Several people have been injured and one may be dead after the top of a double-decker tour bus entering Miami International Airport hit an overpass at the airport's arrivals entrance.
There were 30 to 35 people on board and some suffered "major injuries," said Greg Chin, a spokesman for the aviation department.
This article will be updated with more information.
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and Germany may have missed out on a combined $ 1 billion in sales tax since online marketplace eBay picked a tiny Luxembourg office as its base for EU sales, a shift that lawmakers say should now be investigated.
EBay’s nomination of Luxembourg unit eBay Europe Sarl – with a staff of nine – as its provider of services to EU clients allows it to charge customers in Europe a low rate of sales tax, often known as Value Added Tax, helping it to compete against rivals.
However, the unit doesn’t actually receive the money from sales. Instead, eBay said it continues to channel revenues through a Berne-based unit, allowing the company also to benefit from what Swiss tax lawyers say is the most competitive corporate income tax regime in Europe.
EU rules allow companies to establish subsidiaries in Luxembourg and levy VAT at Luxembourg’s low VAT rate on sales to customers across the bloc.
However, the rules also allow individual EU taxmen to challenge any claim to Luxembourg residence, and the right to charge Luxembourg VAT, in their domestic courts, if the taxman feels a Luxembourg-based subsidiary does not have sufficient staff or assets to support its claim to be the true supplier of goods or services.
Tax experts say eBay’s arrangement, which appears to give eBay the best of both income and sales tax worlds, could be open to challenge, and lawmakers in the UK and Germany want their taxmen to investigate.
“I hope that HMRC (UK tax authority Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) takes note … and takes prompt action,” said Margaret Hodge, member of parliament and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which monitors government finances.
“I will be seeking assurance that they are, next time we take evidence from HMRC,” she added. Officials from HMRC are due to testify to the PAC in early December as part of the committee’s investigation into tax matters.
Sven Giegold, member of the European Parliament for Germany’s Green Party, said he wanted the German tax authorities to “have a very critical look at this”.
It is common for companies to seek to reduce their tax bills, and a number of multinationals have established bases in Luxembourg so they can charge customers lower levels of VAT.
EBay said HMRC was aware of all its tax arrangements and that it was confident it met all its tax liabilities in the UK and elsewhere.
“In all countries and at all times, eBay is fully compliant with national, EU and international tax rules (including the OECD) including the remittance of VAT to the appropriate authorities,” an eBay spokesman said in an emailed statement.
The UK, German, French and Luxembourg tax authorities declined to comment on eBay, citing rules on taxpayer confidentiality.
LOWER THRESHOLD
Big companies’ tax practices have risen to the top of the political agenda in Europe in the past year, with lawmakers growing increasingly frustrated with the way in which companies such as search engine company Google pay almost no income tax in countries where they have billions of dollars in sales.
The companies escape liability for income taxes in countries like the UK by arguing the value created by their business, and therefore the location where the profit should be realized, is not the place where the customer resides, but rather in the location where the intellectual property underpinning the product or service is based.
Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said this was a valid economic argument and that if, for example, HMRC wants to claim more income tax from Google, it has to prove the company is generating more value in the UK than it is declaring.
This would require a thorough deconstruction of its business model and supply chain.
However, it is easier to establish liability to VAT, since this tax hinges simply on the location of the buyer and seller.
“The threshold is lower,” said Simon Newark, head of VAT at accountants UHY Hacker.
“There are a lot more aspects for HMRC to challenge in VAT than in direct (income) tax.”
For tax purposes, the EU deems eBay’s online platform an “electronically supplied service”, a category that also covers e-Books and music downloads.
Under EU rules, suppliers of such services based within the bloc are supposed to charge EU customers VAT at the rate prevailing in the country where the supplier is based.
A number of suppliers of electronic services, including Amazon.Com Inc and Apple Inc’s iTunes have established European headquarters in Luxembourg to enable them to charge customers lower VAT rates than prevail in their customers’ countries.
Luxembourg has traditionally charged the lowest standard VAT rates in the European Union. Its 15 percent rate compares with rates of 19-25 percent in most other EU members.
By charging customers VAT at Luxembourg’s rate eBay is better able to compete with rivals based elsewhere in the EU, such as Britain’s eBid, which must charge customers VAT at the standard UK rate of 20 percent.
However, to be entitled to charge Luxembourg rates, a company has to be able to prove in British, German or EU courts that it is genuinely based in the Grand Duchy.
Companies selling to EU customers from outside the EU – as eBay was until the 2007 nomination of eBay Europe Sarl as supplier to EU clients – must charge European customers VAT at the rate prevailing in the country where the customer resides, and to pay that VAT to the taxman in the customer’s country.
There is no definitive checklist that determines the true base of a company and any decision by a national court can be challenged in the European Court of Justice. In the UK, HMRC said it approached the matter on a case-by-case basis, and disputes are often resolved in court.
“HMRC will challenge any arrangements where it is claimed that supplies are made from a particular country but the business does not have the necessary resources to make those supplies,” a spokesman said.
EUROPE EXPANSION
EBay, which is headquartered in San Jose, California, moved into Europe in 1999 when it established eBay International in Berne. Switzerland’s low income tax regime for foreign companies was highly beneficial for the auction site. “We do have a very favorable international tax structure,” then-Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dutta told analysts in 2002 when asked how the company managed to pay such low taxes on its non-U.S. income.
The Swiss base also meant, initially, that the company didn’t have to charge EU customers VAT. But in 2003, Brussels changed the rules, which forced eBay to charge EU sellers on its platform VAT based on their residence. The VAT gathered was remitted to the tax authority in the customer’s country.
Not all customers are charged VAT. Most medium-sized and big businesses are legitimately exempted from paying VAT on some purchases, such as eBay seller fees.
EBay’s Swiss-based European public relations head declined to say what portion of its EU customers were liable to be charged VAT. James Cordwell, equities analyst at Atlantic Equities, estimated that such customers accounted for 40-50 percent of sales in Europe.
Since the 2007 creation of its Luxembourg operation, eBay has had German fee revenues of $ 6.1 billion and UK revenues of $ 5 billion, its annual accounts show.
If the services were supplied from Switzerland or another non-EU country, and assuming only half of customers should have been charged VAT, EU rules would have obliged eBay to collect $ 580 million in VAT for the German taxman and $ 500 million in VAT for HMRC since 2007.
EBay’s entitlement to charge Luxembourg VAT on sales and to pay this to the Luxembourg taxman rests on being able to prove in court that eBay Europe Sarl is the provider of services to EU clients.
But despite German and UK fee income of $ 3.1 billion last year, eBay Europe Sarl recorded turnover of only 5 million euros in 2011.
John Hemming, an MP with the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the British coalition government, said the fact eBay’s sales revenues did not go through the Luxembourg unit undermined the claim that it was the true provider of services to EU clients.
“If it’s a real transaction, you would expect the money to pass with it, and not pass someplace else,” he said.
Rather than going to Luxembourg, the money generated from customers continues to go to Berne-based eBay International AG, a spokeswoman said.
When Reuters visited in mid November, staff at the Luxembourg office, just opposite the central post office, declined to discuss what operations the unit conducted for eBay.
A spokesman later said the office conducted activities including billing, data privacy, contracting, regulatory, management and some customer services operations.
By contrast, Amazon and iTunes do report their sales of ebooks and music downloads to EU customers through their Luxembourg units.
