January 24th, 2012

“The mingling of architecture with the spaces of curatorial freedom is what the building is all about,” said Preston Scott Cohen, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, architect behind the project. “It’s a marrying of two very different attitudes,” said Cohen, who also chairs the department of architecture at Harvard University.

Fresh, airy and modern, the wing is set in a five-floor, 195,000-square-foot (18,500-square-meter) triangular structure with a concrete exterior.

Yaarah Bar-On, a deputy director of Jerusalem’ Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, said the galleries displaying the Israeli art were missing dividing walls, which would limit how many paintings could be displayed.

TEL AVIV, Israel Israel’s main modern art museum is unveiling a striking new wing Wednesday that provides a permanent home for hundreds of works by Israeli artists, a space lacking until now.

She also said the buildings surrounding the new wing were architecturally distinct from it, creating a sense of “a bunch of things that don’t go together.”

Cohen said the white panels of wall around the atrium evoke Tel Aviv’s traditional Bauhaus style, whereas the heavy concrete that cascades and winds throughout the building and its exterior points to the city’s Brutalist architecture from the mid-20th century.

The $55 million addition, which doubles the Tel Aviv Museum of Art’s previous space, will present dozens of rotating exhibits every year but still will not suffice to permanently showcase one of the world’s largest collections of Israeli art, mostly held in storage.

The new wing’s permanent exhibit of Israeli art presents three galleries with 150 works from such renowned Israeli artists as Reuven Rubin and Igael Tumarkin, with certain pieces rotating in and out. The works range from painting to sculpture and were created over the last century.

For the inauguration, the wing’s other galleries will show photographs and design installations. The new space will also feature an exhibit by German painter-sculptor Anselm Kieffer.

Tel Aviv is Israel’s cultural hub with the art museum a main attraction. It houses works by more than a dozen masters, including Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and Amadeo Modigliani.

The centerpiece is an 87-foot-tall (27-meter-tall) atrium, where the walls of the 10 new galleries subtly bend and groove, creating a spiraling effect over different levels. A glass ceiling sends light splashing down.

“Today Israeli artists are known around the world… They have exposure and a reputation around the world. Therefore Israeli art needs to be presented properly here as well,” said Shuli Kislev, the museum’s acting director. “They now have a home.”

The museum’s distinctive design did attract some criticism.

Cohen said the space offers curators a flexibility when planning exhibitions, rather than being limited by a particular architectural element, like the circular, winding walkways of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, for example.

Tags: Calvin Klein
Posted in Ralph Lauren | No Comments »

January 19th, 2012

DAVENPORT, Iowa Lee Enterprises Inc., publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other daily newspapers, on Tuesday reported a 23 percent drop in profit for its fiscal first quarter compared with a year ago, when it posted a large gain after curtailing retiree health benefits.

The company reported net income of $14.6 million, or 32 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 25. That compares with a profit of $18.9 million, or 42 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

However, earnings rose 18 percent when one-time gains and losses during both quarters were excluded. The company earned $16.9 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with $14.3 million, or 32 cents, a year ago, excluding one-time items.

Revenue was $199.6 million, down 3.9 percent from a year ago. Advertising declined 6.1 percent, while circulation revenue rose 2.7 percent. Digital advertising revenue rose 10 percent to $16.2 million.

“We continue to expect revenue trends to improve slowly in 2012, as we press forward with more digital and print initiatives,” said Lee Enterprises chairman and CEO Mary Junck.

Also last quarter, Lee did a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to allow it to complete a restructuring of its debt. A prepackaged filing usually results in a speedy exit from bankruptcy court protection, and Lee said Tuesday that it plans to ask the court to let it exit on Jan. 30.

Shares of the Davenport, Iowa, company rose 1 cent to 75 cents in morning trading.

Posted in Affliction | No Comments »

January 10th, 2012

SURGING SEEDS: Monsanto Co. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter earnings soared on strength of its seed business. The company also brightened its outlook for the full fiscal year. Monsanto said its net income rose to $126 million, or 23 cents per share, for the three months ended Nov. 30. Revenue jumped 33 percent to $2.44 billion.

LATIN FOOD: Growth was driven by demand for corn throughout Latin America. Sales in Monsanto’s seeds and genomics segment increased 32 percent to $1.5 billion.

