Apple drags on S&P, Nasdaq; Dell jumps after report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower on Monday as worries over demand for Apple products drove down its shares and investors braced for earnings disappointments.

Running counter to that was Dell Inc's stock which jumped 13 percent to about a five-month high at $12.29 after Bloomberg reported the No. 3 personal computer maker is in talks with private equity firms to go private. Dell's gains offset some tech-sector weakness.

Tech heavyweight Apple lost 3.6 percent to $501.75 and was the biggest weight on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 <.ndx> indexes after reports the company has cut orders for LCD screens and other parts for the iPhone 5 this quarter due to weak demand. The stock hit a session low of $498.51, the first dip below $500 since February 16.

"With Apple, it seems as if the sentiment has shifted from this being the one stock that everybody wanted to own to people beginning to look at it as a company (whose) business is slowing down somewhat," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer of North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago.

Adding to investor unease, fourth-quarter earnings kick into high gear this week. Analyst estimates for the quarter have fallen sharply since October. S&P 500 earnings growth is now seen up just 1.9 percent from a year ago, Thomson Reuters data showed.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 18.89 points, or 0.14 percent, at 13,507.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 1.37 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,470.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 8.13 points, or 0.26 percent, at 3,117.50.

Apple suppliers also lost ground, with Cirrus Logic off 9.4 percent at $28.62 and Qualcomm down 1 percent at $64.24.

The Dow fared better than the other two indexes, helped in part by Hewlett-Packard shares, which rose 4.9 percent to $16.95. The stock, up early in the session after JPMorgan upgraded its rating on the shares and raised its price target to $21 from $15, added to gains following the Dell report.

Tech has "become the arena for private equity or other capital-restructuring type of maneuvers because of the way their valuations and their balance sheets are," Kuby said.

Appliance and electronics retailer Hhgregg Inc slumped 5.7 percent to $7.44 after the company cut its same-store sales forecast for the full year.

Earnings reports are due this week from Goldman Sachs , Bank of America , Intel and General Electric , among other companies. Third-quarter reports ended with a gain of just 0.1 percent, the worst for an S&P 500 profit period in three years, according to Thomson Reuters data.

President Barack Obama warned Congress at a news conference on Monday that a refusal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling next month could mean a government shutdown and trigger economic chaos.

S&P futures had little reaction to comments after the bell by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who urged lawmakers to lift the country's borrowing limit to avoid a debt default.

Volume was roughly 5.6 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the 2012 average daily closing volume of about 6.45 billion.

Decliners were about even with advancers on the NYSE while decliners outpaced advancers on the Nasdaq by about 12 to 11.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry, Nick Zieminski and Andrew Hay)

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India Ink: Government Quells Maoist Rebellion in West Bengal

KOLKATA —Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has often called the conflict against the Communist Party of India (Maoist) the greatest internal security threat that India faces. With some 6,000 dead in India’s heartland since 2005 alone, it has certainly been one of the most violent.

Mr. Singh’s lingering inability to quell the bloodshed through a “two-pronged strategy” of economic development and armed counterinsurgency has led to repeated howls of protest; from the left for human rights abuses committed by ill-trained troops, and from the right for not employing a heavier hand to crush the rebellion. Traditionally protected by tribal populations, which have struggled to take part in India’s booming economic growth, the mobile Maoists evaded disjointed state-by-state responses while traversing India’s heavily forested central states. Recently the conflict took a particularly gruesome turn, when the body of a constable was discovered in Jharkhand, with a bomb sewn into the abdomen.

But a surprising thing happened at the start of this decade. After years of feeling one step behind the insurgents, the conflict’s momentum has suddenly shifted to the government’s favor. This was nowhere more evident than in the state of West Bengal. In 2010, more than 400 people died here as the state became the epicenter of the long-running insurgency. However, according to newly released figures collected by the Institute for Conflict Management, a research organization based in New Delhi, there were a mere four Maoist-related deaths in West Bengal in 2012 – a 99 percent drop in two years. While Maoist violence across India has fallen by more than 65 percent during the period, in West Bengal it has been all but eliminated.