Prem Sikka, professor of accounting at Essex University, along with Newark and Roy-Chowdhury said a cash trail through a unit was one of the key factors used as evidence that the unit was the true supplier of a service.
UK and German tax authorities could argue that the shift in eBay’s supply base to Luxembourg from Berne was therefore not genuine. If successful, they could claim back the VAT lost.
EBay declined to say why it channeled sales through Switzerland. Tax advisors say the country can still offer some companies lower tax rates than other European low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland and Luxembourg.
Indeed, EBay’s closest rival Amazon, which channels about half its non-U.S. earnings through Luxembourg, reported average income tax on overseas earnings of 6 percent in the past four years. EBay paid just 3 percent over the same period.
(Additional reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Will Waterman)
Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced Saturday that it would attempt to launch a long-range rocket in mid-December, a defiant move just eight months after a failed April bid was widely condemned as a violation of a UN ban against developing its nuclear and missile programs.
The launch, set for Dec. 10 to 22, is likely to heighten already strained tensions with Washington and Seoul as the United States prepares for Barack Obama's second term as US president and South Korea holds its own presidential election on Dec. 19.
This would be North Korea's second launch attempt under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power following his father Kim Jong Il's death nearly a year ago. The announcement by North Korea's space agency followed speculation overseas about stepped-up activity at North Korea's west coast launch pad captured in satellite imagery.
REUTERS
A soldier stands guard in front of a rocket sitting on a launch pad at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site in April.
A spokesman for North Korea's Korean Committee for Space Technology said scientists have "analyzed the mistakes" made in the failed April launch and improved the precision of its Unha rocket and Kwangmyongsong satellite, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA said the launch was a request of late leader Kim Jong Il, whose Dec. 17, 2011, death North Koreans are expected to mark with some fanfare. The space agency said the rocket would be mounted with a polar-orbiting Earth observation satellite, and maintained its right to develop a peaceful space program.
Washington considers North Korea's rocket launches to be veiled covers for tests of technology for long-range missiles designed to strike the United States, and such tests are banned by the United Nations.
North Korea has capable short- and medium-range missiles, but long-range launches in 1998, 2006, 2009 and in April of this year ended in failure. North Korea is not known to have succeeded in mounting an atomic bomb on a missile but is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen bombs, according to U.S. experts, and in 2010 revealed a uranium enrichment program that could provide a second source of material for nuclear weapons.
Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.
In Seoul, South Korean officials have accused North Korea of trying to influence its presidential election with what they consider provocations meant to put pressure on voters and on the United States as the North seeks concessions. Conservative Park Geun-hye, the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, is facing liberal Moon Jae-in in the South Korean presidential vote. Polls show the candidates in a close race.
This winter, the biggest NFL match-up in South Florida might be Super Bowl versus Boat Show.
As South Florida readies a bid for the 2016 Super Bowl, it must contend with a major potential conflict on the tourism calendar. The National Football League may move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend, already home to the five-day Miami International Boat Show since the 1940s.
It’s a significant enough conflict that, in the past, local tourism officials have declined to pursue a Super Bowl if it fell on boat show weekend. But this time around they may have no choice. For the first time, the NFL is requiring that potential host cities agree to a Presidents’ Day weekend Super Bowl if they want to pursue the big game at all, said two people who have seen the NFL request for Super Bowl bids.
The NFL “invited South Florida [to bid] knowing there was going to be an issue with Presidents’ Day weekend and the boat show,” said Nicki Grossman, Broward’s tourism director. “In the past, South Florida has not responded to a Super Bowl date that included Presidents’ Day weekend. This package is different.”
South Florida vies with New Orleans as the top Super Bowl host, with government and tourism leaders touting the game as both a boon to the economy and a publicity bonanza. But the notion of accommodating both Super Bowl and boat show — not to mention a major arts festival in Coconut Grove — strikes some top tourism officials as a bad idea.
“There is not sufficient hotel inventory available in Miami that weekend to host a Super Bowl,” said William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have taken a close look at that weekend, and it’s not physically possible in Miami to host Super Bowl during the Presidents’ Day weekend because of the boat show and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The hotel inventory is all being used for these two great events.”
His comments are at odds with the region’s top Super Bowl organizer and reflect the burden that the boat show may be to South Florida’s Super Bowl hopes for 2016 and 2017. The NFL invited Miami and San Francisco to bid for the 2016 Super Bowl by April 1, with the loser vying with Houston for the 2017 game. Talbert said the bid package states both decisions will be made in May.
For now, South Florida’s Super Bowl organizers face a largely hypothetical challenge, because the current NFL schedule has the Super Bowl occurring two weeks before Presidents’ Day weekend. The bid requirements for the ’16 and ’17 Super Bowls include three consecutive weekends as possibilities for the game, with the latest falling on the Presidents’ Day holiday.
Still, possible logistical hurdles may combine with political obstacles if the Miami Dolphins resume their push for a tax-funded renovation of Sun Life Stadium, the Super Bowl’s South Florida home.
Last year, the Dolphins proposed that Broward and Miami-Dade counties subsidize a $225 million renovation at Sun Life as a way to keep the region competitive for Super Bowls and other large events. The renovation includes a partial roof that would prevent the kind of drenching Super Bowl spectators suffered in 2007 when a rare February downpour hit Miami Gardens.
James Arauz, the Miami Dade College student who stabbed his mother’s employer to death, testified Thursday in the first day of a hearing to determine whether he would be granted Stand Your Ground immunity.
Arauz, who was 20 at the time, stabbed Vincent Pravata to death and went on a shopping spree with his credit cards in Oct. 2009. Investigators later found bloody fingerprints on a glass that led them to Arauz, who confessed to the murder and claimed self-defense.
The defendant’s mother worked as a housekeeper for Pravata for eight years and Arauz helped do yardwork for four months.
After Arauz’s father died from a heart attack in 2008, the 63-year-old Pravata offered to act as a mentor.
Arauz, an engineering student, testified that Pravata, who was openly gay, occasionally made comments about Arauz’s “beautiful eyes” and asked if he’d ever thought about gay sex.
The defendant’s mother said Pravata was unusually excited when Arauz broke up with his girlfriend less than a month before the stabbing.
From the witness stand Thursday, Arauz said he went to Pravata’s South Miami home to pick up the letter of recommendation he had requested for an internship application.
He said Pravata demanded sexual favors in exchange for the letter.
When Arauz rejected Pravata’s advances and tried to leave, he said the older man “went into a rage and tried to pin me against a wall”
After a chase and physical resistance, Arauz grabbed a decorative knife off a filing cabinet and stabbed Pravata 18 times when he tried to prevent him from opening a metal gate outside the house.
“I had already tried flight and it didn’t work, so I was trying to fight,” Arauz said, describing the desperate struggle for the knife. “It was the survival instinct.”
As Arauz was moving the body back into the house, he saw the victim’s wallet in his pocket and took his credit cards and $480 cash.
Arauz was also facing an outstanding shoplifting charge at the time. He was charged with second degree murder and credit card theft.
Judge Yvonne Colodny will hear further testimony on Friday and decide whether to grant the motion for immunity. If she decides that the defense has not provided enough evidence for Stand Your Ground, the case will go to trial before a jury.
In Rumer Willis' upcoming cameo on Hawaii Five-0, her character quickly shifts from flirting with one of her customers to fearing for her life. ET gives you an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming episode.
