The main headlines on Al Jazeera English, featuring the latest news and reports from around the world.
News International newspapers could be spun off into trust
May 19th, 2012Rupert Murdoch’s News International titles — The Sun, Times and Sunday Times —
could be spun off into a trust under plans being worked on by senior News
Corp executives.
Chief operating officer Chase Carey is understood to have instructed
executives to look at a number of options to hive off the troubled UK
newspaper arm.
The move, prompted by the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World,
would allow Mr Murdoch’s media empire to restart its bid to take over
broadcaster BSkyB (LSE: BSY.L – news) . Proposals under consideration include creating a trust to
manage the UK newspaper assets, going into a joint venture with a media
partner or a direct sale to private equity.
The plans are in their infancy but News Corp is understood to be serious about
ridding itself of assets it sees as fatally contaminated by the phone
hacking scandal.
US shareholders have been putting increasing pressure on News Corp management
to reassess its UK newspaper business. The unit contributes less than 3pc to
News Corp’s $33.4bn revenues but is costing the company dearly in terms of
reputation.
Mr Carey has already acknowledged the company would be worth more if it did
not own News International. Speaking to investors in February, he said the
company had already considered its options regarding the papers.
But the new that three options are now being worked on by senior News Corp
executives is the most significant step to a possible disposal of News
International.
The trust would work along the lines of a proposal put forward last year for
Sky News if BSkyB had been taken over by News Corp. A separate board would
manage the business at arms’ length from News Corp, effectively creating a
firewall between the two.
It is understood News Corp would consider providing backing for up to 10 years
to fund the newspaper trust.
A joint venture with a media partner could involve a tie-up with a company
such as German publisher Axel Springer. The final option would involve a
direct sale for as much as £800m to £1bn. The timescale for any of the
actions is understood to be three to five years.
“News Corporation (NasdaqGS: NWS – news) remains firmly committed to our publishing businesses,
including News International, and any suggestion to the contrary is wholly
inaccurate,” Rupert Murdoch, Chairman & chief executive of News
Corporation (BSE: CORPBANK.BO – news) , said. “Publishing is a core component of our future.”
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News Summary: Homebuilding, factory output rise
May 19th, 2012HOUSING STARTS RISE: U.S. homebuilding rose to nearly a three-year high in April. Builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
FACTORY OUTPUT UP: U.S. factory output increased for the third time in four months, the Federal Reserve said in a separate report. Half of the April increase in factory output reflected a jump in production of motor vehicles and parts.
OUTLOOK: The positive April data suggest the economy’s March slump was temporary and that gains in the previous two months were not just weather-related.
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News Bulletin – 03:35 GMT update
May 17th, 2012The main headlines on Al Jazeera English, featuring the lastest news and reports from around the world.
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Insurance Networking News, Celent Announce Top Technology Vendors In 2012 Customer Survey
May 17th, 2012ORLANDO, Fla., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – (http://www.myprgenie.com) – Insurance Networking News (INN) and Celent released INN’s sixth annual technology solution provider ranking for the insurance industry last night at an awards event held at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Orlando.
The Vanguards in Insurance Practices (VIP) ranking is based on a survey of insurance company executives, who are asked to name the technology firms that represent the “best of the best” in terms of the value they deliver. Insurance carriers in the United States and Canada ranked the top insurance technology providers across several categories, including Insurance Core Solutions, Customer Experience Solutions, Decision Support Solutions, Back Office & Support Systems and Strategic Partners.
As part of the program, Insurance Networking News also honors insurance carriers with VIP Best Practices Awards highlighting the year’s best technology implementations.
Celent, an independent business research and advisory service with a specialization in insurance technology, facilitated survey development, data collection and analysis, in partnership with INN. The result is an insightful set of rankings based on objective peer review.
“Insurance companies are working hard to keep pace with all the technology changes happening around them,” said INN Editor-in-Chief Carrie Burns. “The winners of the VIP Awards are the vendors insurance executives say they can count on to help them provide real value to the business.”
“The VIP program continues to provide vendors with the most direct and honest feedback they could ask for from their insurance customers,” said Ben Moreland, senior analyst within Celent’s insurance practice. The insurers’ candid comments and ratings of those that reached “favorite vendor” status set a clear benchmark for technology providers looking to differentiate themselves among their peers. “The ranking’s preferred vendors are succeeding at delivering on their promise of excellent customer service; anything less is just not acceptable,” said Moreland.
