DUBAI (Reuters) ? Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with a long-awaited plan to open up its stock market to foreigners and is now hoping to formalize its rules by January 15, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
"The dialogue is clearly intensifying, and they are looking at mid-January for publishing the term sheet for access," said the source, who declined to be identified.
The country has been considering a wider opening of its market for several years and, earlier this month, two industry sources revealed that it planned to offer a limited direct foreign ownership. At the time, sources expected this to happen by mid to late first quarter of 2012.
The opening up of the stock market is likely to attract considerable interest as it offers foreigners a chance to invest directly in blue chips like Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) (2010.SE), the world's most valuable chemical company. Other big players in the exchange include Samba Financial (1090.SE), the country's second-largest lender by market value, and former monopoly Saudi Telecom (7040.SE).
Foreign investors currently are allowed to invest in Saudi Arabian companies only by share swap transactions via international investment banks, who deal with local partners.
"We expect costs for trading to come down by 70-80 basis points if we're allowed direct access," said the source, who expected implementation of the guidelines to follow in the first or second quarter of the year.
He said that the main points of contention centered around rules governing the number of custodians, financial institutions that offer a range of services including arranging settlements of trade and administering dividends.
"The local banks do not want to be cut out of the deal; all the big international banks are setting up offices in Saudi and the Saudi banks are fighting the likes of HSBC," he said.
"If you take 5 percent of market cap and custodial fees thereon of 10-12 basis points, that's a lot at stake," said the source.
The Saudi Stock Exchange is the largest market in the Middle East with around 150 listed companies valued at $337 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data. By comparison, Dubai exchange's market cap is $28.5 billion while Qatar's is $97 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
A spokesman for the Capital Markets Authority, the country's stock market regulator, was not immediately available for comment.
STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION
According to the latest version of proposals which the CMA has circulated to investors, each qualified foreign investor (QFI) and its affiliates may own a maximum of 5 percent of any listed Saudi firm.
The maximum that all categories of foreign investors -- QFIs and those who don't qualify -- can own in any Saudi company will be 49 percent, with the portion cumulatively controlled by QFIs and QFI-approved clients capped at 20 percent.
"The draft Qualified Foreign Investor limits that are circulating are certainly a step in the right direction. It looks like a number of larger funds will be owning direct Saudi equities, rather than Swaps or P notes, sometime in 2012," said Daniel Broby, chief investment officer at Silk Invest in London.
"They will clearly want to be careful about opening capital markets from a domestic perspective, but once they go on that track, it's hoped that they won't reverse," he said.
Another source said that the Saudis' main concern appeared to be sudden inflows and outflows of portfolio money.
"They are going to be very strict on things like the Know Your Customer (KYC) document. Saudis are concerned about hot money -- they're worried about who would invest and so they would be doing as much due diligence that would not necessarily be normal for them," he said.
According to one version of the proposals that were sent around, the Saudis wanted fund investors to provide projections on returns, an unusual requirement that the first source said was unlikely to survive when the final rules were published.
There will also be rules about the size of the institutions allowed to invest. According to the proposals, the minimum assets under management will be $5 billion.
Ever since it charmed audiences at the Cannes Film Festival, The Artist has been one hot commodity. The Weinstein Company snapped up the film rights though they have a bit of a hard sell. The movie takes place in the era of silent movies and it also happens to be a silent movie itself. Ignoring Mel Brooks' unsung efforts, asking paying customers to sit through 100 minutes of silence, albeit accompanied by a musical score, may be a risky financial bet. That's where the appeal of being an award-winner comes into play. The Artist has been racking up awards since Cannes and has been tagged by many as the favorite to take home a Best Picture Oscar. This celebration of the Hollywood of old is a nostalgic trip through the ages, but I'm doubtful that the film is deserving of the gushing admiration. I think this would have been better had it been one of them new-fangled talkies.
In 1927, the biggest star in Hollywood is George Valentin (Jean Dujardin). His latest spy caper is knocking them dead. He's prancing before a sea of photographers when he bumps into Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). He graciously brings her into the act and the two pose for pictures. "Who's the new girl?" demands the newspaper headlines. Peppy is given her big break as George's co-star in his spy series. Peppy is a natural and over the course of two years she becomes a bona fide star. Also over those two years Hollywood has undergone a drastic makeover. New "talkies" are all the rage with the public, who now demand to hear their favorite actors speak. George is adamant that talking pictures are only a fad and he plunks his personal fortune to bankroll his directorial debut. The movie is a flop. George is viewed as a has-been; yet Peppy has been keeping a watchful eye on her old friend and waiting for the time to reveal her love for the fallen star.
