Rory McIlroy eyes US & European double at BMW Masters
World number one Rory McIlroy will continue his bid to top the money lists on the European and United States tours at the BMW Masters in Shanghai.
He has a US$1.91m lead over Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour, but can be overtaken by both Justin Rose and Branden Grace on the Europe tour this week.
Luke Donald became the first man to win both money lists in one year in 2011. The field at Lake Malaren includes 11 of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team, as well as captain Jose Maria Olazabal.
Of the side that came from behind to win 14½-13½ at Medinah, Spaniard Sergio Garcia is absent, while the Republic of Ireland's Padraig Harrington and Australian Marcus Fraser are the only two of the Race to Dubai's top 30 not in Shanghai.
England's Rose and South African Grace could both overtake McIlroy with victory in China, with the Northern Ireland player on guard after finishing second on the European money list in two of the last three years.
"It would be good to knock that off and try and do what Luke did last year and win the money list on both tours," said the 23-year-old.
"I've got a big run left in my year with four tournaments in the next five weeks, so I would like to finish off the season as well as I can.
"I've got Justin and Branden right behind me and there is still some big-money events still to play, so I've four events left and if I do play well in those four events hopefully I can achieve that goal."
If McIlroy finishes outside the top seven, a top-two result would see Rose take over at the top of the Race to Dubai.
Rose, who won the European Tour title in 2007, is drawn with McIlroy and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood in the final group.
Tom Cruise sues tabs for 'abandoned' headlines
Tabloid headlines that "falsely trumpeted" in bold letters that Tom Cruise "abandoned" his young daughter should cost the publisher $50 million, the actor's lawyer said Wednesday.
The magazine covers appeared on Life & Style and InTouch in the weeks after Cruise divorced actress Katie Holmes, with whom he shares 6-year-old daughter Suri, according to a defamation lawsuit Cruise filed against the publisher in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
"Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri," Cruise lawyer Bert Fields said. "She's a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has 'abandoned' her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible."
Fields said he sent two letters informing the publisher that the headlines were false and demanding retractions, but he was refused in each case.
"These serial defamers are foreign-owned companies with their global headquarters in Hamburg," Fields said. "They take money from unsuspecting Americans by selling their malicious garbage. Having to pay a libel judgment may slow them down."
Bauer Publishing Group, which publishes both magazines, responded to CNN's request for a reponse with "no comment."
The July 30 Life & Style cover read "SURI IN TEARS, ABANDONED BY HER DAD," under a photograph of Suri appearing to have tears in her eyes while in her mother's arms, the suit said.
The story inside explained she was crying "as a result of Suri being upset over not being able to take a puppy home from a pet store," the suit said.
The complaint also includes a September In Touch cover that read "44 DAYS WITHOUT TOM ... ABANDONED BY DADDY ... Suri is left heartbroken as Tom suddenly shuts her out and even misses her first day of school... HAS HE CHOSEN SCIENTOLOGY OVER SURI FOR GOOD?"
Since the magazines are displayed at supermarket checkout lines, "millions of people each day must see their covers which feature screaming headlines in huge, brightly colored letters that are typically of a false, lurid and titillating nature, and that are often entirely unsupported by the stories buried in the magazines' interiors," the suit said.
"Tom doesn't go around suing people," Fields said. "He's not a litigious guy. But when these sleaze peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he's going to sue."
Cruise will "undoubtedly" donate any judgment proceeds to charity, Fields said. "He always has."
CNN
AEG wants e-mails banned from Michael Jackson trial
Michael Jackson's mother sat quietly in court on Wednesday watching as her lawyers fought loudly with attorneys for AEG, the concert promoter she accuses of contributing to the pop star's death.
They argued over who leaked e-mails to a reporter that revealed the promoter had doubts about Jackson's health and his ability to be ready for his "This Is It" concerts several months before his death.
"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," AEG executive Randy Phillips wrote in a March 5, 2009, e-mail, the day Jackson announced the tour plans. "I (am) trying to sober him up."
