China approves $157 bln infrastructure spending

China approves $157 bln infrastructure spending

By Pete Sweeney and Langi Chiang
SHANGHAI/BEIJING | Fri Sep 7, 2012

(Reuters) - China has given the green light for 60 infrastructure projects worth more than $150 billion as it looks to energise an economy mired in its worst slowdown in three years, fuelling hopes the world's growth engine may get a lift from the fourth quarter.

Shares and steel futures jumped on the plans to build highways, ports and airport runways, among the most ambitious unveiled in China this year, which analysts say signalled growing intent to bolster economic growth as the country's once-a-decade leadership change looms.

MTV Video Music Awards: Rihanna stuns with long gown and short, short hair!

MTV Video Music Awards: Rihanna stuns with long gown and short, short hair!
Riri showed her chops with a revved-up performance of 'Cockiness (Love It)' and 'We Found Love,' later winning the big award — Video of the Year

BY ERIK ORTIZ / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Statuesque siren Rihanna stunned the MTV Video Music Awards Thursday night with a shocking pixie ‘do she exposed on the red carpet moments before kicking off the show.
But the 24-year-old Barbados beauty — who wound up taking home Video of the Year — obscured her

Apple cuts memory chip order to Samsung for new iPhone: Source

Apple cuts memory chip order to Samsung for new iPhone: Source

Reuters, September 07, 2012

Apple Inc has reduced its orders for memory chips for its new iPhone from its main supplier and competitor Samsung Electronics Co, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
South Korea's Samsung is a core Apple supplier, producing micro processors, flat screens and memory chips both dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and NAND memory chips for the iPhone, iPad and iPod.

Glencore Raises Offer for Xstrata in Surprise Move

Glencore Raises Offer for Xstrata in Surprise Move

Published: Friday, 7 Sep 2012
By: CNBC.com with Reuters
Glencore did an about-turn on Friday, raising its offer for miner Xstrata to 3.05 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share, from 2.8 earlier.
The move followed high drama on Friday when Glencore [GLEN-LN 373.90 -18.45 (-4.7%) ] suspended a shareholder vote on its $34 billion takeover bid for Xstrata [XTA-LN 1047.50 68.50 (+7%) ].

Shares of Xstrata jumped nearly 9 percent after news of the amended deal crossed the wires.

Under the new deal terms, Glencore's CEO Ivan Glasenberg would become the CEO of the combined company rather than Xstrata CEO, Mick Davis. The deal would also be structured as a takeover, rather than as a merger.

Quakes in southwest China

Quakes in southwest China kill dozens, damage 20,000 homes

BEIJING | Fri Sep 7, 2012
(Reuters) - Two shallow 5.6 magnitude earthquakes hit southwestern China on Friday, killing at least 50 people and forcing tens of thousands of people from damaged buildings, state media said.

The quakes struck near the border of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, the first one at 11:19 a.m. (0319 GMT) and the second one about 45 minutes later, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

About 150 people were injured and 20,000 homes damaged, the official Xinhua news agency said.

US faces deadline on Haqqani network decision

US faces deadline on Haqqani network decision

By BRADLEY KLAPPER - Associated Press
2012/9/7
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration faces a weekend deadline to decide whether the Pakistan-based Haqqani network should be declared a terrorist organization, a complicated political decision as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and pushes for a reconciliation pact to end more than a decade of warfare.
Enraged by a string of high-profile attacks on U.S. and NATO troops, Congress has ordered Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to give her verdict by Sunday. U.S. officials say there are disagreements within the administration over what to decide.
The U.S. already has placed sanctions on many Haqqani leaders and is targeting its members militarily but has held back from formally designating the al-Qaida-linked network a terrorist group amid concerns about hampering peace efforts in Afghanistan and U.S. relations with Pakistan.

Romney vs. Obama: For the Economy, It Really Doesn’t Matter Who Wins, Ritholtz Says By Morgan Korn | Daily Ticker

Romney vs. Obama: For the Economy, It Really Doesn’t Matter Who Wins, Ritholtz Says
By Morgan Korn | Daily Ticker
2012/9/6

From now until Nov. 6, voters will be hearing a lot about the economy. President Barack Obama will be defending his economic record over the last four years. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be touting his proposals to revive the economy. But how much control do presidents really have over the economy? A president's economic record could be tarnished the moment he (or she) moves into the White House and one's economic legacy could be a factor of well…luck.