The Artist is a completely silent movie except for two key sequences; one of them a nightmare where George hears objects make noise. The film is an unabashed love letter to old Hollywood, and writer/director Michel Hazanavicius makes witty use of the storytelling techniques of the silent era. Much relies on editing and reactions for shaping the narrative. The story, therefore, is broken down to its simplest incarnation. Peppy Miller's star rises, as George's grows fainter. Still, The Artist has many recognizable pieces for fans of the silent era. George even has a trusted Jack Russell Terrier at his side, a clever pooch with keen mimicking abilities. There's a cute moment where Peppy slips her arm into George's coat hanging on a coat rack and pretends to caress her self as him. It's a small yet slyly tender moment. It's not a prerequisite to be well versed on silent cinema, though it helps. While a French film (a foreign designation seems superfluous when it's silent), the movie was shot in Los Angeles and is stocked with English stars like John Goodman (TV's Treme) as a film director, James Cromwell (Babe) as George's dutiful butler, Penelope Ann Miller (Flipped) as George's unhappy wife, Missi Pyle (Big Fish) as a silent film co-star, Beth Grant (Donnie Darko) as a maid, Ken Davitian (Borat) as a pawnbroker, and Malcolm McDowell (Halloween II) as a dismissive old man in a chair (the role he was bon to play). It almost becomes a side game of cameos.
It's a sprightly, charming, sometimes enchanting little experiment, but in the end an experiment is all the movie turns out to be. The Artist is no great story; in fact it's pretty much the 80th rendition of A Star is Born. The transition between silent films and talkies is a subject rife with drama, and a lead character who sees his fame and fortune crumble by being left behind in a changing society, well that should be interesting. What's surprising to me the most about this film is how little you invest with it. I don't know if it's the silent gimmick or just the idle characterization, but I found myself never really engaging with the movie, always a step removed. The characters were nice but I neither celebrated their triumphs nor bemoaned their hardships. The entire affair has such a slight feel to it; the movie is a confection, a sweet treat that melts away instantly after viewing. If you strip away all the old Hollywood nostalgia, there is very little substance here. Praise Hazanavicius for his dedication to silent filmmaking techniques, but let's be reasonable here because The Artist is a pleasant experiment but nothing more. The characters and story do not bear scrutiny. This story would have been more interesting had the movie been a traditional talky. Alas, we are limited to a handful of title cards with single lines of dialogue and extreme amounts of pantomiming. If you took away the central gimmick, would anyone be interested in this movie? I wanted to be swept away by The Artist after reading all the fawning accolades, but I wasn't. The commitment of the artists on screen is commendable, but the finished product is little more than an amusing trifle of a movie.
Dujardin (OSS: Lost in Rio) and Bejo (Modern Love) look like they stepped off the screen from an old Hollywood movie, al la Purple Rose of Cairo. Dujardin is a suave presence with great comedic physicality at his disposal. There's a poignant moment where George, broken down and washed up, looks into a tuxedo store window, seeing his reflection appear above the neck of the tuxedo. He gingerly smiles, wistful of times gone by, and in that sad, face crinkling little moment, Dujardin reveals more about the man behind the flashbulbs than the script ever will. Even without a word spoken, you can tell that Dujardin and Bejo have great chemistry. Bejo, the wife of the director by the way, matches Dujardin note for note in terms of star wattage. She's got a terrific smile and one of those classic faces for an Age When They Had Faces. It's a shame that the characters don't have more interaction.
The Artist is a fine film but ultimately disappointing given the hype. The saddest part about my reaction to The Artist is how little I find myself having to say about this much-ballyhooed silent film. It's an exercise in nostalgic back-patting, but if you strip away the silent movie gimmick I feel like there's so little at heart here. I walked away liking the movie, being charmed by the actors but feeling unengaged and mildly indifferent. The threadbare story is too familiar, the characterization is slight, and the movie ultimately becomes light, airy, and insubstantial. The novelty eventually does wear off and you may find yourself adding a mental commentary to the film to fill in the blanks. You'd have to be a Scrooge to resist the film's whimsy and the talents of the charismatic performers, but I'm scratching my head at the adulation give to The Artist. In a year heavy with reminiscence, The Artist overdoses on feel-good Hollywood nostalgia, and in a down year at the movies, perhaps that's enough when it comes time for awards.
Nate's Grade: B
FILE- In this Thursday, March 5, 2009 file photo the Library of Congress is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Library of Congress on Wednesday announced that 1994's smash hit ?Forrest Gump? starring Tom Hanks was one of 25 films chosen to be included this year in the National Film Registry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE- In this Thursday, March 5, 2009 file photo the Library of Congress is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Library of Congress on Wednesday announced that 1994's smash hit ?Forrest Gump? starring Tom Hanks was one of 25 films chosen to be included this year in the National Film Registry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
This undated handout image provided by the Library of Congress shows a Danish poster for Walt Disney?s 1942 animated film ?Bambi." Bambi, Forrest Gump and Hannibal Lecter have at least one thing in common: Their cinematic adventures were chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the world's largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings. (AP Photo/Library of Congress)
This undated handout photo provided byMGM Home Entertainment and the Library of Congress shows Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal ?The Cannibal? Lecter in the 1991 film ?Silence of the Lambs.? Bambi, Forrest Gump and Hannibal Lecter have at least one thing in common: Their cinematic adventures were chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the world's largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings. (AP Photo/MGM Home Entertainment, Library of Congress)
This undated black-and-white handout photo provided by Paramount and the Library of Congress shows Tom Hanks staring as Forrest Gump. Bambi, Forrest Gump and Hannibal Lecter have at least one thing in common: Their cinematic adventures were chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the world's largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings. (AP Photo/Paramount, Library if Congess)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Bambi, Forrest Gump and Hannibal Lecter have at least one thing in common: Their cinematic adventures were chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the world's largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings.