Willis, the daughter of now-divorced couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, plays a bank teller in her upcoming Five-0 cameo, and is just about to seal a date with one of the bank's patrons when a group of masked gunmen storm into the bank.
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As the clip ends, one of the bank robbers points his gun at Willis' character and commands her to fill a duffel bag with money.
The 24-year-old actress has performed cameos on an array of television shows in her acting career, including CSI: NY and most recently the Comedy Central series Workaholics. While most of her appearances on TV have been cameos, Willis recently held a role on Gossip Girl in its second season.
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Watch a sneak peek of Willis' Hawaii Five-0 cameo above and find out if her character makes it out of the bank in one piece on Monday at 10 p.m. on CBS.
CAIRO — Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members, seeking to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel with a rushed, marathon vote that further inflames the conflict between the opposition and President Mohammed Morsi.
The vote by the constituent assembly advanced a charter with an Islamist bent that rights experts say could give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and bring restrictions on freedom of speech, women's rights and other liberties.
The draft, which the assembly plans to deliver to the president Saturday, must be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days. Morsi said Thursday it will be held "soon."
The opposition has called for a major rally Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where some demonstrators have camped out in tents since last week to protest decrees Morsi issued to grant himself sweeping powers. Hundreds gathered in the plaza for traditional Friday prayers, then broke into chants of "The people want to bring down the regime!" — echoing the refrain of the Arab Spring revolts, but this time against a democratically elected leader. Other cities around Egypt braced for similar protests.
The Islamist-dominated assembly that has been working on the constitution for months raced to pass the charter, voting article by article on the draft's more than 230 articles for more than 16 hours. The lack of inclusion was on display in the nationally televised gathering: Of the 85 members in attendance, there was not a single Christian and only four women, all Islamists. Many of the men wore beards, the hallmark of Muslim conservatives.
For weeks, liberal, secular and Christian members, already a minority on the 100-member panel, have been withdrawing to protest what they call the Islamists' hijacking of the process.
"This constitution represents the diversity of the Egyptian people. All Egyptians, male and female, will find themselves in this constitution," Essam el-Erian, a representative of the Brotherhood, declared to the assembly after the last articles were passed just after sunrise Friday.
"We will implement the work of this constitution to hold in high esteem God's law, which was only ink on paper before, and to protect freedoms that were not previously respected," he said.
The sudden rush to finish came as the latest twist in a week-long crisis pitting Brotherhood veteran Morsi and his Islamist supporters against a mostly secular and liberal opposition and the powerful judiciary. Voting had not been expected for another two months. But the assembly abruptly moved it up in order to pass the draft before Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel.
The restaurant chain that took barbecued chicken pizza mainstream is ready to push the culinary envelope again. How about a pizza topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and applewood smoked bacon or a Korean barbecue pizza with pork loin and spicy kimchee salad?
Innovative menu items are just one piece of what’s unique about California Pizza Kitchen’s new flagship restaurant unveiled Thursday at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise. The first of its kind, the Sawgrass location aims to reinvigorate the brand that started in 1985 in Beverly Hills.
“The whole idea is about taking the best of what put us on the map and making it relevant for 2012 and beyond,” said G.J. Hart, who took over as chief executive officer of the chain just over a year ago. “Over the years the brand morphed from being a leader and it became a follower of food trends. We want to bring back the hip, cool feel.”
The changes are obvious from the moment you walk into the restaurant, which opens to the public Monday. The new look is all about focusing on the chain’s California roots. Very little of the bright yellow and chrome remains. The design is California-casual with earth tones and reclaimed wood everywhere from the walls to the floor and tables. An outdoor terrace with couches and fire pits is designed to encourage lingering. Large windows and glass doors let in lots of natural light and fold open to enjoy the weather.
Pizza is center stage with the kitchen designed so diners can watch the pizza makers at work. At the Sawgrass location — and by mid-2013 at all restaurants — pizzas will once again by hand-tossed. Currently the chain uses a pizza press to make the dough more uniform.
The new focus is on upping the culinary quotient across the board with dishes like a roasted beets and whipped goat cheese salad, plus a sweet pea carbonara featuring pea-filled pasta purses tossed with Italian pancetta and a Romano cream sauce. These are some of the unique items only on the Sawgrass menu, which also features a specialty menu of hand-crafted cocktails.
Chain-wide the company has actually slimmed the menu from more than 100 items to 74 in order to improve execution. But there are also more healthy choices like quinoa and arugula salad or a fire-roasted chile relleno stuffed with chicken, cheese, mushrooms, spinach and eggplant that dishes up at only 380 calories.
“As we grew, we didn’t keep up with the creativity on the menu and we tried to be all things to all people,” said Brian Sullivan, senior vice president of culinary innovation, who has been with the company for 24 years. “We’re always going to be pizza-centric. But we’ll continue to push the envelope with these specialty items that resonate with who we are. We don’t want items that you are going to see in other restaurants.”
The chain chose Sawgrass to unveil its new flagship location because of a combination of the area’s diverse demographic base and the influx of international visitors. South Florida has already been a strong market for the brand, which has seven locations in the tri-county area stretching from Coral Gables to Palm Beach Gardens.
The opening is the culmination of a new vision that began to take shape when Golden Gate Capital purchased California Pizza Kitchen in July 2011 for $470 million, taking the company private and bringing in Hart as the new chief executive.
“They saw a brand that was undervalued,” said Hart, who has an ownership stake in the chain. “This is an iconic brand with so much brand equity. If we can bring the excitement and enthusiasm back we’re only going to see it go up.”
Industry experts say the changes make sense because the brand still has a loyal following, although it has not kept pace with the competition.
“It’s a good time for them to go back to what were the fundamental things that made the brand so intriguing,” said Dennis Lombardi of WD Partners, a restaurant industry consultant. “The difficulty is going to be getting the word out to consumers that this is different. The devil is always in the details in these kind of evolutions.”
Based on consumer reaction, the plan is to take pieces of the Sunrise concept and introduce it into the chain’s other 268 existing restaurants. Some restaurants could be completely remodeled, but most will only get elements of the new prototype, which cost $2 million in Sunrise, Hart said. The company’s Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations could be strong candidates for remodeling next year or early 2014, he said.
Community and business leaders, who got a first look at the restaurant on Thursday, were impressed.
“This is phenomenal,” said Luanne Lenberg, general manager of Sawgrass Mills. “We’re so excited to have this caliber of restaurant and to be their test for the rest of the world.”
A consultant’s laboratory will be the temporary home to the small electronic device that could have earned Wellington polo magnate John Goodman an early start on his 16-year DUI manslaughter prison sentence.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath on Wednesday signed an agreed order to have Goodman’s broken house arrest monitor transported to a consultant his legal team hired in hopes of proving Goodman didn’t intentionally break open the ankle monitor that deputies found smashed in October. The incident sent Goodman straight back to jail and ended months of the house arrest, which Colbath ordered when he released Goodman on a $7 million bond as he appeals his conviction in February 2010 crash that killed 23-year-old Scott Wilson.
Assistant State Attorney Sherri Collins argued in a hearing last month that Goodman intentionally destroyed the device and should be sent to prison to begin serving his sentence. Colbath will decide whether to keep Goodman incarcerated after the remainder of the hearing Dec. 18, when Goodman’s attorneys may use the results of Monday’s tests to argue Goodman should be allowed to go free again.