FUTURE FURROWS: For all of fiscal 2012,Replica Bulzeye, the St. Louis company expects earnings per share of between $3.39 and $3.44. Analysts expect earnings of $3.47 per share.

Tags: Replica Bulzey
Posted in Ed Hardy | No Comments »

January 8th, 2012

WASHINGTON 2012 looks to be another year of opportunity for the few who can afford to buy or refinance a home.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.91 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That matches the record low reached two weeks ago.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage ticked down to 3.23 percent from 3.24 percent. That’s up from 3.21 percent two weeks, also a record low.

Mortgage rates are lower because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note,wholesale Ed hardy belts, which fell below 2 percent this week. They could fall even lower this year if the Fed launches another round of bond purchases, as some economists expect.

Still, cheap mortgage rates have done little too boost the depressed housing market. For eight straight weeks at the end of 2011, the average fixed mortgage rates hovered around 4 percent. Yet many Americans either can’t take advantage of the rates or have already done so.

High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don’t want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years.

Previously occupied homes are selling just slightly ahead of 2010′s dismal pace. New-home sales in 2011 will likely be the worst year on records going back half a century.

Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. Low mortgage rates were cited as a key reason the National Association of Home Builders survey of builder sentiment rose in December to its highest level in more than a year.

But so far, rates are having no major impact. Mortgage applications have fallen slightly in recent weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. The average rates don’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for the 30-year loan rose to 0.8 from 0.7; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.

For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate declined to 2.86 percent from 2.88 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan rose to 2.80 percent from 2.78 percent.

The average fee on the five-year adjustable loan rose to 0.7 from 0.6; the average on the one-year adjustable-rate loan was unchanged at 0.6.

Tags: wholesale Ed h
Posted in Juicy Couture | No Comments »

January 6th, 2012

TEHRAN (Reuters) Iran faced the prospect of cutbacks in its oil sales to China and Japan as new measures to block Tehran’s crude exports over its nuclear program appeared to be driving its economy to the wall.

The developments in Asia on Thursday followed news 24 hours earlier that EU leaders had agreed to halt European purchases of Iranian crude.

China, Iran’s biggest trade partner, had already cut its purchases of Iranian oil by more than half this month and would extend the cuts to February, a Beijing-based trader who deals with Iranian oil said.

Japan would consider cutbacks in its Iranian oil purchases to secure a waiver from new U.S. sanctions signed into law on New Year’s Eve by President Barack Obama, a government source said.

Between them, China, the EU and Japan buy about half of Iran’s exports of 2.6 million barrels of oil per day.

International sanctions that for years had little effect are for the first time having a real impact on day-to-day life in Iran, where the rial currency has tumbled and people have rushed to convert savings into dollars.

Most oil traders still expect Iran to find buyers for its crude, but it will have to offer steeper discounts that will cut the hard currency revenue it needs to import food and other basic supplies for its 74 million people.

Iran has put on a brave face. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday the country would “weather the storm”.

“Iran, with divine assistance, has always been ready to counter such hostile actions and we are not concerned at all about the sanctions,” he told a news conference.

But in a sign it is seeking to alleviate the pressure, Salehi said Tehran was interested in resuming negotiations over its nuclear program with Western powers, who delivered an offer for talks via Turkey.

Iran is two months from a parliamentary election, the country’s first since a disputed presidential vote in 2009 led to massive public demonstrations across the country.

The authorities put those protests down by force, but since then the Arab Spring has revealed the vulnerability of authoritarian governments in the region to public anger driven by economic hardship.

Iran’s leaders have responded to the sanctions with military saber-rattling, including a threat to blockade the Middle East’s oil by shutting the Strait of Hormuz that leads to the Gulf, and even challenging a U.S. aircraft carrier if it sails the strait.

Washington says it will sail the strait at will and will guarantee free passage through the international waterway. Britain on Thursday signaled its readiness to use military force if necessary to keep the strait open, warning Iran not to miscalculate over the West’s determination to stop disruption.

EUROPEAN EMBARGO

European diplomats said this week they had agreed in principle to impose an EU oil embargo. The bloc – particularly Italy, Spain and Greece – has collectively bought about 500,000 barrels per day of Iran’s oil, making it Iran’s second biggest customer after China.