"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), a harrowing psychological thriller about the cannibalistic serial killer Lecter, and "Forrest Gump" (1994), starring Tom Hanks as the guileless hero who thinks "life is like a box of chocolates," were critical and commercial successes that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The animated Disney classic "Bambi" is among the most beloved movies ever made.
A majority of the 25 titles chosen this year for inclusion in the National Film Registry are lesser-known ? including silent films, documentaries, avant-garde cinema and even home movies. The Library of Congress announced the selections Tuesday.
The registry began in 1989 under an act of Congress and now includes 575 films. Its aim is not to identify the best movies ever made but to preserve films with artistic, cultural or historical significance. Previous titles chosen range from "The Birth of a Nation" to "National Lampoon's Animal House."
"Forrest Gump" has its critical detractors but was praised for its technical achievements, including the seamless incorporation of the title character into historical footage.
More than 2,200 films were nominated for the registry this year. The National Film Preservation Board pares them down before Librarian of Congress James H. Billington makes the final selections.
"Each year, we do try to pick one of the titles that the public nominated the most, and 'Forrest Gump' was way up there on that list," said Stephen Leggett, program coordinator for the National Film Preservation Board. "Everything on the list is subject to dissenting opinion."
Staffers at the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Va., work to ensure that each title is preserved for future generations, packing away original negatives or unreleased prints into the facility's massive vault and collaborating with other preservationists, movie studios and independent filmmakers.
"These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture," Billington said in a statement. "Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams."
Leggett said he was pleased by the inclusion of "The Negro Soldier," a 1944 documentary produced by Frank Capra that was groundbreaking for its realistic and positive depiction of African-Americans. It became mandatory viewing for soldiers entering the army in the latter stages of the war and was shown in commercial theaters.
"It was kind of ironic because the official Army policy at the time was still segregation. You had a film which was implicitly if not explicitly promoting integration," he said.
Films must be at least 10 years old to be considered for the registry.
The oldest movies selected this year are both from 1912. "The Cry of the Children" is about the pre-World War I child labor reform movement, and "A Cure for Pokeritis" stars John Bunny, regarded as the American film industry's earliest comic superstar.
"A lot of people would argue that the humor is kind of dated," Leggett said of Bunny's films ? mostly short domestic comedies in which he played a henpecked husband. "He really was a major figure at the time. It doesn't help your reputation when people like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton come after you."
Chaplin's first feature, "The Kid" (1921), was also chosen for the registry.
It was a big year for actress Sally Field, who co-starred in "Forrest Gump." ''Norma Rae" (1979), featuring her Oscar-winning performance as a single mother who fought to unionize a Southern textile mill, also made this year's list.
Among the other titles chosen: "The Big Heat," a 1953 film noir starring Glenn Ford; "The Lost Weekend," Billy Wilder's Oscar-winning alcoholism drama; "Porgy and Bess," starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge; "Stand and Deliver," starring Edward James Olmos as an inspiring East Los Angeles math teacher; and John Ford's epic 1924 Western "The Iron Horse."
Among the lesser-known titles chosen this year, "A Computer Animated Hand" (1972) by Pixar Animation Studios co-founder Ed Catmull was one of the earliest examples of 3D computer-generated imagery. The one-minute film shows a hand turning, opening and closing.
Documentaries picked for the registry include "Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment," which focuses on Gov. George Wallace's attempt to prevent two African-American students from enrolling in the University of Alabama and the response of President John F. Kennedy. "Growing Up Female" from 1971 was one of the first films to document the women's liberation movement.
___
Online:
National film registry: http://www.loc.gov/film/filmnfr.html
___
Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at http://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.
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The Steamboat Ski & Snowboard School treats tourists and locals to spectacular on-snow parades down the mountain lit only by torches. The parades are in celebration of a holiday or local event throughout the season. In conjunction with the torchlight parades, a fireworks display will illuminate the sky providing a perfect ending to the evening. Displays will be held on February 14 & March 17, 2012
Bee Mobile, a small handset manufacturer has just released its first Android-powered phone, the Bee 7100. The smartphone is now available for purchase in UAE via Axiom Telecom for only AED 399 (109 USD or 83 EUR) off-contract.