How did the state turn things around so dramatically – and so quickly? Inspector General Vivek Sahay, who leads the Central Reserve Police Force in West Bengal, is in charge of the state’s anti-Maoist operations. Mr. Sahay believes that a greater number of officers available to combat the insurgency was essential to the turnaround. However, he said renewed attention to developing the building blocks of governance was just as important in causing the turning point as any military or strategic gains.

By weakening the insurgency in West Bengal, the government has been able to re-establish a constructive presence in rural areas, something Mr. Sahay sees as crucial. “Our success can’t be judged merely by kills or arrests,” he said. “It should be judged by the ability of other (government) departments to spend, to ensure that there is no fresh escalation of violence.”

Mr. Sahay is speaking about the second leg of the government’s strategy, highlighting the Central Reserve Police Force’s mandate to create an environment secure enough for rural development programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and other service-minded efforts to operate. By directly engaging with citizens, the government hopes that programs like these are the key weapon in the battle to win rural hearts and minds. Meanwhile, members of Mr. Singh’s government are daring to project confidence for the first time, lauding the “two-pronged strategy” as central to its success.

Still, backroom dealings may have also played a role. The Trinamool Congress, West Bengal’s current ruling party, has been repeatedly accused of aligning with the Maoists to gain rural support before the 2011 elections that brought it to power. The Trinamool Congress’s electoral rival, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), alleged that the chief minster of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, orchestrated a cease-fire deal with the Maoists before elections in exchange for rural support. Ms.Banerjee denies the deal, but her colleague, Kabir Suman , recently gave the claims renewed validity, claiming that they would have lost several key rural constituencies (and perhaps even the election) without the Maoists’ help.

Yet this alleged alliance may actually have served as the inadvertent breaking point of the insurgency. After the Maoists broke a cease-fire by assassinating several Trinamool Congress politicians, members of the Central Reserve Police Force used information gathered from pre-election mingling to kill the then-operational head of the Maoists, Kishenji.

A combination of secret surrender packages and promises to other former Maoist leaders of government jobs – mainly spying on their former comrades – have decimated Maoist ranks, leaving few capable enough to lead guerilla battles. Ms.Banerjee has cashed in on these victories, and in presiding over a populist government that has actively tried to extend development to its rural base, has made more concrete attempts to weaken the appeal of the Maoists than any West Bengal chief minister in a generation.

Will this combination of military successes and new promises of rural development finally mark the end of the 45-year old Maoist movement? Strategic successes by state and federal forces and a supportive political climate in West Bengal have quelled much of the worst violence, but few see permanent victory as being just around the corner. Even so, most recognize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to win back rural populations who feel that their government has repeatedly failed them. As Mr. Sahay warns, “it would be a colossal blunder if we let it slip.”

Jason Miklian and Kristian Hoelscher are researchers at the Peace Research Institute Oslo in Norway working primarily on Maoist conflict in India.

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E-Ink on a Smartphone? This Android Phone Has 2 Displays

Times Up

You can use the rear of the YotaPhone as a clock, or to display wallpapers.

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: Hands On With Pebble, the Internet’s Favorite Smart Watch]

LAS VEGAS — What if your phone had two displays? Announced in mid-December, YotaPhone aims to change how people use their smartphones by bringing together a full-color LCD display on one side of the phone and an e-ink display on the other.

I caught up with Yota Device’s Vladislav Martynov at CES to give the phone a closer look.

[More from Mashable: 5 Chinese Tech Brands You’ll Be Hearing From in 2013]

In essence, the two displays on the handset each have their own unique purpose. The front display is used just as you might your traditional smartphone screen to run apps, browse the web or watch videos.

The rear display on the YotaPhone is what makes it stand out. An electronic paper display, it shows content you push to it from the front of the device. Less for interacting with and more for reference information, you can use the display for a map to your next destination, a clock, or a place to keep the boarding pass for your flight handy.

Martynov showed me a few applications designed specifically to use with the screen as well, including an app that shows low long you’ve kept a particular goal, such as not smoking. The company plans to release an API for other developers to make applications that take advantage of the dual-screen functionality as well.

Running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Martynov says that he plans to keep Android as vanilla as possible, something he feels is very important. He also wants to make sure that the phone is on-par with high-end Android smartphones, spec-wise. The current iteration uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8960 platform, and Corning’s 3D Gorilla Glass. It’s also a multi-band LTE handset that can run on LTE networks anywhere in the world.