NFL donates $30 million to National Institutes of Health

NFL donates $30 million to National Institutes of Health

National Football League
Published: Sept. 5, 2012 at 09:07 a.m. Updated: Sept. 5, 2012
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE GRANTS
$30 MILLION IN UNRESTRICTED FUNDING TO THE
FOUNDATION FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH
Focus on Advancing Science and Medical Understanding
of Brain Injuries

The National Football League will provide $30 million in funding for medical research to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL announced today.

The unrestricted gift is the NFL's single-largest donation to any organization in the league's 92-year history and will be overseen by The National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Tom Cruise, Scientology deny 2004 'auditions' for a girlfriend

Tom Cruise, Scientology deny 2004 'auditions' for a girlfriend
By the CNN Wire Staff
Wed September 5, 2012
(CNN) -- A representative for Scientologist Tom Cruise on Tuesday derided an article that contends the Church of Scientology embarked on a secret project to find the actor a girlfriend following his 2001 divorce from actress Nicole Kidman.
"Vanity Fair's story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources,'" said Bert Fields, Cruise's attorney. "It's long, boring and false."
The church also weighed in, describing the October issue article by special correspondent Maureen Orth as "hogwash."
Ex-Scientologist: Cruise was top church recruit
Vanity Fair magazine, which provided a preview of the article on its website, said Shelly Miscavige, wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, headed an "auditioning" process in 2004.
Actresses who were Scientologists were called in for other reasons and

Andy Warhol - Andy Warhol: Marlon Brando Print Expected To Sell For $20 Million

Andy Warhol - Andy Warhol: Marlon Brando Print Expected To Sell For $20 Million

06 September 2012

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York has announced that some of his work would go under the hammer at Christie's in November, reports The Telegraph. The pieces will be sold through Christie's auction house to raise money for its endowment.
The first piece to go under the hammer is a silk screen of Marlon Brando from the movie, The Wild One.

Showbiz is politics and politics is showbiz

Showbiz is politics and politics is showbiz

JOHN DOYLE
Published Thursday, Sep. 06 2012
The Globe and Mail
Executives at MTV have promised that the MTV Video Music Awards will end on time tonight and not overlap with president Barack Obama’s closing speech at the Democratic National Convention.

This news was delivered first not by any media outlet covering the showbiz racket, but by Politico, the U.S. political journalism outfit that covers U.S politics relentlessly. Because it matters, politically and strategically, if the vast audience for MTV Video Music Awards (MuchMusic, 8 p.m.) is distracted from Obama’s speech. And because the Democrats hope that Obama is, to the MTV audience, as charismatic and

OECD says global growth slowed by European crisis; recession ‘taking hold’ in eurozone

OECD says global growth slowed by European crisis; recession ‘taking hold’ in eurozone

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, September 6
PARIS — Europe’s debt crisis is pushing the 17-country eurozone toward recession and dragging down the global economy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.

Even growth in traditional economic powerhouse Germany is slowing, and the OECD’s interim assessment said that Europe’s largest economy could slip into recession by the end of the year.
“The negative elements of the global economy ... stemming mostly from Europe are there and they are somewhat stronger than they used to be a few months ago,” OECD Chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan told reporters.

Robbers in bizarre Bank of America heist on the r

Robbers in bizarre Bank of America heist on the run

September 6, 2012
Authorities are searching for two robbers in a bizarre heist at an East L.A. Bank of America.

A bank manager said she was leaving her Huntington Park home for work Wednesday morning when two masked men snatched her in her garage. They strapped what they told her was an explosive device to her chest and instructed her to drive to her bank and give them money.

Authorities said the manager complied, taking a bag filled with cash to the back of the bank, where the robbers grabbed it and sped away in a car.

Cowboys pass gut check with opening win over Giants

Cowboys pass gut check with opening win over Giants

2012-09-06
By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Before heading back to the training room following the Dallas Cowboys' upset victory at MetLife Stadium on Wednesday night, Jason Witten turned to the last couple of reporters remaining from the pack and pointed to a typed quote that he had athletic-taped to his locker.
It was something the All-Pro tight end received during a visit to Navy Seals specialists recently during the Cowboys' summer getaway to California. It spoke volumes about the mindset of a player healing a lacerated spleen — whose status seemed so iffy in the days, hours and minutes before the season opener.
The message read:
I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My team expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than our competition. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to help my team and to achieve our goal. I am never out of the FIGHT.