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It appears that the Bee 7100 set a new milestone for the cheapest Android phone available in UAE. For the money they pay to get the smartphone, customers also receive a 1-year Axiom warranty, along with a free 2GB microSD memory card for memory expansion.
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The phone is powered by Google?s Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, but there?s a slight chance the phone will receive a Gingerbread upgrade in the near future.
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In this regard, the manufacturer states that the phone sports a 2-megapixel rear camera, which is upgradable to 3.2-megapixel via software update. However, there is no mention of whether or not this is the Android 2.3 Gingerbread or just a minor maintenance software update.
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It is also worth mentioning that the Bee 7100 packs a secondary front-facing VGA camera for video calls. However, this feature will only be unlocked after the smartphone eventually receives the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update.
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Another downside of the smartphone is the fact that its 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display is resistive and not capacitive. The display supports 262k colors and 240 x 320 pixels resolution.
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Still, the affordable Bee 7100 comes with dual-SIM, dual-Standby support, which makes it a perfect choice for customers who are looking for a cheap Android phone that replace both their handsets.
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The phone measures 108.2 x 57.8 x 14.2mm and packs a 4GB onboard memory and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB, 2GB memory card included).
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Other highlights of the phone included Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, microUSB port, Stylus, Radio FM and e-book reader.
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The phone?s 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery is rated by the manufacturer for up to 160 hours of standby time or up to 4 hours of talk time.
Croatia is facing new challenges on its path towards its full membership in the European Union following the finalisation of the accession negotiations in June this year and the signing of the Accession Treaty on 9 December, and the first task of the new government regarding the country's EU aspirations is the preparation for a referendum, set for 22 January 2012, at which Croatians will be asked to vote 'yes' or 'no' on the country's admission to the European bloc.The ratification of the accession document, signed at the 9 December ceremony in Brussels, can ensue in 27 EU member states only after the treaty is ratified by the Croatian parliament and the entire process should be completed by 30 June 2013 so that Croatia can join the EU on 1 July 2013, as planned. Read More
Twitter / Justin Pope: Yale football coach Tom Wi ...Yale football coach Tom Williams resigns amid investigation into his claims he'd been Rhodes Scholar candidate. 8:49 AM Dec 21stvia bitly
On December 22, 2011, in Moeller v. Farmers Ins. Co, of Washington, a 5-3 majority of the Washington Supreme Court affirmed lower court rulings in favor of a plaintiff class of automobile insureds seeking breach of contract damages against their insurer for failure to compensate them for the diminished value of a postaccident, repaired car.
The Supreme Court acknowledged that a majority of other jurisdictions have previously denied coverage for diminished value because an automobile policy's reference to "repair or replace" unambiguously encompasses only a concept of tangible, physical value. But the Court disagreed with this view, emphasizing that Washington law imposes "presumptions in favor of the insurance consumer that are inherent in the rules of construction regarding insurance contracts." The Court explained that, it "must read an insurance contract as an average person would read it" and that, from the point of view of the consumer, "the reasonable expectation is that, following repairs, the insured will be in the same position he or she enjoyed before teh accidentenenjoyed before the accident."??? enjoyed before the accident."??? ?
? 2002-2011 by Williams Kastner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Twitter / 3guysinagarage: Chiefs in actives:Palko, M ...Chiefs in actives:Palko, Mcgraw, Mims, Urban, O'Connell, Baire, Powe, Raiders: Campbell, Ford, Mcfadden, Jones, Hugg, B. Campbell, HendersonIl y a environ 8 heuresvia web
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Friday Highlights:Fortune, The Register recap Apple vs. Android in 2011, Chloe Albanesius of PC Magazine rewinds 2011 looking at Apple's highs, lows, Steve Jobs' passing; customer satisfaction is why Apple's iPad leads; when it comes to online shoppers/traffic, Apple outguns giants like Walmart, the NY Times, even eBay; a Fortune slideshow highlights how Steve Jobs changed the world; iTunes Match now available in 17 countries; bring back the OS 9 sliding folder tabs in OS X with Tab Launcher; UK's Telegraph tech prediction for 2012 include a real Apple TV; beware, hackers can intercept crash reports when your iPhone sends them in; 90% of mobile purchases were made on iPhones, iPads; 500 iPads to become "official instrument of lawmaking" in Poland; back in 2010, Steve Jobs spelled out reasons for Apple to not build a TV set; how long will MAME, a new arcade emulator last on the App Store?; new stat shows Apple sells 925 iPhones every 60 seconds; MacRumors offers some PDF printouts of exactly what a 7.85" iPad would look/feel like; rumor mill a-churnin' with iPhone 5 arriving in May with iOS 6, A6 chip, and another analyst splashes cold water on 7" iPads in 2012; Macworld reviews Find My Friends iApp, says it does what it says; you can recalibrate the home button on your iDevice; PC Magazine tips for keeping your iPhone safe amidst holiday distractions; The Next Web urges Nintendo to develop games for iOS.