YotaPhone is expected to go one sale during the second half of 2013.

What uses do you see for an e-ink second screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comment.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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It's Halle Berry vs. Eva Longoria and the Thigh's the Limit

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01/13/2013 at 11:25 PM ET

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We could call it pulling an Angelina, but at this point, lots of stars have flashed lots of legs on lots of red carpets — and Halle Berry and Eva Longoria are two of the latest.

The stars tied for the “highest slit” award at the Golden Globes Sunday night, beating fellow risk-takers Lea Michele, Miranda Kerr and Katharine McPhee and giving all of us quite the eyeful. Berry gave the goods while posing in her Versace gown, while Longoria (in Emilio Pucci) made her big reveal as she walked toward the Beverly Hilton. So whose leg flashing did you like better? Vote in our poll below!

PHOTOS: FIND OUT WHICH STARS MADE THE BEST DRESSED LIST

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.

The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest flu seasons in recent memory.

The latest numbers do show that the flu surpassed an "epidemic" threshold last week. That is based on deaths from pneumonia and influenza in 122 U.S. cities. However, it's not unusual — the epidemic level varies at different times of the year, and it was breached earlier this flu season, in October and November.

And there's a hint that the flu season may already have peaked in some spots, like in the South. Still, officials there and elsewhere are bracing for more sickness

In Ohio, administrators at Miami University are anxious that a bug that hit employees will spread to students when they return to the Oxford campus next week.

"Everybody's been sick. It's miserable," said Ritter Hoy, a spokeswoman for the 17,000-student school.

Despite the early start, health officials say it's not too late to get a flu shot. The vaccine is considered a good — though not perfect — protection against getting really sick from the flu.

Flu was widespread in 47 states last week, up from 41 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The only states without widespread flu were California, Mississippi and Hawaii.

The number of hard-hit states fell to 24 from 29, where larger numbers of people were treated for flu-like illness. Now off that list: Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina in the South, the first region hit this flu season.

Recent flu reports included holiday weeks when some doctor's offices were closed, so it will probably take a couple more weeks to get a better picture, CDC officials said Friday. Experts say so far say the season looks moderate.

"Only time will tell how moderate or severe this flu season will be," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said Friday in a teleconference with reporters.

The government doesn't keep a running tally of adult deaths from the flu, but estimates that it kills about 24,000 people in an average year. Nationally, 20 children have died from the flu this season.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older. Since the swine flu epidemic in 2009, vaccination rates have increased in the U.S., but more than half of Americans haven't gotten this year's vaccine.

Nearly 130 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed this year, and at least 112 million have been used. Vaccine is still available, but supplies may have run low in some locations, officials said.

To find a shot, "you may have to call a couple places," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, who tracks the flu in Iowa.

In midtown Manhattan, Hyrmete Sciuto got a flu shot Friday at a drugstore. She skipped it in recent years, but news reports about the flu this week worried her.

During her commute from Edgewater, N.J., by ferry and bus, "I have people coughing in my face," she said. "I didn't want to risk it this year."

The vaccine is no guarantee, though, that you won't get sick. On Friday, CDC officials said a recent study of more than 1,100 people has concluded the current flu vaccine is 62 percent effective. That means the average vaccinated person is 62 percent less likely to get a case of flu that sends them to the doctor, compared to people who don't get the vaccine. That's in line with other years.

The vaccine is reformulated annually, and this year's is a good match to the viruses going around.

The flu's early arrival coincided with spikes in flu-like illnesses caused by other bugs, including a new norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, or what is commonly known as "stomach flu." Those illnesses likely are part of the heavy traffic in hospital and clinic waiting rooms, CDC officials said.

Europeans also are suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo have also reported increasing flu.

Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.

Most people with flu have a mild illness. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.

Some shortages have been reported for children's liquid Tamiflu, a prescription medicine used to treat flu. But health officials say adult Tamiflu pills are available, and pharmacists can convert those to doses for children.

___

Associated Press writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati, Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.

___

Online:

CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

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Stock index futures trade flat to higher

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent at 0844 GMT.

Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 futures were unchanged.