The complete ranking and related analysis will be available in a special report, titled “2012 Vanguards in Insurance Practices,” which will be posted online by INN (www.insurancenetworking.com) and published with the June 2012 issue of Insurance Networking News.
The top-ranked solution providers are:
Back Office & Support Systems
1st Microsoft
2nd Vertafore
3rd Applied Systems
Customer Experience Solutions
1st Applied Systems
2nd Vertafore
3rd SeaPass Solutions
Decision Support Solutions
1st Microsoft
2nd Vertafore
3rd Applied Systems
Insurance Core Solutions
1st Applied Systems
2nd Vertafore
3rd Guidewire
Strategic Partner
1st Microsoft
2nd Dell
3rd Guidewire
In naming the VIP Best Practices Awards honorees, Celent and INN asked all vendors that received a vote in the VIP awards to provide case studies of customers that demonstrated technology best practices and the best use of standards. The VIP Best Practices Award winners were then selected by the editors of INN, along with members of the brand’s editorial advisory board and Celent analysts.
The winners of the INN 2012 VIP Best Practices Awards are:
First Place: Prudential Group Insurance (Nominated by Pegasystems)
Second Place: CNA (Nominated by SeaPass Solutions)
Third Place: Erie Family Life/Erie Insurance (Nominated by iPipeline, Dell Services)
Runners Up:
Lloyds TSB Insurance (Nominated by Innovation Group)
Federated Life Insurance (Nominated by CSC)
Pacific Compensation Insurance Company (Nominated by Jarus Technologies, Mulesoft)
The INN 2012 VIP Best Practices Award winners were formally recognized by Lloyd Chumbley, ACORD’s VP of standards, at a VIP awards ceremony at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum.
“Vision and innovation are key factors to success today, and the winners and nominees of these awards embody those qualities. They also show how implementing ACORD standards is crucial for success today, but also well into the future. They are solving today’s business problems with technological innovations,” Chumbley said. “These insurers were named ‘best of the best’ by a body of seasoned insurance industry professionals and ACORD congratulates them all on their accomplishments.”
Also as part of the INN 2012 VIP Awards program, Kony Solutions, an Orlando, Fla.-based, mobile application development platform provider, was recognized as an INN 2012 VIP Company to Watch.
“The VIP Awards provide useful intelligence on the best technology and best practices in the insurance industry,” said Holli Gronset, INN’s publisher, “which is extremely valuable information for insurance IT leaders.”
About SourceMedia
SourceMedia, an Investcorp company, is a diversified business-to-business media company serving the financial industry and the related fields of professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers its clients and subscribers professional information services — both print and digital — industry-standard data applications, in-depth seminars and conferences, and specialized marketing services.
About Insurance Networking News
Insurance Networking News is a trusted source for information on how technology is being implemented to support insurers’ strategic business objectives, providing insightful analysis of the technology innovations utilized to automate critical processes. Insurance Networking News is written to help senior insurance executives obtain mission-critical information on resolving industry challenges.
About Celent
Celent is a research and advisory firm dedicated to helping financial institutions formulate comprehensive business and technology strategies. Celent publishes reports identifying trends and best practices in financial services technology and conducts consulting engagements for financial institutions looking to use technology to enhance existing business processes or launch new business strategies. With a team of internationally experienced analysts, Celent is uniquely positioned to offer strategic advice and market insights on a global basis.
Corporate Contact:
Ying Wong
Senior Director
Human Resources
SourceMedia
212-803-8787
Ying.Wong@SourceMedia.com
Contact: Edward Hanasik, edward.hanasik@sourcemedia.com, 212-803-6572
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Honduran news director found dead
May 17th, 2012TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduran President Porfirio Lobo on Wednesday offered a reward of more than $150,000 for information leading to the killers of one of the country’s best-known journalists, whose body was found nearly a week after he was kidnapped.
“We are doing everything possible to get to the bottom of this and solve this crime,” Lobo said in a message broadcast on national television. He offered a reward of 3 million Lempiras ($154,000 dollars).
Police on Tuesday found the body of Alfredo Villatoro, who was news director for RHN radio, one of Honduras‘ most important radio stations, in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.
Villatoro was found shot in the head and dressed in the uniform of an elite police force for unknown reasons. He had been in civilian clothing when seized on May 9, said Security Ministry spokesman Hector Ivan Mejia.
“Everything pointed to a kidnapping because if they had wanted to kill him, they would have done it from the outset,” Mejia said.
But Mejia said no ransom request had been received and that the kidnapping could have been done for political reasons.