The judge must decide if she will exclude those e-mails from the wrongful-death suit filed by Katherine Jackson and her son's three children against AEG.
Jackson died of an overdose of a surgical anesthesia in combination with sedatives on June 25, 2009, according the the Los Angeles County coroner. Dr. Conrad Murray, who was hired to be Jackson's personal physician as he prepared for the shows, was found guilty last year of involuntary manslaughter in his death.
The Jackson suit contends that AEG contributed to the pop star's death by pressuring him to prepare even though the promoters knew he was in a weak condition and by its hiring and supervision of Dr. Murray.
The judge overseeing the case sealed those documents. AEG filed a motion accusing the Jacksons and their lawyers of leaking them to Los Angeles Times reporter Harriett Ryan, who used them for a story she published in September.
"It is clear that only one entity could have done it," AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said. The cache of e-mails, which the reporter shared with AEG, have "certain unique characteristics" that prove they were given to the Jackson lawyers by AEG as part of discovery in the wrongful-death lawsuit, Putnam said.
AEG asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos to punish the Jacksons by not allowing them to use those e-mails in next year's trial when they try to prove the promoter is liable for Michael Jackson's death.
"He has accused 10-year-old Blanket Jackson," Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle said, pointing to Putnam. "What's the idea, that Blanket Jackson got some documents and copied them and somehow walked them from Calabasas to Harriet Ryan?"
Jackson lawyers denied anyone associated with their legal team or their clients leaked the e-mails, even suggesting AEG lawyers may have done it themselves as a set up.
"They could have easily disclosed all of these documents with zero punishment from the court," Boyle said.
Ryan has refused to disclose her sources, although Howard Mann -- who was once Katherine Jackson's former partner in a book venture -- has acknowledged that he gave the reporter a box of documents for her story.
Days after the e-mails were published, AEG dropped its claim against a Lloyds of London underwriter for a $17.5 million insurance policy for Michael Jackson.
The insurer contended AEG hid Jackson's health problems and failed to respond to repeated requests for his medical history when applying for insurance for the 50 shows scheduled for London's O2 Arena.
The Michael Jackson estate, which controls Michael Jackson Company LLC, is still pursuing the insurance payout.
Perry Sanders, who is Katherine Jackson's personal attorney, told the judge that the Jacksons had no motive to leak the e-mails.
"Like we would go and blow up our own case against Lloyds of London?" Sanders said. "Our client and all the plaintiffs in this case are actually the ones who would receive the money."
Sanders also noted that AEG had failed to disclose the e-mails to the Lloyds of London lawyers despite a legal requirement to do so.
While publication of the e-mails might have made AEG look bad, they were "extremely negative against Michael Jackson," painting him "as a basket case," Jackson lawyer Deborah Chang said.
"It's much more negative about Michael Jackson than it is about AEG, by far," Chang said.
The Jackson lawyers accused AEG of using the e-mail issue as a way to delay the wrongful-death trial.
"They've been very successful in tying us up completely and I am sure they are giggling about it back in the office," Boyle said.
AEG previously convinced the judge to delay the trial, which was set for last month, until next April.
"This case is so strong that we very stringently argued this case should have gone to trial in September," Sanders said. "The only people that seem to be trying to keep this case from going forward are the defendants."
The anger and passion between the six Jackson lawyers and AEG's Putnam was evident with personal charges of bad ethics flying from both sides in court Wednesday.
"I've never seen anything like it in my career," Jackson lawyer Brian Panish said. "They think they can just smirk around and make these defamatory statements without evidence."
The documents made public in the Times story are not the most damaging to AEG that were uncovered, Boyle told CNN.
"We can assure you that we are in possession of documents that make for an extremely compelling story in the wrongful-death case, and that completely support the plaintiffs' claims," he said.
It was unusual for the 82-year-old Katherine Jackson to attend such a hearing, suggesting the case is also very personal for her.