Having established himself in the film industry after years of acting, Ryan Phillippe is now making his directorial debut in Shreveport, which he also stars in, wrote, and co-produced. As his children with ex-wife Reese Witherspoon are getting older, Phillippe pondered on the prospect of his children becoming actors.
Phillippe, who had two children with Witherspoon that are now 13 and 9 years old, revealed that his children had been on the set of the upcoming thriller with him. While his children's parents are both actors, Phillippe assessed that he doesn't foresee them in acting and wouldn't be heartbroken if they didn't pursue the field.
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"I don't encourage it; I wouldn't necessarily discourage it," he said of his children becoming actors. "I think there have been times in my life where I think I'd like them to do something that maybe matters a little more...but I think this can too in some ways."
Apart from his own ideological influence in guiding his children towards their future careers, the 38-year-old actor asserted that his children haven't displayed characteristics that would suggest they're cut out to become actors.
"I feel like [their] personalities are maybe not so performer-inclined," he said. "Maybe they'll find something [in entertainment]. Maybe they'll be a director, but they're still taking shape."
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Phillippe's directorial debut is being filmed in Shreveport, La., where he insisted it be filmed over the alternative of creating a set because he aimed to capture the natural beauty of the outdoor swamps. Having important creative control over the project is something that he cherishes.
"I do love the idea of being writer-director," he said. "What I love is...[that] this structure that we got to build where my character's held captive is completely by my own design and is exactly what we were writing the script to, so that's an incredibly rewarding thing...These characters, the way they speak, this setting [are] really all out of the imagination of myself and my co-writer."
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Phillippe revealed that he isn't the only one enjoying the experience of his directorial debut, as he maintains that the cast is one of the happiest he's seen and has created one of the best sets he's ever been on.
"I've been on the set of over 30 movies as an actor and in other ways, and this is one of the first where people walk around quoting lines all day," he said. "They're just super into the content, and it makes it more fun for everybody."
Shreveport is set for release in 2013.
Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter net income fell 30 percent, stung by a higher-than-expected tax rate, ongoing economic weakness and high precious metal and diamond costs.
The jewelry company's results missed Wall Street's expectations and it cut its full-year earnings forecast.
Shares dropped $5.58, or 8.7 percent, to $58.15 in premarket trading Thursday.
For the period ended Oct. 31, the company known for its blue boxes earned $63.2 million, or 49 cents per share. That's down from $89.7 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by FactSet forecast earnings of 63 cents per share.
Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski said in a statement that Tiffany had expected its quarterly results would be affected by ongoing economic softness and tough year-ago comparisons. But he added that the retailer's gross margin rate of 54.4 percent — down from 57.9 percent in the prior-year period — was weaker than expected and its tax rate was higher than expected. Gross margin, a key performance metric, is the amount of each dollar in revenue a company actually keeps.
While cautious about worldwide economic conditions, Kowalski said that the company anticipates results improving during the holiday season partly because of easier year-over-year sales comparisons but also because of new stores and new products.
The holiday season is critical for retailers, as it can make up to 40 percent of stores' annual revenue.
Revenue increased 4 percent to $852.7 million from $821.8 million. Wall Street expected $858.8 million.
Sales rose 6 percent in Europe and 3 percent in the Americas region. Asia-Pacific sales climbed 2 percent, while Japan sales rose slightly. Tiffany said that its other sales jumped 73 percent as it converted five stores in the United Arab Emirates from independently-run distribution to company-run stores.
Tiffany now expects 2012 earnings of $3.20 to $3.40 per share. Its prior outlook was for earnings of $3.55 to $3.70 per share.
Analysts predict earnings of $3.59 per share.
Tiffany had 272 stores at quarter's end.
City National Bank of Florida, the Miami bank purchased by Bankia (formerly Caja Madrid) of Spain in November 2008, said Wednesday that its parent has a “four-year window to evaluate alternatives” for the bank’s future ownership and will work closely with management in Miami during the process.
The Spanish government has reached and agreement with the European Union related to Spain’s financial system problems, which will result in a recapitalization of Bankia and other institutions, the bank said. The agreement calls for Bankia to sell non-core assets and its holdings outside of Spain so that Bankia will emerge with a solid capital position and be more focused on its core domestic business.
“Because City National Bank is so well capitalized, profitable and well positioned in the marketplace, we are going to take our time to fully evaluate all of our strategic alternatives,” City National Bank President and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement. “This does not impact our ongoing strategy of profitable growth and diversification or our commitment to the markets we serve. Our focus continues to be taking excellent care of our clients and employees. ”
City National, founded 65 years ago, has $4.32 billion in assets and 26 branches from Miami-Dade County to the greater Orlando area.
INA PAIVA CORDLE
A group tasked with making recommendations to improve Miami-Dade elections will begin meeting Tuesday morning, three weeks after Election Day was marked by long lines and a surge of absentee ballots that took several days to count.
County Mayor Carlos Gimenez convened the advisory group to examine state and local elections laws and practices, and suggest changes. The first meeting is expected to feature an overview of legal issues, an outline of the county’s approach to elections and a tour of Miami-Dade’s elections headquarters.
The elections department has not yet submitted its “after-action report,” a post-mortem detailing how things went during the election.
The group will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the county’s Doral elections department, 2700 NW 87th Ave. The meeting is open to the public.
In addition to Gimenez, the group includes 13 members he appointed. Among them are four county commissioners: Lynda Bell, Sally Heyman, Dennis Moss and Rebeca Sosa.
The other members are: Alice Ancona of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; the Rev. Victor Curry, president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the NAACP; Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert; former County Attorney Murray Greenberg; Lovette McGill, an activist who has been involved with African-American trade unionists; Gepsie Metellus, executive director of Sant La, a Little Haiti-based social services agency; C.J. Ortuño, executive director of the gay-rights advocacy group SAVE Dade; and elections attorneys Kendall Coffey and Robert Fernandez, who represented Gimenez and newly elected Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera in recent elections challenges.
Alicia Keys took to the iHeartRadio stage in New York City last night for one of her most intimate -- and important -- concerts, ever.
The Girl on Fire singer performed for a group of Hurricane Sandy first responders and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to help restore the areas and individuals impacted by the natural disaster.
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Keys made the evening even more special by bringing son Egypt on stage (the 2-year-old makes a cameo on When It's All Over) for one performance, which brought the house down.
It's been a big week for Keys, whose album is not only drawing rave reviews, but she made history when The Empire State Building coordinated their first-ever lightshow to her hit single, Girl on Fire.
PARIS — A French court has pushed back a ruling on whether to drop aggravated pimping charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief who has successfully fought accusations linked to his "libertine" lifestyle.
The Sipa news agency reports that prosecutors say the court set a new date of Dec. 19 on Strauss-Kahn's demand to annul the charges linking him to a suspected prostitution ring run out of a luxury hotel in the northern city of Lille.
Two of the four people implicated have asked that charges be dropped.
Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn claim the investigating judges were biased.
AFP/Getty Images
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
The economist admits attending "libertine" gatherings but denies knowing that some women present were paid.
New York prosecutors dropped charges of sexual assault against Strauss-Kahn by a New York hotel maid in May 2011.
The holidays are coming fast, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten very little of your gift shopping done.
Here are suggestions for a variety of gifts for the techie and the not-so-techie people on your list.
Some of these items can be found in stores and some are only available online, but you should be able to order them in time for Christmas or Hanukkah.