European shares were also flat, with the FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> just shy of a two-year high. The pan-European index has risen almost 3 percent since the start of the year.

The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday. Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent, easing to about 7 percent in 2014. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at 2100 GMT. [ID:nL4N0AJ1JA]

Americans are beginning to feel the pinch from austerity measures. Paychecks across the country have shrunk over the last week due to higher federal tax rates, and workers say they are cutting back on spending.

Apple Inc has almost halved its order with suppliers of LCD panels for the iPhone 5 in the current quarter due to weak demand, Japanese daily Nikkei reported on Monday.

Oracle Corp released an update to its Java software for surfing the Web on Sunday, which security experts said fails to protect PCs from attack by hackers intent on committing cyber crimes.

Transocean Ltd said billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn bought a 1.56 percent stake in the offshore rig contractor and is looking to increase his holding.

Japan Airlines Co (JAL) said on Sunday that a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet undergoing checks in Tokyo following a fuel leak at Boston airport last week had leaked fuel during tests earlier in the day.

Pickup truck sales are expected to outpace the broader U.S. auto market this year helped by a recovering housing market and a slew of new models from the three big U.S. automakers, executives and analysts said on Sunday.

American International Group Inc has filed a lawsuit against a vehicle created by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to help bail out the insurer, in a bid to preserve its right to sue Bank of America Corp and other issuers of mortgage debt that went sour.

Bank of America Corp directors have reached a $62.5 million settlement to resolve investor claims over the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, a person familiar with the matter said, after a federal judge expressed reservations about an earlier version of the accord.

JPMorgan Chase & Co's board is expected to dock the 2012 bonuses of Chief Executive James Dimon and another top executive because of the "London Whale" trading debacle, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the company.

The first big earnings week of 2013 features major banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co, as well as online retailer eBay on Wednesday. Thursday's reports include Citigroup, Bank of America and chip maker Intel . General Electric, the largest U.S. conglomerate, is due to post fourth-quarter earnings on Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 17.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to 13,488.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dipped 0.07 points to 1,472.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> added 3.88 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,125.64.

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by John Stonestreet)

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Q&A: Scramble for vaccine as flu season heats up

WASHINGTON (AP) — Missed flu-shot day at the office last fall? And all those "get vaccinated" ads? A scramble for shots is under way as late-comers seek protection from a miserable flu strain already spreading through much of the country.

Federal health officials said Friday that there is still some flu vaccine available and it's not too late to benefit from it. But people may have to call around to find a clinic with shots still on the shelf, or wait a few days for a new shipment.

"We're hearing of spot shortages," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Colorado offers an example. Kaiser Permanente, which has 535,000 members in the state, stopped giving flu shots this week. But it expected to resume vaccinations when new shipments arrive, expected this weekend.

Some questions and answers about flu vaccines:

Q: Are we running out of vaccine?

A: It's January — we shouldn't have a lot left. The traditional time to get vaccinated is in the fall, so that people are protected before influenza starts spreading.

Indeed, manufacturers already have shipped nearly 130 million doses to doctors' offices, drugstores and wholesalers, out of the 135 million doses they had planned to make for this year's flu season. At least 112 million have been used so far.

The nation's largest manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, said Friday that it still has supplies of two specialty vaccines, a high-dose shot for seniors, and an under-the-skin shot for certain adults, available for immediate shipment. But it also is working to eke out a limited supply of its traditional shots — some doses that it initially hadn't packaged into syringes, said spokesman Michael Szumera. They should be available late this month.

And MedImmune, the maker of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, said it has 620,000 extra doses available.

Q: Can't they just make more?

A: No. Flu vaccine is complicated to brew, with supplies for each winter made months in advance and at the numbers expected to sell. Although health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccination for nearly everybody, last year 52 percent of children and just 39 percent of adults were immunized. Most years, leftover doses have to be thrown out.

Q: Should I still hunt for a vaccine?

A: It does take two weeks for full protection to kick in. Still, health officials say it's a good idea to be vaccinated even this late, especially for older people, young children and anyone with medical conditions such as heart or lung diseases that put them at high risk of dangerous flu complications. Flu season does tend to be worst in January and February, but it can run through March.