The revelations from the leaked e-mails including one written by Randy Phillips weeks after Jackson's death in which the president of AEG Live -- the concert-promotion branch of AEG -- called it "a terrible tragedy," but adding "but life must go on."
"AEG will make a fortune from merch sales, ticket retention, the touring exhibition and the film/dvd," Phillips wrote. In fact, AEG Live was allowed to sell Jackson tour merchandise and share in the profits from the documentary "This Is It," produced from rehearsal video.
The e-mails suggest AEG Live's president saw Jackson's problems first-hand the day the pop star was to appear at the O2 Arena to publicly announce the shows.
"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," Phillips wrote in the March 5, 2009, e-mail to AEG Live's parent company, the paper reported. "I (am) trying to sober him up."
"I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking," Phillips wrote. "He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is show time."
The promoter blamed London traffic when Jackson was 90 minutes late for the announcement that day.
"He's as healthy as he can be -- no health problems whatsoever," Phillips told CNN two months later to refute reports Jackson's health was threatening the concerts.
The Los Angeles Times story, however, said the e-mails indicated major doubts about Jackson's ability to perform.
"We cannot be forced into stopping this, which MJ will try to do because he is lazy and constantly changes his mind to fit his immediate wants," AEG Live executive Paul Gongaware e-mailed to Phillips.
Jackson's missed rehearsals in June triggered concerns in e-mails that he was slow in learning his dance routines and would have to lip-sync on stage, the newspaper reported.
"MJ is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff live and dance at the same time," one e-mail from the show's music director read, the paper reported.
A production manager wrote: "He was a basket case. Doubt is pervasive."
A loud warning from show director Kenny Ortega, who worked closely with Jackson on previous tours, came in mid-June, just over a week before his death. Ortega wrote to Phillips that Jackson had "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" and suggesting they bring a "top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP."
"It is like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not wanting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state," Ortega wrote. "I believe we need professional guidance in this matter."
Ortega testified at Murray's trial about his concerns about Jackson's frail condition and missed rehearsals. It resulted in a meeting six days before Jackson's death in which Murray assured the promoters he would have Jackson ready for rehearsals that next week.
An e-mail from Phillips after that meeting said he had confidence in Murray "who I am gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more."
"This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig, so he (is) totally unbiased and ethical," Phillips' e-mail said.
Source-CNN
Madagascar 3 steals UK box office
Madagascar 3 has gone straight to the top of the UK box office, earning £6 million in its opening weekend.
The 3D computer-animated comedy beat supernatural horror sequel Paranormal Activity 4 which debuted with £2.5m in ticket sales.
Last week's chart-topper, Taken 2 dropped to number three with £2.3m, while Hotel Transylvania took £1m to take fourth place.
Total earnings for the top 15 films was £15.2m, a 56% rise on last weekend.
Rounding out the top five was the science-fiction action Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt.
There were four new releases in this week's top 15 chart.
The critically acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild, starring five-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, was the most impressive performer with £182,000 in box office receipts despite showing at just 28 theatres.
With average ticket sales of £6,493 per screening, it entered at number nine.
Bollywood movie Student Of The Year debuted in 11th place earning £131,000 across 57 locations - an average of £2,300 per screening.
Elsewhere in the chart, Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, which opened the BFI London Film Festival last week was ranked sixth with £741,683, while Ethan Hawke horror film Sinister followed with £711,918 in ticket sales.
At number eight, Harry Potter star Emma Watson's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made just £213,091 in its third week of release.
Completing the top 10 was Disney's Brave which took in £176,827, bringing its total earnings to just under £22m after 12 weeks on the chart.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is the latest in the Madagascar animated series, featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith.
The series has been a consistent earner for Paramount films with the first two films in the franchise going on to take more than £20 million each at the UK box office.
UK & IRELAND BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - £6m
- Paranormal Activity 4 - £2.5m
- Taken 2 - £2.3m
- Hotel Transylvania - £1m
- Looper - £781,211
Source: Rentrak
Spider-Man musical writer lands book deal
Glen Berger, one of the writers behind Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, is to reveal all about the disaster-prone show in a new book.