“It’s a direct challenge to the government,” Mejia said. “Now we have to find out what message they are sending with these actions.”
Mejia said he had been a friend of Villatoro for at least 28 years. Local news media reported the journalist was also close to Lobo.
Villatoro had presented a morning news broadcast for 20 years and was on his way to the radio station when he was kidnapped.
Villatoro hadn’t been working on any investigative story, according to his colleagues.
Nahul Valladares, news editor at RHN, said the station has been careful when covering drug trafficking stories, the sort of topic that has led to attack on other reporters.
Police found the body two hours after Lobo told reporters there was proof that Villatoro was alive. Lobo mentioned the journalist’s family had received a video recording that proved it. Lobo said Wednesday the family received the video on Saturday.
The government human rights agency says 22 journalists have been killed in Honduras since the start of 2010 and that many others have left the country after receiving treats.
“We’re waiting for the government to offer the security guarantees that we journalists need. Measure that should have been taken a long time ago,” said Amado Lopez, owner of the television station Channel 36, moments before meeting with Lobo.
Lobo also met with news directors and the owners of media outlets to talk about the security situation.
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Adam Lambert – VEVO News Interview
May 15th, 2012Music video by Adam Lambert performing VEVO News Interview.
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God of War Porn & Kim Kardashian Plays Call of Duty? – Up At Noon
May 15th, 2012Today, we debut some exclusive Resistance: Burning Skies footage and talk to developer, Rob Huebner, about the Vita and why you should be excited about FPS games for handhelds. Also, we visit Tetris High School, Brian Altano discusses adult Sony games, Jedi Anthony Gallegos talks about happenings in the Star Wars universe, and Cliff Bleszinski gives us another dramatic DOOM reading! And finally, jokes about Kim Kardashian’s Call of Duty obsession, Elder Scrolls Online, the hunt for Bigfoot, Minecraft, and dinosaur flatulence. Yeah…don’t ask. If you liked today’s episode, please hit the like button. We have more original programming on the way, so subscribe and never miss an episode: www.youtube.com And for the latest gaming news, reviews, and trailers, be sure to subscribe to IGN’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com Here’s our full schedule: Up At Noon — Mondays Splinter Cell: Extinction – Tuesdays Cheap Cool Crazy – Thursdays Mix’d Reviews – Fridays TAGS: "god of war" "kratos" "porn" "kim kardasian" "call of duty" "call of duty black ops 2" "black ops 2" "tetris" "sony" "star wars" "jedi" "cliff bleszinski" "doom" "resistance" "resistance burning skies" playstation vita "elder scrolls online" "minecraft" "bigfoot" "dinosaurs" "farts" interview chat humor skit news "gaming news" "video game news" comedy funny gaming video variety sketch spoof parody lol start START ign entertainment "up at noon"
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News Corp takes stake in Chinese film
May 15th, 2012Chinese film distributor Bona Film Group says it has agreed to sell News Corp a 19.9 per cent equity stake in the company.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Under the terms of the agreement, the New York-based media company, which produces and distributes movies, will buy the stake directly from Dong Yu, Bona’s founder, chairman and chief executive.
In connection with the agreement, Bona said Yu reached separate deals to buy one million Bona shares each from SIG China Investments One and Matrix Partners China Funds, along with 1.5 million shares from the Sequoia Funds, at an average price of $US5.70 per American depositary share.
Once the deal closes, Yu will own about 8.2 million shares, not including his options to buy 545,615 shares, representing about 27 per cent of Bona’s outstanding stock. The deals are expected to close in the next 15 days, Bona said.
Bona, which went public in 2010, said News Corp’s wide global presence, investment and distribution will help speed up its plans to expand its global footprint.
News Corp said China’s film market is growing at a rapid pace, making Bona an attractive investment.
This year, China began to relax its previously strict rules governing foreign film studios, allowing them to distribute more of their movies in the country and garner a greater share of box office revenue. The changes have prompted some Hollywood studios to cautiously expand their presence in the market.
In midday trading, Bona’s US shares rose 32 US cents, or 5.4 per cent, to $US6.30 after peaking at a 52-week high of $US6.50 earlier in the day. News Corp shares added 24 US cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $US20.46.
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FOX NEWS LATINO: McCain talks Romney, Latinos
May 15th, 2012In a Fox News Latino exclusive, Juan Williams interviews Senator John McCain (R) of Arizona about Mitt Romney and Latinos, the border, and then Senator Obama's role in defeating immigration reform.
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