This weekend's MacUpdate Promo offers 50% off iStat Menus Family Pack (5 Users) 3.19. "iStat Menus lets you monitor your system right from the menubar. Included are 8 menu extras that let you monitor every aspect of your system."
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"This is why Apple's iPad rules the tablet market"" Computerworld
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Mac RAM Upgrades: MacBook Pro 16GB kits $475, 8GB Kits for $119.99! iMac 16GB RAM Kits (4x 4GB) for $229.99! Mac Pro Memory 32GB Kit for $399.99, 64GB Kit for $889.99! Mac Hard Drives 2TB Seagate SATA II for $249.99! Click Here!
TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Holiday Price of
$59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!!
Did you know that you can download an online Mac poker game? Start winning right now and play Poker for Mac Now.
"Remains of the Day: The future is hazy"?Macworld?9:15 PM
"Apple's TV spots featuring Santa Claus using his iPhone's Siri is named the No.1 holiday ad for 2011"?New York Daily News?4:11 PM
"Apple's Santa TV spot deemed best ad of holiday season"?AppleInsider?7:06 PM
"Technology predictions for 2012: The birth of Apple TV and failure of Google+ are among the technology team's predictions for 2012"?Telegraph?7:56 AM
"Hackers intercept iPhone crash Reports"?GMA News?7:50 AM
"Study: Apple's iPhone, iPad account for 90 percent of mobile purchases"?GigaOM?10:48 AM
"Apple's iPad still beating Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet in sales"?Washington Post [Free Registration Required]?11:43 AM
"Apple Flexes Bargaining Power With Carriers For Fat iPhone Margins"?Forbes?10:40 AM
"Apple iPad and ebook readers again define the year on The Mobile Gadgeteer"?ZDNet?7:51 AM
"Sejm wants to buy 500 tablets. The savings: Seimas closed the tender for the purchase of tablets for Members. Poland is one of the first countries in Europe, where the iPad will be the official instrument of lawmaking."?Google Polish-to-English: wyborcza?10:03 AM
"Video: Steve Jobs on TV's go-to-market problem/He laid out the reasons NOT to build an Apple television at All Things D in 2010"?Fortune?10:18 AM
"Peek Into Store's Wi-Fi Network Finds 335 Devices"?ifoAppleStore?8:11 AM
"Arcade emulator MAME slips under Apple radar"?The Register?8:02 AM
"Lost iPhone? iMessages might be sent to new 'owner'"?CBS?10:18 AM
"Every 60 seconds: Apple sells 925 iPhones, 2 million people watch online porn, more"?BGR?10:17 AM
"iPhone Case Gift Guide: A Case to Suit Any Personality" [Slideshow]?Techland?8:19 AM
"NORAD brings Santa -- and elf tossing -- to iPads, iPhones, Android devices"?Network World?11:06 AM
Non-Apple News
"GoDaddy Drops SOPA Support, But Not As Such"?TidBITS?3:23 PM
"Vietnam store makes Christmas tree from cellphones"?Associated Press?11:16 AM
"The CIO's lament: 20-something techies who quit after 1 year/Harry Fox Agency's IT chief discusses how hard it is to retain younger IT professionals, especially Java programmers"?Network World?11:04 AM
"Razer Delays Gaming Laptop -- But Sweetens Release"?PCWorld?11:02 AM
"No Ice Cream Sandwich For Galaxy S And Galaxy Tab, Says Samsung"?TechCrunch?11:25 AM
"Republic Wireless Scraps Data Restrictions"?PCWorld?11:02 AM
"RIM Counters Charge of 'Lying' About BlackBerry 10 Delay"?PC Magazine?11:00 AM
"Insurance Against Cyber Attacks Expected to Boom"?New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required]?10:45 AM
"Facebook fails to deliver on 'social shopping' this holiday season"?Financial Times [Free Registration Required]?10:44 AM
"With Home Entertainment Sales Spiraling Downward, Movie Studios Turn to UltraViolet"?Forbes?10:39 AM
"Raspberry Pi ?16 computer project nears lift-off"?ZDNet UK?11:43 AM
"Bare bones Raspberry Pi PC gets ready to launch"?BBC?10:07 AM
"In Japan, seat sensors that can recognize you"?CNET News?9:54 AM
"AU Optronics taps display chief Peng president"?MarketWatch?9:41 AM
"Say goodbye to Google's App Inventor: Google has reminded its users that the flagship platform to allow anyone to create an Android app will permanently shut down at the end of the year."?TG Daily?11:29 AM
"Here Comes Google's Christmas (Er, Holiday) Greetings"?AllThingsD?9:41 AM
"Retailers Try to Thwart Price Apps"?WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required]?9:36 AM