EU leaders have yet to agree when the embargo will take effect, but are expected to announce it at a foreign ministers meeting at the end of this month.

China, the largest buyer, which imported about 550,000 bpd of Iran’s oil last year, has cut its purchases by more than half for this month and would now extend that cut to February, according to the Beijing-based trader.

China is seeking deeper discounts for continuing to do business with Iran in spite of Western sanctions.

The new U.S. measures, if implemented fully, would make it impossible for most countries’ refineries to buy Iranian crude, marking a qualitative change in the West’s approach to Tehran,wholesale Ed hardy jeans, which it accuses of seeking a nuclear weapon.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. That standoff had led to four rounds of economic sanctions from the U.N. security council and a range of U.S. and European measures, but none of these directly hurt its ability to sell oil in the past.

Western resolve appears to have stiffened in recent months, especially after a U.N. report in November suggested Iran had taken concrete steps to develop a bomb. The storming of Britain’s embassy by an Iranian crowd galvanized support among European countries for measures with more teeth.

Still, the West needs to balance its determination to isolate Iran with concerns about the impact on a fragile world economy of measures that might hurt oil supplies.

So far, the U.S. and EU sanctions have caused a steady rise in oil prices this week. Brent crude futures were trading at about $114 a barrel on Thursday, up by about $7 a barrel since Obama signed the new sanctions into law.

A Saudi government source said Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest oil exporter and a foe of Iran – was ready to fill any supply gaps.

The new U.S. law allows Obama to offer waivers to prevent havoc in oil markets, but to receive the permits countries are expected to demonstrate that they are reducing ties with Tehran.

Washington has said it is discussing with allies how to apply the law gradually to tighten the screws on Tehran without causing an oil supply shock.

A Japanese government source said Tokyo, which buys about 250,000 bpd from Iran, would discuss with U.S. officials how to deal with the new sanctions law. Among options would be cuts in oil purchases to secure a waiver for its financial institutions.

Turkey, a U.S. ally which buys almost a third of its oil from Iran, has said it would also try to seek a waiver from the Obama administration.

NO TRADE IN THE BAZAAR

In Iran’s bazaars, prices for basic foodstuffs and other goods have been rising fast in recent months.

Much of that inflation has been caused by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policy of cutting back on government subsidies for staples that held prices down, a policy that has been praised by the International Monetary Fund.

The government has tried to ease the pain by giving cash payments to families. But the fall in the rial currency has slashed the value of those payments in dollar terms from about $45 a month to $27.

There are signs that some Iranians may blame the authorities for charting a foreign policy course that brought on sanctions.

“They give us some subsidy cash but it doesn’t compensate for anything,” said Saeed, a 33-year-old Tehran taxi driver, complaining that his imported cigarettes had doubled in price.

“When I ask people why things are becoming more expensive, they all say it’s the sanctions.”

Clothes merchant Mohammad, 34, said there was “no trade” despite the usual crowds swarming the shops and stalls in the maze of vaulted tunnels.

“We have to make the products more expensive because we have to pay more for dollars. We shopkeepers are putting pressure on people but we have no choice.”

(Additional reporting by Chen Aizhu in Beijing and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Ralph Gowling)

Tags: wholesale Ed h
Posted in Juicy Couture | No Comments »

January 5th, 2012

Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:

1. NFL Football: Atlanta vs. New Orleans (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 10.53 million homes, 15.64 million viewers.

2. College Football: Washington vs. Baylor (Thursday, 9 p.m.), ESPN, 5.06 million homes, 6.92 million viewers.

3. “The Closer” (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 4.49 million homes, 6.16 million viewers.

4. “Rizzoli & Isles” (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 4.23 million homes, 5.79 million viewers.

5. College Football: Virginia vs. Auburn (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN, 4.13 million homes, 6.16 million viewers.

6. College Football: Florida State vs. Notre Dame (Thursday, 5:27 p.m.), ESPN, 3.76 million homes, 5.228 million viewers.

7. “Pawn Stars” (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 3.54 million homes, 5.227 million viewers.

8. College Football: Iowa vs. Oklahoma (Friday, 10:15 p.m.), ESPN, 3.45 million homes, 4.81 million viewers.

9. “Pawn Stars” (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 3.39 million homes, 5.06 million viewers.

