.
Others were less enthusiastic, however.
"Her dancing, touted as the show's linchpin, was lackadaisical and - as has become the norm for Spears - reliant on arm movements," wrote Caryn Ganz in Rolling Stone magazine.
"Spears seemed truly frightened," during the number Slave 4U, Ganz said, "remaining safely on a throne, executing minimal choreography while her dancers did the heavy lifting".
Spears will perform the Piece Of Me show 100 times over the next two years
Source-BBC
One Direction album Midnight Memories tops 2013 artist sales
Midnight Memories, the latest album from One Direction, has overtaken Emeli Sande's Our Version of Events to become 2013's top-selling artist album.
According to the Official Charts Company, the album has sold more than 685,000 copies in the five weeks since its release.
It is the boy band's third album.
Scots singer Sande's album has sold 683,000. Her debut album was the biggest seller of 2012 and has sold more than two million copies to date.
The figures mean no album by a single artist has reached a million sales in 2013, for the first time in more than 20 years.
Official Charts Company chief executive Martin Talbot called One Direction's speedy ascent "a very impressive achievement".
Midnight Memories, the band's third album debuted at number one in the chart, selling more than 237,000 copies during its first week, making it the fastest selling album of 2013.
The record also made chart history in the US, entering the Billboard 200 at number one, making them the only group to have their first three albums top the chart in their opening week.
The One Direction documentary movie This Is Us, directed by Morgan Spurlock, recently became the fastest selling music DVD/Blu-ray in UK history, selling 270,000 copies in its first three days on release.
A full list of the year's top selling singles and albums is due in the new year.
US & Japanese Stocks Soar in 2013
U. S. and Japanese stock markets posted strong gains in 2013, as investors were encouraged by central bank efforts to make it easier to buy homes, equipment and other goods by pushing down interest rates and promising to keep them there for a while.
Japan's Nikkei was up 57 percent in 2013, its best performance in decades. In the United States, the S&P 500 ended the year of trading with a nearly 30 percent gain. The Dow was up 27 percent and the NASDAQ rose 38 percent.
Nick Ventura of Ventura Wealth Management in New Jersey calls Japan's action an unprecedented "global gamble" that has worked, at least so far.
In 2013, the United States saw modest improvements in growth, housing prices and the unemployment rate. Ventura says the improving economy meant fewer wild swings in prices and fewer worried investors.
"Every time there was the slightest pullback in stock prices it was rewarded with a fresh round of buying. So there is a growing confidence in the U.S. recovery and I think that's what really perked up the U.S. economy."
A study published Tuesday by the Boston investment firm State Street shows a significant improvement in investor confidence between November and December. That growing confidence apparently is making investors more willing to take modest risks and buy some kinds of stocks.
The Wall Street Journal reports investors have been shunning complex strategies and are simply seeking stocks with low prices and strong earning potential.
Meanwhile, The Financial Times reports that investments thought to offer a safe haven for money in troubled economic times, like gold and government bonds, saw fewer buyers.
Many analysts predict stock prices will continue to climb in 2014, but at a slower pace.
Investment advisor and author Matthew Tuttle, of Tuttle Tactical Management in Stamford Connecticut says prices will increase, but so will risk.
"We have a 'house of cards' but we don't see the cards toppling really until 2016. We are definitely forming a bubble but that bubble still has a lot of room to grow."
Tuttle says it is crucial that the U.S. Federal Reserve moves gradually and carefully when it reverses the low interest rate policies that spurred rising stock prices.
U.S. markets will be closed Wednesday for the New Year's holiday.
Barclays fined $3.75m after record-keeping failure
Barclays has been fined $3.75m (£2.28m) by a US regulator for allegedly failing to keep proper electronic records, emails and instant messages.
The shortcomings occurred between 2002 and 2012, said the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).
Finra said the bank failed to preserve data detailing its orders, confirmation of trades, records of accounts and other information.
Barclays did not admit or deny wrongdoing, but agreed to a censure.
It had not prevented the information from being altered or destroyed, said Finra.
The bank also failed to keep attachments to some Bloomberg emails between 2007 and 2010, and failed to retain about 3.3 million instant messages sent using Bloomberg terminals between 2008 and 2010.
Once one instant message with an attachment was processed by the bank, no more could be received that day, Finra said.
Brad Bennett, enforcement chief at Finra, said: "Ensuring the integrity, accuracy and accessibility of electronic books and records is essential to a firm's ability to meet its compliance obligations."
Barclays was fined $435m in July by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for allegedly rigging US energy markets.
It was also warned about a possible £50m fine by the UK-based Financial Conduct Authority in September for a "reckless" deal in 2008 with Qatari investors.
Firms must pay workers more as economy improves
The head of the UK's main business lobby group has said too many people are "stuck" in minimum wage jobs, despite an upturn in the UK economy.
John Cridland, director general of the CBI, said businesses should deliver "better pay and more opportunities" for their employees.
He told the BBC: "If we get productivity going, we are creating more wealth, and we can share it."
Recovery should be sustainable before wages increased, he said.
Mr Cridland said: "It's nice for once to have a somewhat more upbeat message. The message is, if the economy is growing, we can have everybody swim upwards."
But he said lacking productivity was a "bit of a worry" in the UK economy and that it was important that skill shortages did not undermine recovery.
In his annual new year's message, Mr Cridland said despite economic growth, there were "still far too many people stuck in minimum wage jobs without routes to progression, and that's a serious challenge that businesses and the government must address."