"Face.com: Facial recognition for the masses"?CNNMoney?9:31 AM
Publications/Podcasts
"Gene Steinberg meets cutting-edge commentator Daniel Eran Dilger and Laptop magazine's Avram Piltch this week on The Tech Night Owl LIVE"?The Tech Night Owl LIVE?1:40 PM
"Selena Gomez talks tech with TUAW"?TUAW?10:08 AM
Deal Brothers Daily Deal: Apple Deals: Order online and Pickup in Store in Time for Christmas
"iOS, Android reach 55% penetration with US installed base of 109M"?AppleInsider?9:15 PM
"iOS dominates mobile shopping with 92% of market"?AppleInsider?9:07 PM
"Steve Jobs riffs on the Library of Congress, education and 'bicycle for our mind"?FairerPlatform?7:34 PM
"Steve Jobs Rendered on an Apple IIC (Video)"?MacTrast?4:07 PM
"Apple at the retail crossroads: Question now is about growth in the store business"?MarketWatch?4:07 PM
"Here's Why The Apple TV Might Be Awesome And Google TV Will Continue To Suck..."?Business Insider?12:40 PM
"Mozilla Firefox, Apple: Hot Trends" [Video Report]?TheStreet?10:23 AM
"Did Smartphones kill the Point-and-Shoot?"?PCWorld?10:08 AM
"The Macalope Daily: The ghost of Apple future"?Macworld [Insider Content]?10:08 AM
"How U.S. Carriers Fool You Into Thinking Your iPhone 4S Is Unlocked"?The Motley Fool?8:23 AM
Non-Apple
"Louis CK makes million, gives it away"?Tech.Blorge?7:09 PM
"Programming resources for kids 101"?ZDNet?11:42 AM
"No real surprise, Samsung not upgrading Galaxy S to Ice Cream Sandwich"?ZDNet?11:42 AM
"Dropbox 2.0: Still the best choice for students?"?ZDNet?11:41 AM
"Last Minute Geek Gift Ideas"?Wired?11:40 AM
"Top 10 tech shocks of 2011"?V3?11:35 AM
"At CES, Everyone's a Keynoter"?Techland?11:33 AM
"Make room, internet, there's another 5 million domains to fit in: .com and .de top the charts in Q3 figures"?The Register?11:31 AM
"Cheating Spreads Like Infections In Online Mulitplayer Games: If you have friends who cheat, you are more likely to become a cheater, according to computer scientists who say this can be used to label you as a potential cheater"?Technology Review?11:26 AM
"Have a White Christmas With Google Maps, YouTube"?PC Magazine?11:01 AM
"Best gameplay of 2011" [Video Report]?MSNBC?10:55 AM
"10 nightmares traveling with tech -- and how to prevent them"?InfoWorld?10:46 AM
"Mozilla's 3 bold bets to keep the Web open: Google's latest agreement with Mozilla will ironically fund three new areas of competition between Google and Mozilla"?InfoWorld?10:46 AM
"Why Deus Ex: Human Revolution is My Game of the Year"?Forbes?10:40 AM
"BlackBerry Bold 9900: The swan song of a standard/The last BlackBerry using the historic OS adds touch, but otherwise is the BlackBerry you've long known and perhaps loved"?InfoWorld?10:15 AM
"Holiday Fun With Personal Collaboration: Use your free time to explore new consumer-driven products--and maybe pick up some valuable IT skills."?InformationWeek?9:57 AM
"Is Yahoo Finally Coming Back To Its Long-Lost Senses?"?Forbes?9:49 AM
"5 reasons to be optimistic about technology innovation in the year ahead"?ZDNet?10:23 AM
"Dear Google: Please, Please, Please Invest More Money In Google Apps..."?Business Insider?8:20 AM
"FAQ: So What's Up With These 'White Spaces,' Anyway?"?AllThingsD?7:57 AM
Humor/Cartoons
"If Car Companies Were Run Like Tech Companies ..."?New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required]?10:29 AM
"Intel's Dimmer PC View Darkens Outlook For Dell, H-P"?Forbes?10:39 AM
"HP Plugs Security Hole With LaserJet Firmware Update, Says No Record Of Printers Set Ablaze By Hackers"?TechCrunch?11:26 AM
"HP firmware to 'mitigate' LaserJet vulnerability"?CNET News?2:23 PM
"Nokia, Skype, ARM: Microsoft's big year in review/Why 2011 is critical for 2012 at Redmond"?The Register?11:32 AM
"Microsoft Cleaning Up on Patent Licensing Fees"?TheStreet?11:55 AM
"Windows 8 picture security just a toy, claims RSA SecurID inventor: Photo unlock tool is not secure according to expert"?Network World?11:27 AM
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Source: www.japantoday.com --- Friday, December 23, 2011 Heavy snow, strong winds and high waves hit the northern Sea of Japan coast between Hokuriku and Hokkaido on Friday. The Japan Meteorological Agency said that blizzards dumped up to 60 cm of snow in Hokkaido and 50 cms in Tohoku and warned that the winter freeze is likely to? ...