10. NBA Basketball (Tuesday, 8:16 p.m.),wholesale Ed hardy sunglasses, TNT, 3.27 million homes, 4.55 million viewers.

11. “iCarly: iPsycho 2,” (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.24 million homes, 5.51 millon viewers.

12. College Football: Texas A&M vs. Northwestern (Saturday, 11:57 a.m.), ESPN, 3.082 million homes, 3.90 millon viewers.

13. College Football: California vs. Texas (Wednesday, 8:06 p.m.), ESPN, 3.081 million homes, 4.26 million viewers.

14. “NCIS” (Saturday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.06 million homes, 4.06 million viewers.

15. College Football: Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest (Friday, 6:49 p.m.), ESPN, 3.05 million homes, 4.21 million viewers.

___

USA is owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal. ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Co. History is owned by the A&E Television Networks. TNT is owned by Time Warner Inc. Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom.

___

Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

:

Tags: wholesale Ed h
Posted in Ed Hardy | No Comments »

January 5th, 2012

NEW YORK Nick Cannon is spending the first week of the new year in the hospital, with wife Mariah Carey by his side. Carey tweeted that Cannon is suffering from “mild kidney failure.” His representative confirmed Cannon’s hospitalization. He is in Aspen,Cheap Ed hardy t-shirts, Colo., where he and Carey were vacationing.

Carey posted a picture on her website of a miserable-looking Cannon in a hospital bed as she lay beside him. She asked for prayers and said Cannon’s situation was “very painful.” She later called it a “serious moment that’s very tough on all of us.”

The pair became the parents of twins a boy and a girl last year.

Cannon is 31. His representative had no further information Wednesday about his condition, but said he is still hospitalized.

___

Online:

http://www.mariahcarey.com

Tags: Cheap Ed Hardy
Posted in Abercrombie Fitch | No Comments »

January 5th, 2012

CHARLESTON, W.Va. A coalition that includes a Fortune 500 company, labor unions and nonprofit foundations outlined plans Thursday to spend the next five years focused on rescuing a rural West Virginia school district, one of the country’s most downtrodden.

McDowell County, home to about 22,000 residents, is the target of a public-private sector campaign that its organizers say is novel. Called Reconnecting McDowell, it aims to turn around the county’s underperforming schools by also tackling such related problems as poverty, substance abuse and crumbling infrastructure.

The American Federation of Teachers assembled the partnership, and union President Randi Weingarten won state Board of Education’s approval following a Thursday presentation.

“What we are hoping to do is help that community find the dignity and respect and hope and faith to which it is so entitled,” Weingarten said. “This will be a monumental undertaking.”

McDowell County schools continue to struggle a decade after a state takeover,Cheap Juicy Couture, with West Virginia’s worst dropout rate and last or near-last rankings for reading, science and math. Once the busiest county in the Appalachian coalfields, McDowell now suffers from one of the country’s lowest median incomes, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Those welcoming the effort include Trey Lockhart, the state board’s new student member. A senior at the county’s River View High, the 18-year-old represented his school at a meeting between county residents and partnership organizers.

“They’re trying to make McDowell County thrive again,” Lockhart said.

Organizers say Reconnecting McDowell envisions the county’s schools becoming hubs for much-needed social and health services. With some areas lacking even dial-up access to the Internet, the project aims to expand broadband and cell phone coverage. Other thorny topics facing the partnership include economic development, transportation and housing.

The coalition expects the ALF-CIO-affiliated Building America Community Development Enterprise, for instance, to help provide middle-income housing for teachers who now live in neighboring counties or even nearby Virginia. Weingarten said a teacher there told her that in order to reside in the county, she’s living in a remote mobile home.

“She’s doing that because she wants to teach in McDowell,” Weingarten said.

Cisco Systems Inc. will help improve the county’s Internet access, while the nonprofit First Book has pledged to provide every child in the county free books over the next five years. Other participants range from coal operator Alpha Natural Resources to the nonprofit Save the Children.

Weingarten said the partners will spend the next six months mapping out detailed strategies for McDowell County, identifying specific needs, and also arriving at a price tag for this effort.