The big-budget production - featuring music by U2's Bono and The Edge - was plagued by problems including delays and a series of stunt accidents.
Publishers say Berger's book will give the "ultimate fly-on-the-wall account".
Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History is due out next year.
The show was eventually given an overhaul after its original director and co-creator, Julie Taymor, was fired.
Taymor then sued the producers, claiming she was not compensated for her work, before they sued her back, saying the director had failed to carry out the duties that were expected of her.
Producers eventually agreed to pay her hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties.
Taymor was replaced by Philip William McKinley, who directed hit show The Boy From Oz starring Hugh Jackman.
Broadway history
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark began previews in November 2010 before finally opening in June 2011.
Several cast members were injured during around 180 preview performances, while performing elaborate stunts.
The musical, which cost $75 million (£48m) to make, is the most expensive Broadway show ever produced.
Early reviews were resoundingly negative, however following the revamp the show broke records in January when it had the highest single-week takings of any previous Broadway show.
It took $2.9m (£1.8m) over nine performances according to The Broadway League, which U2's The Edge called a "proud day" for everyone involved.
Bono added: "For all the problems, there was magic on the stage."
Berger has written several other plays including Underneath the Lintel and Great Men of Science, Nos 21 & 22, as well as collaborating on new musicals such as On Words and Onwards.
He also won two Emmys for his work in television, having penned several children's television shows such as Arthur and Curious George.
Bank of America sued for $1bn for alleged mortgage fraud
Bank of America is being sued for $1bn (£624m) for alleged mortgage fraud.
The civil lawsuit has been brought by the US Attorney Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, New York.
He accuses Countrywide Financial, which Bank of America bought in 2008, of selling thousands of toxic home loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government agencies that support the US mortgage market.
Bank of America has yet to comment.
Countrywide is accused of running a trading scheme from 2007 to 2009 that was deliberately designed to process loans at high speed without checks on their quality.
Mr Bharara said: "This lawsuit should send another clear message that reckless lending practices will not be tolerated."
He added that Countrywide's practices were "spectacularly brazen in scope."
Similar cases
The legal action against Bank of America follows similar moves by the US government earlier this month against Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase.
On 2 October, JP Morgan was sued for allegedly defrauding investors who lost more than $20bn on mortgage-backed securities sold by Bear Stearns.
JP Morgan, which bought the investment bank in March 2008, said the allegations related to actions at Bear Stearns prior to its takeover.
Meanwhile, on 10 October, Wells Fargo was also sued by federal authorities for alleged mortgage fraud.
The US government alleges that Wells Fargo lied about the quality of mortgages it handled, leading to huge losses for the Federal Housing Administration.
Wells Fargo has denied the allegations.
Apple victory as Samsung loses US trade ruling
A US International Trade Commission judge has ruled that Samsung infringed four of Apple's intellectual property patents.
However, the ruling was preliminary and needs to be upheld by the full commission.
It is another win for Apple, after it was awarded $1.05bn (£652m) in damages by a jury in a separate case in August.
The ITC can block the import of products into the US.
Judge Thomas Pender agreed that Samsung violated four of Apple's patents, but was not in violation of two others listed by Apple in the complaint.
Three of the patents are related to software features, while one covers Apple's hardware.
However, the Samsung products in this case do not include its latest devices, limiting the impact of a potential import ban into the US.
Samsung has repeatedly argued that any sales ban would limit choice and raise prices for consumers in the US.
Apple and Samsung have bought legal cases against each other in more than 10 countries, each accusing the other of violating patents, as the two battle for market share in the hugely lucrative mobile industry.
Former Goldman Sachs board member jailed for two years
A former Goldman Sachs board member who was found guilty of four criminal counts of insider trading has sentenced to two years in jail.
Rajat Gupta, 63, had leaked boardroom secrets to Raj Rajaratnam, a former hedge fund manager now serving 11 years in prison.