Go to work on a Christmas cardPublic release date: 23-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Simon Levey s.levey@imperial.ac.uk 44-020-759-46702 Imperial College London
UK's wrapping paper and festive cards could provide energy to send a bus to the moon more than 20 times
If all the UK's discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to the researchers behind a new scientific study.
The study, by scientists at Imperial College London, demonstrates that industrial quantities of waste paper could be turned into high grade biofuel, to power motor vehicles, by fermenting the paper using microorganisms. The researchers hope that biofuels made from waste paper could ultimately provide one alternative to fossil fuels like diesel and petrol, in turn reducing the impact of fossil fuels on the environment.
According to some estimates 1.5 billion cards and 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper are thrown away by UK residents over the Christmas period. They currently go to landfill or are recycled in local schemes. This amount of paper could provide 5-12 million litres of biofuel, say the researchers, enough to run a bus for up to 18 million km.
"If one card is assumed to weigh 20g and one square metre of wrapping paper is 10g, then around 38,300 tonnes of extra paper waste will be generated at Christmas time," said study author Dr Richard Murphy from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. "Our research shows that it would be feasible to build waste paper-to-biofuel processing plants that give energy back as transport fuel."
Co-author and PhD student Lei Wang, also from Imperial's Department of Life Sciences, said: "The fermentation process could even cope with festive paper and card which has been 'contaminated' with the likes of glitter and sellotape. The cellulose molecules in sellotape would be broken down into glucose sugars and then fermented into ethanol fuel, just like the paper itself. Insoluble items like glitter are easy to filter out as part of the process."
Dr Murphy added: "People should not stop recycling their discarded paper and Christmas cards because at the moment there is no better solution. However, if this technology can be developed further, waste paper might ultimately provide a great, environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. There's more work to do to assess the effectiveness and benefits of the technology, but we think it has significant potential."
In the study, published this month in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy and Environmental Science, the researchers describe how they fermented different types of paper and cardboard in the laboratory to assess how chemically and economically feasible it is to turn them into ethanol fuel. They found that it is not only possible in laboratory experiments but should be economically viable on a large scale as well.
Across the year, around 60 per cent of the UK's waste paper is collected for recycling or other waste management schemes, which equates to around 8 million tonnes. The scientists say that using a well-tested fermentation method and a novel cocktail of efficient and cheap chemical enzymes, their system could be scaled up to the size of existing industrial processing plants and be used to convert 2000 tonnes of waste paper per day into biofuels.
There is already an urgent need for councils to prevent reusable materials like cardboard and paper being sent to landfill sites, saving money and avoiding unnecessary waste, a message echoed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in a speech about Recycle for London's Nice Save campaign this week. This new research shows that in addition to recycling, waste materials can be used to generate energy, and some of that can be as valuable vehicle fuel.
High grade ethanol, such as that made in this study, can be (and already is) blended with fossil-based petrol to make a fuel with lower greenhouse gas balance than conventional petrol for cars and vans, and can also be used to power large diesel vehicles like buses and trucks, if modifications are made to their engines. This approach is already used in Brazil, the USA and the EU, among other regions, where ethanol biofuels are being made from sugar cane, grain and other crops. Most of the UK's biofuel is currently imported from abroad.
The authors of this study are now analysing the environmental performance of bioethanol made from waste paper using life cycle assessment (LCA) and comparing it with the conventional transport fuel petrol. LCA is an environmental management tool that evaluates the 'cradle-to-grave' effects of a product for its influence on a range of environmental impact categories, including its ability to contribute to climate change or soil acidification or to cause algal blooms in fresh water.
###
1. Journal reference: Wang L, Sharifzadeh M, Templer R and Murphy RJ
"Technology performance and economic feasibility of bioethanol production from various waste papers" is published in Energy and Environmental Science DOI: 10.1039/C2EE02935A
2. The maths:
(1) Bioethanol predicted from using Christmas waste is 5.2-12 million
L, energy content of ethanol is 22 MJ/L
(2) Economy mileage for a diesel bus is 39 L/100km (Wikipedia info)
Diesel energy content is 38.6 MJ/L
Bus running needs 15 MJ/km
(3) Bus using bioethanol can run 1.47 km/L
(4) Distance of bus running is 7.6-18 million km
(5) Times travelling to moon (distance is 0.38 million km) is 20-47
times
3. Globally, the annual bioethanol production from waste paper and
cardboard has been estimated by Shi et al. to be in the order of 80 billion litres and world annual consumption of paper products in 2010 (400 million tonnes) could potentially amount up to 129 billion litres if all used papers were completely converted to bioethanol. These estimates suggest waste paper derived bioethanol could deliver a considerable potential to displace a useful proportion of petroleum demand. Overall, this comprehensive techno-economic analysis shows that bioethanol production from waste papers can be economically feasible.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Go to work on a Christmas cardPublic release date: 23-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Simon Levey s.levey@imperial.ac.uk 44-020-759-46702 Imperial College London
UK's wrapping paper and festive cards could provide energy to send a bus to the moon more than 20 times
If all the UK's discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to the researchers behind a new scientific study.