IOMEGA EZ MEDIA & BACKUP CENTER
What is it? A hard drive that lives on your home network so you can share files, store all your photos and music and back up your home computers. Works on Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers.
The EZ Media & Backup Center is available in 1-, 2- and 3-terabyte capacities. It is simple to set up. It lives next to your home router and plugs into the network via Ethernet.
Major features include a built-in iTunes server so your music is available to all connected computers, Time Machine support for easy Macintosh backups and Iomega’s Personal Cloud to access your data from any Internet connection.
It can also stream your video files to your TV if you’ve got a compatible streaming box or an Internet-connected TV.
Software for backing up Windows PCs is also included.
Who’s it for? Any family that wants central storage for their digital lives. This is a great home for your digital photo, music or video library.
What does it cost? One terabyte for $169.99, two terabytes for $209.99, three terabytes for $279.99.
Where can you get it? Online at www.iomega.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple store, Fry’s.
NETATMO URBAN WEATHER STATION
What is it? A wireless indoor/outdoor weather station that displays through an application on your Apple or Android mobile device.
There are two parts, one that lives in your house and one you place outside.
The indoor component plugs into the wall and monitors the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide level and even the sound level in decibels.
The outdoor module is battery-powered and measures temperature and humidity.
Once you connect the Netatmo to your home Wi-Fi network, you can download the free app and see your weather stats from anywhere.
Setup was easy enough, and you can set the app to notify you when carbon dioxide rises to levels that you should be warned about — which is great.
Who’s it for? Weather geeks and people who like to know what the temperature is without having to fire up a browser.
What does it cost? $179
Where can you get it? www.netatmo.com
3M LED ADVANCED LIGHT
What is it? 3M’s first foray into the home light bulb market is with the LED Advanced Light, which uses light-emitting diodes (LED) to produce 800 lumens (the light of a 60-watt bulb).
The Advanced Light has a life span of 25 years and costs just $1.63 per year if it’s turned on for three hours per day.
The bulb lights instantly and is dimmable.
It’s a little intimidating to start buying light bulbs that might outlive me, but my wallet approves.
Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to save money or wants a bulb that might not have to be changed until 2035.
What does it cost? $25
Where can you get it? Select Wal-Mart stores. For more information, go to www.3mlighting.com/LED.
STEM IZON 2.0 WI-FI VIDEO MONITOR
What is it? A small, wireless video camera that you can monitor remotely with an iOS device.
An apparent drive-by shooting late Monday night in Miami Gardens has left three people in the hospital and neighbors wondering whether the wrong house was targeted.
According to reports, the shooting happened in the 20800 block of Northwest 30th Court. Air rescue took the victims, two men and a woman, to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where at least one remains in serious condition.
Neighbors said three people were outside a house when bullets started flying from a passing car. Three people in the group were hit.
Audrey Roberts, 73, said his 37-year-old son was wounded in the shooting. He said his son and friends often spend time outside talking near the garage.
“They don’t know” who did the shooting, Roberts said.
He said he heard “a lot of shots,” possibly from more than one gun. “Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.”
On Tuesday morning, he pointed to a home garage door pocked with bullet holes.
Miami Herald photojournalist Walter Michot contributed to this report. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
In Entertainment Tonight's final interview with Larry Hagman, the Dallas icon revealed which younger actor he was hoping to co-star alongside.
VIDEO - Larry Hagman Charms in Final ET Interview
"I'd like to play Matt Damon's daddy," Hagman told ET. "He's a wonderful actor, I really admire him, and I'd like to play his daddy one day. You listenin' out there Matt? I'd like to work with you, boy!"
VIDEO - Larry Hagman's First ET Interview
While Hagman's untimely passing on November 23 prevented the two from ever working together, ET caught up with Damon at The Independent Film Project's 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York City last night and relayed the message.
EXCLUSIVE - Larry Hagman's Final Public Appearance
"I grew up watching him," an honored Damon exclusively told ET of the late, great TV star. "Who Shot J.R.? was more than a TV event. It made its way into my consciousness at a very young age. I was probably 10 or 11 when all that was going on. He was certainly impactful in a way that is probably much harder to be now. There's a lot more channels and a lot more noise. He's a huge part of American culture."
Reuters/DigitalGlobe
The Sohae Launch Facility in North Korea
WASHINGTON - A new satellite image shows a marked increase in activity at a North Korean missile launch site, pointing to a possible long-range ballistic missile test by Pyongyang in the next three weeks, according to satellite operator DigitalGlobe Inc.
The imagery was released days after a Japanese newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, reported that U.S. intelligence analysts had detected moves that were seen as preparation by North Korea for a long-range missile launch as early as this month.
DigitalGlobe, which provides commercial satellite imagery to the U.S. government and foreign governments, on Monday released a new image that it said showed increased activity at North Korea's Sohae (West Sea) Satellite Launch Station.
It said the imagery showed more people, trucks and other equipment at the site, a level of activity that was consistent with preparations seen before North Korea's failed April 13 rocket launch.
"Given the observed level of activity noted of a new tent, trucks, people and numerous portable fuel/oxidizer tanks, should North Korea desire, it could possibly conduct its fifth satellite launch event during the next three weeks," DigitalGlobe said in a statement accompanying the image.
A Pentagon spokeswoman declined to comment on the reported satellite images, but said the Defense Department's position on North Korea's missile development efforts had not changed.
She urged North Korea to comply with UN Security Council resolutions that "require Pyongyang to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, and re-establish its moratorium on missile launching."
North Korea, which carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 and is under heavy UN sanctions for its atomic weapons program, has tried for years to influence major events in South Korea by waging propaganda or armed attacks. South Korea is gearing up for a presidential election on Dec. 19.
North and South Korea have been technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, and regional powers have for years been trying to rein in the North's nuclear program.
North Korea is believed to be developing a long-range ballistic missile with a range of up to 4,200 miles (6,700 km) aimed at hitting the continental United States but the last two rocket test launches failed.
In April, under its new leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea launched a rocket that flew just a few minutes covering a little over 60 miles (100 km) before crashing into the sea between South Korea and China.
Shoppers swooped into stores in droves on Thanksgiving weekend, topping last year’s sales, as more retailers opened their doors earlier than ever on Thursday, luring bargain hunters away from eating another plate of turkey.
And now Cyber Monday is expected to set a record for online shopping this year, for those who prefer the Internet to the mall.
Spending per shopper nationwide averaged $423 — $25 more than last year — from Thursday to Sunday, while total spending increased nearly 13 percent, to an estimated $59.1 billion, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.
“I think the only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call it a huge win,” said Matthew Shay, the trade group’s president and chief executive. Shopping, he said, “has really become an extension of the day’s festivities.”
South Florida was no exception, as a flurry of stores, as well as several malls, opened on Thanksgiving. Thursday has seemingly become the new Black Thursday, taking a bite out of the old-fashioned kickoff day of the holiday, Black Friday.
“We had an excellent weekend,” said Humberto Maldonado, director of marketing for Dadeland Mall, which opened at midnight on Thursday. Sales figures are not yet in, but the overall trend was up from last year, he said Monday.
“It was really busy from midnight to 5 a.m., then it slowed, and picked up again at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., and stayed busy all day on Friday,” Maldonado said.
Nationwide, about 35 million people visited stores and shopping websites Thursday, up from 29 million last year. More than double that number — 89 million, up from 86 million — shopped on Black Friday.
“There were more people shopping every single day of the weekend,” Shay said.