Tags: Cheap Juicy Co
Posted in Juicy Couture | No Comments »

January 5th, 2012

NEW YORK Nick Cannon is spending the first week of the new year in the hospital, with wife Mariah Carey by his side. Carey tweeted that Cannon is suffering from “mild kidney failure.” His representative confirmed Cannon’s hospitalization. He is in Aspen, Colo.,Replica Affliction, where he and Carey were vacationing.

Carey posted a picture on her website of a miserable-looking Cannon in a hospital bed as she lay beside him. She asked for prayers and said Cannon’s situation was “very painful.” She later called it a “serious moment that’s very tough on all of us.”

The pair became the parents of twins a boy and a girl last year.

Cannon is 31. His representative had no further information Wednesday about his condition, but said he is still hospitalized.

___

Online:

http://www.mariahcarey.com

Tags: Replica Afflic
Posted in Lacoste | No Comments »

January 4th, 2012

(Reuters) That Adele’s “21″ will rank as the year’s top-selling album is no surprise – the English singer-songwriter’s hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” dominated playlists in 2011. What is surprising is that “21,” released by independent British label XL Recordings, sold more than 5 million copies.

The last time an album topped the year-end chart with more than 5 million copies sold was in 2004, when Usher’s “Confessions” moved 7.9 million, according to Nielsen Soundscan, which supplied all sales data for this story.

Indeed, music sales overall are expected to end 2011 up more than 3 percent from last year. Not coincidentally, the last time overall music sales rose by so much was in 2004 as well.

The resurgence in sales is welcome news for the music industry. A meager 1 percent increase in digital sales last year created widespread panic that the format had already plateaued.

Nielsen analyst David Bakula attributed the rebound to a strong release slate, plus retailers getting more aggressive with pricing and promotions.

For instance, Lady Gaga’s album “Born This Way” was priced at 99 cents – less than one-tenth the price of most albums – in a special deal, helping drive sales beyond her core fans, he said. The promotion on Amazon.com angered other retailers who were selling the album at full price, however.

“In 2004, you had one massive album driving sales,” said Bakula,wholesale Ed hardy Kids, senior vice president of entertainment analytics for Nielsen. “This year is similar in that you have one really great story that everyone is talking about.”

Digital sales are expected to end 2011 close to 10 percent higher, prompting Bakula to proclaim the sales performance “a great resurgence.”

Physical albums still outsell digital albums by a 2:1 margin. But total music sales, which would include digital singles, are now split 50-50 between physical and digital.

TOPPING 5 MILLION

To put Adele’s sales figures in context, the more than 3.5 million physical albums she sold this year would have been good enough to take the top spot in each of the last three years without even adding in digital sales. Album sales include LPs, compact discs and digital albums.

Figures for the year’s best-selling album declined every year from 2004 to 2008. They hit an all-time low in 2008 when Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” took the top spot with sales of just 2.9 million, the first time an album claimed the best-seller title with sales of less than 3 million.

Since 2008, however, sales of the top-selling album of the year have increased, though not by much. Taylor Swift took the top spot in 2009, selling 3.2 million copies of “Fearless.” Eminem’s “Recovery” finished 2010 as the year’s best-seller with 3.4 million copies.

“Adele’s performance this year shows the demand for great original music,” Bakula said. “Here’s an artist that had moderate success before, but nothing of this magnitude, and she’s doing it all on two singles.”

Amy Winehouse’s death from alcohol poisoning in July also factored into Adele’s sales performance. Bakula said the attention Winehouse’s death received stoked interest among fans to sample other soulful, jazz-infused female British singer-songwriters, like Adele and Duffy. As a result, in addition to buying “21,” consumers dipped into Adele’s back catalog, making her prior release, “19,” one of the year’s top 25 best-sellers.

Still, Adele’s sales total is less than half of the more than 11 million copies that “No Strings Attached” from N’Sync sold in 2000. That year marked the last time the top spot featured an album that sold in excess of 10 million, underscoring the dramatic impact that legitimate digital distribution channels like Apple’s iTunes and illegal file-sharing sites such as Limewire have had on the music industry.

(Reporting By Peter Lauria; Editing by Gary Hill)

Tags: wholesale Ed h
Posted in Ralph Lauren | No Comments »