Mr Cridland said businesses must support employees in "every part of the country" to progress in their careers and help young people get their first jobs.
He called for a vocational system, similar to Ucas, to help raise awareness about other routes to higher skills.
Mr Cridland said: "If 2013 was the year that business trust took a hammering on a range of issues from corporate taxation to energy prices, then 2014 must be the year that business leaders take action to rebuild that trust."
His comments came as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned 2014 had to be a "year of productivity" if earnings were to rise sustainably.
Mark Beatson, chief economist at the CIPD, said: "Employment growth looks set to continue at an impressive rate over the year to come. However, the downside is that UK productivity has yet to improve and remains below its pre-recession level."
He said the low productivity was behind falling real wages and the high cost of living in the UK.
Mr Beatson said: "Central to this [lacking productivity] is business and government acting together to improve the way people are managed, with more emphasis on working smarter and creating value. "
He said the "crisis of trust" in many organisations had to be tackled to boost productivity, alongside making more use of the "skills and talents of our workforce".
Source-BBC
Hewlett-Packard and Revlon job cuts announced
Computer maker Hewlett-Packard and cosmetic firm Revlon have both announced end of year job cuts of thousands of workers.
In a filing with US regulators, HP said it would cut 5,000 more jobs than planned.
The firm now says it will eliminate 34,000 positions, or 11% of its workforce, by the end of 2014.
Separately, Revlon announced plans to leave China and said it would cut 1,100 jobs.
Revlon, which manufactures cosmetics and hair dye under its name as well as the Almay and SinfulColors brands, said the cuts would save the firm around $11m (£6.6m) a year amid declining global sales.
The firm recently announced changes in its leadership, including naming a new boss, Lorenzo Delpani, in the autumn.
Latvia split over eurozone entry
On 1 January Latvia will become the 18th country to adopt the euro - a move welcomed by most of the business community.
The owner of Valmiermuiza brewery, Aigars Rungis, says the euro will give his business an extra boost: "It will give us more stability and as a result more investors will be ready to invest."
However, many members of the public are concerned it will mean higher prices as Damien McGuiness reports.
Hewlett-Packard and Revlon job cuts announced
Computer maker Hewlett-Packard and cosmetic firm Revlon have both announced end of year job cuts of thousands of workers.
In a filing with US regulators, HP said it would cut 5,000 more jobs than planned.
The firm now says it will eliminate 34,000 positions, or 11% of its workforce, by the end of 2014.
Separately, Revlon announced plans to leave China and said it would cut 1,100 jobs.
Revlon, which manufactures cosmetics and hair dye under its name as well as the Almay and SinfulColors brands, said the cuts would save the firm around $11m (£6.6m) a year amid declining global sales.
The firm recently announced changes in its leadership, including naming a new boss, Lorenzo Delpani, in the autumn.
Expired Firearms Licence Issued to Owners
The Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police is urging all persons with firearms licences to visit the Firearms Unit to renew their firearms licence on Thursday Janaury 02nd, 2014. All firearms licence in the Turks & Caicos will expire as of December 31st, 2013. All firearms licence holders who fail to renew their firearms licence risk having their firearms licence suspended indefinitely.
Firearms licences are generally valid for one year, and it is the licence holder’s responsibility to renew their licence in a timely manner. Renewing on time will help to avoid possible complications and consequences, including being charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm.
All persons renewing their firearms for 2014, must visit the Firearms Unit with your firearm, all ammunition and a valid photo ID.
All firearms must be cleared and made safe before attending the Firearms Unit.
Individuals who possess firearms or handle them in the course of their work are required, under the Firearms Act, to have a valid firearms licence. A valid firearms licence is also necessary to acquire firearms or ammunition.
If anyone has any doubts, concerns or questions relating to firearms, please contact Sgt. Thomas of the Firearms Unit at 2316262.
Police investigates more Crime as we close 2013
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating a number of incidents reported between Wednesday December 25, 2013 and Monday December 30, 2013 within the districts of Providenciales, including:
• (4) Burglary: Preliminary investigations revealed that during the commission of these Burglaries, a 60 inch sharp flat screen television, a grey safe containing some personal documents and some valuable watches, a black hand bag containing make up kits, Perfumes and other items, a Blackberry cell phone, a Television were stolen and possibly other items depending on findings on an inventory that will be conducted soon.
• (5) Theft: Initial investigations revealed that during the commission of these Thefts, a quantity of water, a black purse containing a sum of cash and various ID cards, black Pioneer radio, a car battery, a white Samsung Galaxy mega cell phone and a number of items yet to be confirmed pending an inventory were stolen from a storage unit.
• (1) Attempted Burglary: Preliminary investigations revealed that nothing was stolen during the commission of this crime.
• (1) Malicious Damage to Property: Early investigations revealed that during the commission of this crime a vehicle was damaged and broken into. The right rear passenger window was shattered and the vehicle was ransacked. Nothing was reported stolen but the complainant is making further checks to be sure.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are also investigating a number of incidents reported between Wednesday December 25, 2013 and Monday December 30, 2013 within the districts of Grand Turk, including:
• (1) Taking Conveyance without Authority: Preliminary investigations revealed that during the commission of this crime, a golf cart was stolen.
• (1) Burglary: Initial investigations revealed that during the commission of this crime, a sum of cash was stolen.
If you have any information about any criminal activity, please call 911 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-8477. Tips can also be submitted anonymously in English, French or Spanish on either www.crimestoppers.tc or on Facebook as a fan of Crime Stoppers Turks & Caicos. Crime Stoppers tips are received in the USA.