Topping off the weekend, Cyber Monday’s early results, tabulated at 3 p.m. Monday, showed that online shopping was up a whopping 25.6 percent compared with the same time period a year ago, according to figures by IBM Benchmark.
Nationwide, most of the weekend’s shoppers — roughly 58 percent — bought clothing and accessories. Another 38 percent bought electronics and 35 percent shelled out for toys, National Retail Federation figures show.
Retailers made an effort to lure people in, with updated mobile shopping applications for smartphones and tablets, and expanded shipping and layaway options.
Still, it remains to be seen whether increased sales over the Thanksgiving weekend will translate to higher sales throughout the holiday shopping season. Analysts have been predicting mediocre sales this year, nationwide, as shoppers remain uncertain about the broader economy. Overall holiday sales are expected to increase 4.1 percent from 2011, compared with sales growth of 5.6 percent last year, the National Retail Federation said.
However, Florida is expected to beat those figures. Buoyed in large part by tourists and snowbirds, the Florida Retail Federation is forecasting a 5.3 percent gain this year over last, to $58 billion, marking the highest percentage growth predicted since the recession. Pre-recession, retail sales peaked at $54.3 billion in 2006.
Christian Cutillo, 26, of Weston, hit Walmart, then Sears, Target and Old Navy after eating Thanksgiving dinner.
She began at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and by 3 a.m. Friday she had finished shopping for all 15 people on her list, mostly buying clothing and toys.
An ongoing investigation into an elaborate scheme to counterfeit state-issued tags for spiny lobster traps has pulled in a second suspect.
Jesus Alonso Perez, 51, of Miami was charged with possession of phony trap tags after his arrest last week by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers in Miami-Dade County.
Perez is the first person arrested in the case since Ramon Rojas, 44, of Hialeah was arrested on Monroe County and Miami-Dade warrants earlier this month.
Rojas has been charged with dozens of conservation counts for possessing and using fake trap tags, and fishing traps without required state certificates. A handful of Rojas' personal traps bearing counterfeit trap tags were hauled from water off Big Pine Key before his arrest.
"During the investigation, we were able to determine [Rojas] actually was in the midst of selling some of these counterfeit tags and ended up selling 100 at $50 a pop," said FWC Officer Jorge Pino, an agency spokesman. "We knew some of these tags were being used already."
The case could lead to additional state and federal counts.
Investigation started June 29 when U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents intercepted a suspicious package shipped to Florida from Colombia.
Inside the package were 1,512 yellow plastic tags bearing serial numbers and state identification. The package was passed along to federal wildlife officers, who forwarded it to the FWC.
"To an untrained eye, they might have looked like real tags but our inspector immediately identified the tags as counterfeit," Pino said. "Not to mention, they were coming into Florida from Colombia."
The package was re-sealed for delivery, with FWC officers keeping watch. Other details on the investigation are still considered confidential.
"We've seen counterfeit trap tags before so that wasn't a surprise," Pino said. "We were a little surprised at the lengths he went to, going to another country to get this many."
"This goes contrary to everything the FWC is trying to achieve as a conservation agency in terms of protecting the resource," Pino said. "Putting what could have been a large number of illegal traps in the water has the potential to do a lot of damage."
Trap tags have been required by the state since 1992 as part of an effort to control and reduce the number of traps used by Florida commercial fishermen. Currently about 490,000 tags are issued annually, down from a peak of 750,000. Lobstermen receive an allocation of tags based on their history of commercial trap harvests.
People who want to enter the fishery or increase their trap numbers must buy trap certificates, which include the right to buy trap tags, from other fishermen. A tag itself costs only $1 each from the state but certificates can sell for more than $100 each.
Aerosmith has etched itself into rock music history through its many years in the business, but it hasn't always been a smooth road for the band. In 1995, after Aerosmith had just won its third Grammy, the band reflected on the turbulent journey they had led.
Following their soaring launch into the music industry in the '70s with five platinum albums, Aerosmith suffered a rift in the band that wasn't emanating from Joe Perry's guitar. Perry left the band and formed his own project in 1979, which didn't bode well with fans.
VIDEO: Aerosmith Releases First Music Video in 8 Years
The band got together five years later, and was able to recapture its deep fan base after a few albums. Almost a decade after reuniting, Aerosmith put out Get a Grip, which earned it the Best Rock Performance Grammy in two consecutive years. After receiving the award for "Crazy," lead vocalist Steven Tyler and drummer Joey Kramer reflect on the band's schism.
"We got a good chance to see what it was that breaks bands up and how foolish it is [because] the music is the biggest thing," Tyler says in the pressroom following the award. "When we get five guys together and they can create something like a song or an album or a good time, you don't want to kill that for any reason."
VIDEO: Aerosmith Talks Global Warming Tour
"The ironic thing is that we were the last ones to know about it, about how it felt," Kramer adds.
In 2009, nearly fifteen years after the band had professed that it had learned its lesson, Aerosmith quaked again from another rift involving Perry. Tyler was then nearly replaced as lead singer, but all was eventually amended.
VIDEO: Aerosmith Rocks Out, Steven Tyler Chews Mic
All bridges magically remained intact and the band recently put out its fifteenth studio album, Music From Another Dimension!.
AP
Cyber Monday is likely to be the year's busiest online sales day.
Bye-bye Black Friday. So long Small Business Saturday. Now, it's Cyber Monday's turn.
Cyber Monday, coined in 2005 by a shopping trade group that noticed online sales spiked on the Monday following Thanksgiving, is the next in a series of days that stores are counting on to jumpstart the holiday shopping season.
It's estimated that this year's Cyber Monday will be the biggest online shopping day of the year for the third year in a row: According to research firm comScore, Americans are expected to spend $1.5 billion, up 20 percent from last year on Cyber Monday, as retailers have ramped up their deals to get shoppers to click on their websites.
Amazon.com, which is starting its Cyber Monday deals at midnight on Monday, is offering as much as 60 percent off a Panasonic VIERA 55-inch TV that's usually priced higher than $1,000. Sears is offering $430 off a Maytag washer and dryer, each on sale for $399. And Kmart is offering 75 percent off all of its diamond earrings and $60 off a 12-in-1 multigame table on sale for $89.99.
Retailers are hoping the deals will appeal to shoppers like Matt Sexton, 39, who for the first time plans to complete all of his holiday shopping online this year on his iPad tablet computer. Sexton, who plans to spend up to $4,000 this season, already shopped online on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday and found a laptop from Best Buy for $399, a $200 savings, among other deals.
"The descriptions and reviews are so much better online so you can compare and price shop and for the most part get free shipping," said Sexton, who lives in Queens, N.Y., and is a manager at a utility company.
Sexton also said that it's easier to return an online purchase to a physical store than it had been in previous years. "That helps with gifts," he said.
How well retailers fare on Cyber Monday will offer insight into Americans' evolving shopping habits during the holiday shopping season, a time when stores can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue. With the growth in high speed Internet access and the wide use of smartphones and tablets, people are relying less on their work computers to shop than they did when Shop.org, the digital division of trade group The National Retail Federation, introduced the term "Cyber Monday."
"People years ago didn't have ... connectivity to shop online at their homes. So when they went back to work after Thanksgiving they'd shop on the Monday after," said Vicki Cantrell, executive director of Shop.org. "Now they don't need the work computer to be able to do that."