Q: I heard that a new flu strain is spreading. Does the vaccine really work?

A: Flu strains constantly evolve, the reason that people need an updated vaccine every year. But the CDC says this year's is a good match to the types that are circulating, including a new kind of the tough H3N2 strain. That family tends to be harsher than other flu types — and health officials warned last fall that it was coming, and meant this winter would likely be tougher than last year's flu season, the mildest on record.

Q: But don't some people get vaccinated and still get sick?

A: Flu vaccine never is 100 percent effective, and unfortunately it tends to protect younger people better than older ones. But the CDC released a study Friday showing that so far this year, the vaccine appears 62 percent effective, meaning it's working about as well as it has in past flu seasons.

While that may strike some people as low, Frieden said it's the best protection available. "It's a glass 62 percent full," he said. "It's well worth the effort."

Q: What else can I do?

A: Wash your hands often, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Viruses can spread by hand, not just through the air. Also, cough in your elbow, not your hand. When you're sick, protect others by staying home.

And people who are in those high-risk groups should call a doctor if they develop symptoms, added CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. They might be prescribed antiviral medication, which works best if given within the first 48 hours of symptoms.

___

AP Medical Writers Lindsey Tanner and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.

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IHT Rendezvous: Florence and Its Men's Wear Future

FLORENCE — Mayor Matteo Renzi spelled out a message that could be applied to men’s fashion as much as to this city of ancient buildings of historic beauty.

“We love our past — but the real challenge is to love our future,” said Mr. Renzi, adding that Florence today is a city of division that needs a vision.

The story from Pitti Uomo, the twice-yearly men’s fashion fair, was more upbeat: On the closing day Friday, Raffaello Napoleoni, chief executive of Pitti Immagine and its many cultural and commercial activities, said that although there was a slight fall in Italian buyers due to the spluttering economy, international visitors were up by just over 5 percent.

The powerful success of men’s wear in emerging markets since the new millennium represents both solace and a dilemma. At the trade fair, buyers are looking for the essence of men’s wear Italian-style: fine (but often innovative) fabrics, dynamic cut and an overall sense of luxury and fine living.

As the Caruso brand put it at the fair, in its witty presentation of men of different ethnic types carrying boards that said in their languages: “In men’s wear, do as the Italians do.”

Thoughtful fashion companies know that they cannot live off classics without renewing them, and that fashion has to have its roots in its heritage and tradition.

Perhaps the story was best expressed at Brunello Cucinelli, not just by the painterly mixes of blue from inky dark to pale winter sky, and by the fabric research that gave a new light weight to classics, but to the photographs on the wall. They were behind the tactile tweeds and softly fitted jackets and showed different generations interacting: grandmother and granddaughter and the male equivalent.

“I want people to think about the family liaisons,” said Mr. Cucinelli, whose clothes could be defined as for all ages, with the wearer adapting to suit.

Another way of looking at the current picture is that what once seemed old now feels fresh again. Erik Bjerkesjo, in his first runway show, held in the gilded salon of the Polimoda fashion school, actually included black satin that had been hoarded by his grandmother in the 1930s and used the tailoring skills he learned from his mother. The combination of the designer’s Swedish origins, the films of Ingmar Bergman and shoes inspired by ice skating, were an exemplary mix of imagination and experience, woven into modern design.

The Pitti fair, with its overwhelming choices of clothing types, always seems to hit the heart of the matter — as in a homage in the central forecourt to books, those dear departing paper versions with titles like “The Great Civilization” or “Cathedrals of the World” — all abandoned in a heap on the ground.

But the clothes on offer were not nostalgic, with rich, bright colors prevailing for winter 2013.

There is also a dry-eyed, even enthusiastic, acceptance of online buying, as opposed to brick-and-mortar shopping.

Curating creativity was the subject of a discussion initiated by Pitti Immagine with thecorner.com, the luxury online site powered by the YOOX Group.

As if providing the answer to every man’s (and maybe woman’s) dream, the fashion writer Angelo Flaccavento set out to create a unique and “ideal” wardrobe, choosing iconic pieces from different labels: shirts in the family tradition from G. Inglese, a Mackintosh raincoat or a Borsalino hat.