US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff also ordered Gupta to pay a $5m (£3m) fine.
Gupta said he regretted the impact of the case on his family and friends.
Reading from a statement, he said: "The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager."
He added: I've lost my reputation I built for a lifetime. The verdict was devastating."
During the court case, which resulted in Gupta being found guilty in June, the jury heard secret recordings of conversations between him and Rajaratnam.
The trial focused on a phone call made to Rajaratnam on 23 September 2008, minutes after Gupta had listened to a private conference call discussing a $5bn (£3.2bn) investment in Goldman Sachs by Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway. The deal was due to be made public after stock markets closed that day.
According to phone records, Rajaratnam bought $40m in Goldman Sachs stock moments after the phone call, earning nearly $1m.
Gupta, who was born in India and educated at Harvard, also served on the boards of Procter & Gamble, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Hong Kong weakens local currency again
Hong Kong's central bank has intervened in financial markets again, weakening the value of its currency after it jumped in value.
This follows similar moves on Sunday and pushes the total cost of intervention in the past week to 14.3bn Hong Kong dollars ($1.85bn; £1.16bn).
Hong Kong limits the amount its currency can gain or fall to help maintain market and export stability.
The bank said that it may have to keep intervening to keep its currency cheap.
This is because weak economic conditions in the US and Europe have prompted many investors to look for better-performing assets in markets such as Hong Kong.
"We expect net inflows into the Hong Kong dollar will continue for some time," the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a statement.
"Since the US Federal Reserve's launch of the third round of quantitative easing, demand for Hong Kong dollars has increased and similar rises are also noted in other currencies within the region," it said.
The Hong Kong dollar is pegged at HK$7.80 to one US dollar, but can trade between HK$7.75 and HK$7.85.
Under the terms of the peg, the HKMA must intervene when the Hong Kong dollar hits either the upper or lower limit.
Hong Kong has maintained its currency's peg to the US dollar for the past 30 years.
While the peg has helped it steer its way through tough times, such as the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and the global financial crisis in 2008-09, questions have been raised about its effectiveness in the current global environment.
Critics have argued that by being linked to the US dollar, Hong Kong's monetary policy is heavily influenced by that of the US.
They say that given the difference in the economic conditions between the two, this is not in the best interests of Hong Kong.
The US economy has been going through a rough patch. In a bid to boost growth, it has maintained interest rates at between zero and 0.25% since December 2008.
Given its currency peg, Hong Kong has also had to keep its interest rates low, not least because higher rates would be likely to result in a surge in capital inflows to the territory and put pressure on its currency.
Analysts say the peg and the resulting low interest rates have played a role in the recent boom in housing prices in Hong Kong, raising fears of asset bubbles being formed.
"They have a phenomenally bubbly housing market - more prone to boom and bust - and a part of that is due to the peg of the US dollar," Sean Callow, a senior currency strategist at Wetspac told the BBC.
"Right now they have a stable currency, but a volatile economy."
-BBC
Nike sells Umbro to Iconix Brand Group for $225m
Sportswear giant Nike has agreed a deal to sell UK sports brand Umbro to US clothing company Iconix Brand Group for $225m (£140m).
Nike announced earlier this year it was looking to sell the Cheadle, Manchester-based firm, which specialises in football kits.
The deal is expected to go through by the end of the year.
Iconix owns a number of clothing brands, including Madonna's Material Girl and rapper Jay-Z's Rocawear.
"It is difficult to divest any business, but this action will enable us to focus on our highest-potential growth opportunities," said Nike boss Mark Parker.
"Umbro has a great heritage but, ultimately, as our category has evolved, we believe Nike football can serve the needs of footballers on and off the pitch."
Nike bought Umbro, which lost the contract to make the England football team's kit to Nike in August, in 2007.
Iconix boss Neil Cole said he was "thrilled" to be taking over the brand. "Umbro is an exciting acquisition with more than 30 licensees in over 100 countries with a devout following."