As a result, the period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday has become busy for online shopping as well. Indeed, online sales on Thanksgiving Day, traditionally not a popular day for online shopping, rose 32 percent over last year to $633 million, according to comScore. And online sales on Black Friday were up 26 percent from the same day last year, to $1.042 billion. It was the first time online sales on Black Friday surpassed $1 billion.
For the holiday season-to-date, comScore found that $13.7 billion has been spent online, marking a 16 percent increase over last year. The research firm predicts that online sales will surpass 10 percent of total retail spending this holiday season. The National Retail Federation estimates that overall retail sales in November and December will be up 4.1 percent this year to $586.1 billion
But as other days become popular for online shopping, Cyber Monday may lose some of its cache. To be sure, Cyber Monday hasn't always been the biggest online shopping day. In fact, up until three years ago, that title was historically earned by the last day shoppers could order items with standard shipping rates and get them delivered before Christmas. That day changes every year, but usually falls in late December.
Even though Cyber Monday is expected to be the biggest shopping day this year, industry watchers say it could just be a matter of time before other days take that ranking.
"Of all the benchmark spending days, Thanksgiving is growing at the fastest rate, up 128 percent over the last five years," said Andrew Lipsman, a spokesman with comScore.
PANAMA CITY, Panama — As a real estate agent shows off a model apartment — white leather sectional, stainless steel appliances, open concept, ocean views — in the 59-story Yacht Club Tower, and touts its fitness center and pool deck designed to mimic a ship floating on the sea, he makes a telling statement:
“We tried to emulate the Miami style in this building.”
Approaching this Central American capital from the air, the first thing a traveler notices is a skyline on steroids — gleaming towers jutting skyward like so many pickets on a fence. There’s even a Trump high-rise here — the sail-shaped 72-story Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower. And it’s not uncommon for those active in Miami real estate and development circles to try their luck in Panama or move back and forth between the markets.
Although Miami is nearly 1,200 miles from Panama City, the real estate markets of the two cities share certain similarities. Both went through booms and overbuilding and then had way too many empty condominiums. Wealthy Latin American buyers were a salvation in both cities when traditional segments of the market fell off.
“Now that things are starting to pick up in the States, they are picking up here too. Now that there’s not as much economic uncertainty in the United States, people feel more confident about Panama too,’’ said Morris Hafeitz, general manger of Emporium Developers. He used to work in Miami as a project manager for Odebrecht, the Brazilian conglomerate.
Now Hafeitz is trying to sell Allure at the Park, a 50-story building Emporium developed in Panama City’s Bella Vista neighborhood. The building is chock full of amenities — gym, teenage game room, adult lounge, toddler playroom, pool, squash court and even miniature golf on the roof — but one of its main selling points is that it overlooks a park and two low-rise historic buildings. “In the heart of the city without the hassles of the city,’’ said Hafeitz.
During the boom, many buildings in central Panama City went up practically on top of each other. “In the beginning of the boom there were no regulations on density,’’ said Mauricio Saba, a project manager at Zoom Development in Panama City and another Miami real estate alum. “I have a friend who said he could watch his neighbor’s TV from his balcony.’’
Margarita Sanclemente, a Miami real estate broker with offices in Panama City and New York, has seen it all — the boom, the irrational building and the slowdown — and has stuck with the Panamanian market.
She first ventured into Panama in 2005. The Panamanian real estate market, which had been sluggish for more than a decade, was undergoing a rebirth and Americans, lured by low prices and the low cost of living, were snapping up properties.
The sweet spot was the 1,000 to 1,500-square-foot apartment, sans maid’s quarters, which appealed to retirees from Canada and the United States, she said.
That was back when Americans still believed you couldn’t go wrong with real estate. “Some of the buyers didn’t even see the units. We sold them by phone,’’ Sanclemente said. Condo prices at new buildings such as Destiny averaged $98 to $120 per square foot. She herself bought a 1,000 square foot, one bedroom condo for $123,000 back in 2005.
Participating in the annual Messiah sing-in, always made me feel like the Season had begun. I was a member of the community chorus for many years, under the late Dr. Lee Kjelson. It was a wonderful feeling, singing the words from the Bible that foretold the coming of Jesus. Now, decades later, the Messiah sing-in tradition is still going strong.
At 2:30 p. m. on Dec. 9, the Miami Dade College Kendall Campus will present the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami in the 41st Annual Messiah Sing-in at Old Cutler Presbyterian Church, 14401 Old Cutler Rd. in Palmetto Bay. Dr. Kenneth Boos is the artistic director of this time-honored event, and Robert Gower and John Guarente are the conductors. Jay Brooks is the organist. The singers will be backed by the Alhambra Orchestra, conducted by Alfred Gershfeld.
The program will feature the Chorale in a brief concert featuring original works and familiar classical selections. Following the concert, community singers are invited to join the Chorale in the singing of the Christmas sections of Handel’s beloved Messiah.
Founded by Kjelson, the Civic Chorale has been a vital part of the South Florida musical community since 1970. the group is comprised of students and adult members of the community, who share a love for singing and musical excellence. The Chorale is housed at Miami-Dade College Music, Theater and Dance Department, at the Kendall campus. Rodester Brandon is the chairperson.
Singers are asked to bring their own Messiah score, if possible. A limited number will be available for use on the day of the concert.
This is the way it works: Rehearsal for participating singers will be at 2:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 4 p.m. Admission is free, but a goodwill offering will be collected. This year, Miami food trucks will be at the event.
For more information, contact Phee Price, executive director of the Chorale at 305-490-5930 You may also visit the Chorale’s website at, www.civicchorale.info.
String quartet goes to Washington
Congratulations to Miami pianist Alan Mason and Florida International University’s Amernet String Quartet, who on Dec. 6, will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Mason is an associate professor of music at Barry University and the Amernet String Quartet is in residence at FIU. The musicians will perform in a concert called "From Psalm to Lamentation: A Concert of Cantorial Masterpieces," presented by Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization that was created by Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer and lawyer-turned-artist Robyn Krauthammer to present three concerts a year featuring the music of Jewish composers. .
The Dec. 6 concert will pay homage to the golden age of cantors and to the liturgical music of modern times and will feature Cantor Netanel Hershtik and the Hampton Synagogue Choir.
In addition to the Kennedy Center performance, the concert will be presented on Dec. 2, at New York’s Museum at Eldridge Street.
Mason is the music director of Temple Israel of Greater Miami and has performed at the White House, Lincoln center and Carnegie Hall. He has also performed in Rome, the United Kingdom and Israel. He is a leading accompanist of Jewish music and also serves as the program director and accompanist of the Winter Jewish Music Concert presented annually here in Miami. that concert will be on Jan. 19, and will be broadcast live on the JLTV cable network.
Larry Hagman, best known for playing Dallas villain J.R. Ewing, died Friday morning from complications stemming from his recent battle with cancer.
He was 81 years old.
Video: Larry Hagman Talks 'Dallas', Cancer and Veganism
"Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most," his family said in a statement via The Dallas Morning News. "When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones. It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for. The family requests privacy at this time."
Hagman's rep says the late actor will be cremated.
His Dallas co-stars Linda Gray (who played his wife Sue Ellen) and Patrick Duffy (who played his brother Bobby) were reportedly at his bedside when he died, The Sun is reporting.
"Larry Hagman was my best friend for 35 years. He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew," Gray told ET in a statement. "He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest ... The world was a brighter place because of Larry Hagman."