The discussion included editorial ways of styling, the influence of bloggers, and the power of images taken from the “catwalk” of the street. It all suggested that while absorbing the new media and personal sartorial visions, curating a closet is key to looking and feeling good.

Thinking of the future, not just its overwhelming Florentine past, Pitti Immagine has always looked outside its own Italian comfort zone.

While Ermanno Scervino came back from Milan to his native Florence to show his women’s and men’s wear in the famous Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio, he represented the more classic and elegant style of Italy, with beautifully crafted clothes. The only wild shot was in the digital lighting reflected on Giorgio Vasari’s monumental battle frescoes.

By contrast, Andrea Pompilio made an overeager exploration of pattern and color at his show in the Stazione Leopolda, although when the women’s wear switched to men’s, the clothes were often charming. There were smart mixes of colors and a sense of a down-to-earth world where the men carried bags filled with fresh produce.

Kenzo, the Paris-based brand founded by a Japanese designer, went back to its Asian roots with its current creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.

“We decided to approach the jungle — and what is above us,” said Mr. Leon, referring to the puffs of white cloud printed on cyberspace blue that opened the collection, while the show’s venue above a food market represented the importance the Asian world gives to food.

The result was sportswear with a puffy feel, tempered by sharp geometric lines; or streamlined coats and suits where the clouds, perhaps in red on black or red with blue, brought an airy feeling to more formal clothes. The show suggested that the designers are giving the Kenzo brand a new aesthetic, touched with Asian vision but with an international attitude.

For Maison Kitsuné, a Paris-based company founded by the music producer Gildas Loaëc and the Japanese architect Masaya Kuroki, the show — rather than the clothes — was the focus. The music included two Scandinavian singers (well suited to a Pitti W women’s season promoting designers from Copenhagen fashion week) and also Citizens!, a London band whose music was as hip and modern as their suits were from a 1950s past.

With music loud enough to rock the frescoed ceiling of the ancient palazzo, the Maison Kitsuné “happening” offered just the required meld of glorious past with cool future.

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Softbank to sell stake in eAccess to Samsung, others: source

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Softbank Corp is in final talks to sell its stake in eAccess Ltd, representing around 67 percent of voting rights, to Samsung Electronics Co and 10 others, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sale would ease concerns that Softbank could hold a monopoly on spectrum allocation designated by Japan’s Communications Ministry, the source said.

Softbank, which is awaiting regulatory approval to buy a 70 percent stake in No. 3 U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel Corp , bought Japanese rival eAccess last October as it stepped up competition with its nearest competitor KDDI Corp .

Softbank turned eAccess into a wholly owned subsidiary on January 1 after a share exchange, using 220 billion yen ($ 2.47 billion) worth of its own shares.

After dividing eAccess shares into voting and non-voting shares, Softbank is considering reducing its ownership of eAccess voting rights to less than one-third, the source said.

Non-voting shares make up around 1 percent of overall shares. The sale of eAccess’ voting rights would total several billion yen.

Other than Samsung, likely buyers include Sweden’s LM Ericsson , Orix Corp , the source said, adding that the eAccess voting shares would be divided between companies into hundreds of millions of yen each.

Softbank said on Saturday the news was not announced by the company and that it continued to mull options regarding its share holdings.

The Nikkei business newspaper reported earlier on Saturday that Softbank was also considering selling the eAccess stake to Finland’s Nokia Siemens Networks and five Japanese leasing companies.

Softbank cutting its eAccess stake would allow the company to work around the Communications Ministry’s policy on spectrum allocation to telecom service providers and avoid suggestions of any monopoly, but still allow Softbank or eAccess to seek spectrum.

Under the policy, either a parent company, or one of its units in which it owns more than 33 percent, can apply for an allocation of spectrum.

Softbank will remain the top shareholder in eAccess but lose veto power after the sale, which is expected to close by end January and raise several billion yen, the Nikkei daily said.

(Additional reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bangalore, Writing by Mari Saito; Editing by Michael Perry)

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Britney & Jason's Love Story in 6 Sweet Shots

From a snuggle in the surf to a surprise engagement, see the former couple's most romantic moments

Credit: Kevin Mazur/Wireimage

Updated: Friday Jan 11, 2013 | 07:00 AM EST
By: Cara Lynn Shultz

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