The study, by scientists at Imperial College London, demonstrates that industrial quantities of waste paper could be turned into high grade biofuel, to power motor vehicles, by fermenting the paper using microorganisms. The researchers hope that biofuels made from waste paper could ultimately provide one alternative to fossil fuels like diesel and petrol, in turn reducing the impact of fossil fuels on the environment.
According to some estimates 1.5 billion cards and 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper are thrown away by UK residents over the Christmas period. They currently go to landfill or are recycled in local schemes. This amount of paper could provide 5-12 million litres of biofuel, say the researchers, enough to run a bus for up to 18 million km.
"If one card is assumed to weigh 20g and one square metre of wrapping paper is 10g, then around 38,300 tonnes of extra paper waste will be generated at Christmas time," said study author Dr Richard Murphy from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. "Our research shows that it would be feasible to build waste paper-to-biofuel processing plants that give energy back as transport fuel."
Co-author and PhD student Lei Wang, also from Imperial's Department of Life Sciences, said: "The fermentation process could even cope with festive paper and card which has been 'contaminated' with the likes of glitter and sellotape. The cellulose molecules in sellotape would be broken down into glucose sugars and then fermented into ethanol fuel, just like the paper itself. Insoluble items like glitter are easy to filter out as part of the process."
Dr Murphy added: "People should not stop recycling their discarded paper and Christmas cards because at the moment there is no better solution. However, if this technology can be developed further, waste paper might ultimately provide a great, environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. There's more work to do to assess the effectiveness and benefits of the technology, but we think it has significant potential."
In the study, published this month in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy and Environmental Science, the researchers describe how they fermented different types of paper and cardboard in the laboratory to assess how chemically and economically feasible it is to turn them into ethanol fuel. They found that it is not only possible in laboratory experiments but should be economically viable on a large scale as well.
Across the year, around 60 per cent of the UK's waste paper is collected for recycling or other waste management schemes, which equates to around 8 million tonnes. The scientists say that using a well-tested fermentation method and a novel cocktail of efficient and cheap chemical enzymes, their system could be scaled up to the size of existing industrial processing plants and be used to convert 2000 tonnes of waste paper per day into biofuels.
There is already an urgent need for councils to prevent reusable materials like cardboard and paper being sent to landfill sites, saving money and avoiding unnecessary waste, a message echoed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in a speech about Recycle for London's Nice Save campaign this week. This new research shows that in addition to recycling, waste materials can be used to generate energy, and some of that can be as valuable vehicle fuel.
High grade ethanol, such as that made in this study, can be (and already is) blended with fossil-based petrol to make a fuel with lower greenhouse gas balance than conventional petrol for cars and vans, and can also be used to power large diesel vehicles like buses and trucks, if modifications are made to their engines. This approach is already used in Brazil, the USA and the EU, among other regions, where ethanol biofuels are being made from sugar cane, grain and other crops. Most of the UK's biofuel is currently imported from abroad.
The authors of this study are now analysing the environmental performance of bioethanol made from waste paper using life cycle assessment (LCA) and comparing it with the conventional transport fuel petrol. LCA is an environmental management tool that evaluates the 'cradle-to-grave' effects of a product for its influence on a range of environmental impact categories, including its ability to contribute to climate change or soil acidification or to cause algal blooms in fresh water.
###
1. Journal reference: Wang L, Sharifzadeh M, Templer R and Murphy RJ
"Technology performance and economic feasibility of bioethanol production from various waste papers" is published in Energy and Environmental Science DOI: 10.1039/C2EE02935A
2. The maths:
(1) Bioethanol predicted from using Christmas waste is 5.2-12 million
L, energy content of ethanol is 22 MJ/L
(2) Economy mileage for a diesel bus is 39 L/100km (Wikipedia info)
Diesel energy content is 38.6 MJ/L
Bus running needs 15 MJ/km
(3) Bus using bioethanol can run 1.47 km/L
(4) Distance of bus running is 7.6-18 million km
(5) Times travelling to moon (distance is 0.38 million km) is 20-47
times
3. Globally, the annual bioethanol production from waste paper and
cardboard has been estimated by Shi et al. to be in the order of 80 billion litres and world annual consumption of paper products in 2010 (400 million tonnes) could potentially amount up to 129 billion litres if all used papers were completely converted to bioethanol. These estimates suggest waste paper derived bioethanol could deliver a considerable potential to displace a useful proportion of petroleum demand. Overall, this comprehensive techno-economic analysis shows that bioethanol production from waste papers can be economically feasible.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
All Identi.ca content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
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Public release date: 23-Dec-2011
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