"Friday I lost one of the greatest friends ever to grace my life. The loneliness is only what is difficult, as Larry's peace and comfort is always what is important to me, now as when he was here," Duffy said in a statement. "He was a fighter in the gentlest way, against his obstacles and for his friends. I wear his friendship with honor."
Victoria Principal, who played Pamela Barnes Ewing, added, "Larry was bigger than life ... on screen and off. He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him. Look out God ... Larry's leading the parade."
Video: J.R. Menaces in New 'Dallas'
Hagman, who also starred as Air Force Captain Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie, was last seen on television in TNT's Dallas reboot, where he returned to play his most well-known character.
"Larry Hagman was a giant, a larger-than-life personality whose iconic performance as J.R. Ewing will endure as one of the most indelible in entertainment history," Warner Bros., Dallas executive producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael M. Robin, and the show's cast and crew said in a statement. "He truly loved portraying this globally recognized character, and he leaves a legacy of entertainment, generosity and grace. Everyone at Warner Bros. and in the Dallas family is deeply saddened by Larry's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time."
"It was truly an honor to share the screen with Mr. Larry Hagman," Dallas reboot star Jesse Metcalfe, who plays Christopher Ewing, said in a statement. "With piercing wit and undeniable charm he brought to life one of the most legendary television characters of all time. But to know the man, however briefly, was to know a passion and dedication for life and acting that was profoundly inspirational."
When a hot-tempered Frank Sinatra wanted to break it off with a beautiful woman, he would order loyal valet Tony Consiglio, a high-school buddy from Hoboken, to do the dirty work.
Though it would be nasty, Consiglio admits in his posthumous book “Sinatra and Me: The Very Good Years” that he had no choice.
During their 50 years together, if something went wrong for Sinatra, Ol’ Blue Eyes would say to Consiglio, “You have a problem.”
One night at the Claridge in Atlantic City, Frank was with a gorgeous young actress, Consiglio writes. But when the talk turned to politics, she rubbed Sinatra the wrong way.
The lady retired to her room to change into something more comfortable. Sinatra told Tony to deliver dinner — a plate of spareribs — to the woman with a special instruction.
“I went to her room and knocked on the door. She opened the door wearing a beautiful light chiffon dressing gown over a transparent white negligee. She looked beautiful and ready for a long night. I told her that I was sorry to bother her, and that Frank had insisted that I deliver the spareribs.
“When she reached out for the plate I hit her in the face with the ribs, sauce and all. I apologized again and went back to the suite.
“Frank asked, ‘Did you do what I told you?’ I nodded yes.”
Consiglio, who died in 2008, remained with Sinatra for 50 years, from their boyhood days of the 1930s to the crooner’s heyday of the ’30s and ’40s, to his waning years in the 1970s.
“Frank never had to ask where his tuxedo was or why his shoes were not polished. He knew that when I was around, all that he had to do was remember the words to his songs. I took care of the rest, and I enjoyed it.”
The rib incident wasn’t the only time the slavishly devoted Consiglio had to clean up the crooner’s nasty breakups.
After his divorce from Ava Gardner, Sinatra fell in love with classical ballerina Juliet Prowse and wanted to marry her with the caveat that she would give up show business. She said no.
A few days later, Consiglio dutifully turned up at her suite in the St. Moritz Hotel with a big box.
He watched her open the gift from Sinatra. It was a stunning $12,000 full-length white mink coat.
Consiglio recalled, “Alongside the coat was a note: ‘This is your swan song. Frank.’ That was all it said.”
After one particular drag-out fight with his then wife, Hollywood beauty Gardner in the Hampshire Hotel in New York City, Sinatra turned to Consiglio.
“Tony, you have a problem. Ava threw her wedding ring out the window, and she feels bad.’
They were 14 stories up. While Sinatra and Gardner had make-up sex, Consiglio searched the sidewalk with a flashlight for hours. He finally found it by a fire hydrant. All Frank said was “Great.”
Consiglio, was known as “The Clam” for keeping his lips zipped. He was always on call, and he always had in his pocket $10,000 to $20,000 of Sinatra’s cash to cater to his every whim.
Loyalty had no limits if you were a pal or part of the inner circle, but Sinatra liked to keep a very tight leash. One time at the Sands Hotel, Consiglio was spotted watching Nick the Greek, a well known gambler, shoot craps. But Sinatra didn’t want him around The Greek and ordered him back to his room, even though he wasn’t working.
Consiglio, tail between his legs, obeyed.
“Within a half an hour, a tall blonde knocked on my door. ‘I’m here to keep you company and make sure you don’t go back to the craps table,’ ” she said.
Consiglio didn’t leave his room for three days.
cfagen@nypost.com
A second administration of President Barack Obama will be forced to revisit the issue of subsidies for renewable energy and, with it, those for electric vehicles. Despite the millions of dollars spent on government incentives, marketing and promotion, sales of fully electric cars are well below projected targets. Investment in vehicle charging infrastructure also has fallen victim to budget cutbacks, limited usage and concern over the return on money spent.
Indeed, only last month, a leading automotive battery manufacturer, A123 Systems, was forced to declare bankruptcy. And the founder and CEO of Better Place, Shai Agassi, whose company (in which I was employed) promotes all-electric vehicles with batteries that can be both charged and replaced, was himself replaced due to low sales figures and high capital expenses arising from the deployment of battery-switching stations.
As a result, the question is now being raised: Are we again bearing witness to the death of the electric car?
Any such conclusion over the longer term may be premature. With declining costs and gradually improving technologies that can extend battery range beyond its current limitations, the electric car continues to hold promise. Rising gasoline prices and potential disruptions in oil supply favor alternative sources of energy.
To achieve mass market adoption, however, cars running on electricity — or any other alternative energy source — must satisfy the three “C’s”: cost, convenience and connectivity.
Few buyers are able or willing to pay more for a car running on clean energy unless the upfront cost of the car roughly equals or is below its carbon-powered alternative. Advertised savings over time in powering a car using alternative “fuels” so far have failed to persuade the average driver to buy. And while government subsidies play a role in reducing initial costs to consumers, such incentives so far have not been sufficient to attract large numbers of drivers to switch to electric vehicles.
Cars driven solely or partially by electricity or other alternative energies also must be at least as convenient as those powered exclusively by internal combustion engines. Drivers appear unwilling to sacrifice the expected hundreds of miles in driving range between refuelings. Likewise, drivers demand refueling times equal to what they are accustomed — about five minutes at the gasoline station.
Further, there must be adequate infrastructure in place to enable large numbers of drivers to connect to an alternative energy source before that source can be widely adopted. While a scattering of drivers simultaneously connecting to a power grid may not have much impact, large numbers of drivers doing so can cause major power outages that escalate absent the real-time balancing of energy loads across the network. Moreover, the environmental impact of the connected cycle between car and infrastructure, often referred to as the “well-to-wheel” balance, has to result in less pollution overall for alternative energy vehicles to achieve significant market traction.
Until the fully electric car can satisfy all three C’s, any assessment of projected vehicle sales must reflect a variety of energy sourcing options, both traditional and alternative, all competing for market share.
Gasoline and diesel likely will remain the predominant source of energy in the foreseeable future for new car buyers, with hybrid vehicles that run on both petroleum and alternative energy sources taking an increasingly larger share of the market. Although more costly than pure gasoline-driven cars, hybrids do offer a more environmentally friendly solution and provide the driving range demanded by car buyers.
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