Costa Rica Escapes Serious Damage From Big Quake

Costa Rica Escapes Serious Damage From Big Quake

By CESAR BARRANTES and DANICA COTO Associated Press
CANGREJAL, Costa Rica September 5, 2012 (AP)
The bulletins were terrifying: a powerful earthquake had struck off the coast of this Central American country, spawning a tsunami warning and bringing fears of widespread catastrophe.

But Costa Rica suffered remarkably little damage from Wednesday's magnitude-7.6 quake — a few blocked highways, some collapsed houses and one death, of a heart attack caused by fright. Officials credited the relatively deep location of the quake and building codes that Costa Rican officials call as strict as those in California and Japan.

The quake was 25 miles (41 kilometers) below the surface. Tremors that occur deep underground tend to be less damaging, but their shaking can be felt over a wider area.

"If it was a shallower event, it would be a significantly higher hazard," said seismologist Daniel McNamara of the U.S. Geological Survey.

VMAs: World's First Double-Decker Red Carpet Will Make You Say 'Whoa!'

VMAs: World's First Double-Decker Red Carpet Will Make You Say 'Whoa!'

Designer of first-of-its-kind two-story pre-show carpet wants you to say, 'whoa!' when you see it on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/PT; main show goes live at 8 p.m.
By Gil Kaufman
LOS ANGELES — Before the beautiful ones can take their seats at Staples Center for Thursday's 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, they're going to have to traverse a red carpet that will give them a serious workout.

"The inspiration for the pre-show was a three-story driving range that we saw a picture of from Japan," said David Morong, production designer for the VMAs pre-show. All the action will take place on a three-story red carpet erected between the Nokia Theatre and the site of the big show, Staples Center, that Morong believes is the first-ever multi-level, stacked red carpet arrival set-up. "The idea came that what if rather than driving golf balls out that we actually had talent interviews on these levels looking across to the Staples Center?"

My Boobs Are TOO BIG...

My Boobs Are TOO BIG to Go Running

By tmz.com/2012/09/05

Jessica Simpson has two huge obstacles to overcome on her quest for her old bod ... her giant boobs ... 'cause Jessica says they've gotten so big, she can't go running.

Simpson is finally discussing her tremendous weight gain to People.com, claiming she packed on the pounds during her pregnancy because "It was the first time I was ever pregnant, and I wanted to enjoy it."

One shot dead during Parti Quebecois victory speech Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/shot+dead+victory+party+with+video/7190079/story.html#ixzz25cJGgPqw

One shot dead during Parti Quebecois victory speech

By Jan Ravensbergen, Christopher Curtis, Monique Muise and Charlie Fidelman, The Gazette September 5, 2012 6
MONTREAL - A 62-year-old suspect is in police custody Wednesday after a shooting late Tuesday night as premier-elect Pauline Marois was giving a victory speech.

Marois was whisked from the stage by bodyguards at the Metropolis theatre and returned a few moments later unharmed.

Montreal police said the man was “quickly apprehended” after approaching the back of Metropolis, penetrating a vestibule and opening fire.

“For us this is a homicide investigation,” Montreal police spokesman Ian Lafrenière said. (Listen to audio clip describing suspect.)

Democratic National Convention Fashion

Democratic National Convention Fashion

September 5, 2012,By WSJ Staff

Frst lady Michelle Obama wore a custom Tracy Reese dress and J.Crew heels during her speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday night.
Michelle Obama wore a custom Tracy Reese sleeveless pink dress with a blue hemline detail to deliver her

McDonald’s Plans First Vegetarian Restaurants

McDonald’s Plans First Vegetarian Restaurants in India

By Malavika Sharma on September 05, 2012

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) will swap its trademark burgers for potato sandwiches when it opens two vegetarian restaurants in India next year, the first such outlets globally for the world’s biggest restaurant chain.
The fast-food chain will open two new outlets in northern Indian cities that are pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Sikhs, according to Rajesh Kumar Maini, a spokesman for the company’s north and east Indian operations. McDonald’s already keeps beef and pork products off the menu in India where a majority of the

Eagles Have Their Eye on Cowboys-Giants Season Opener: A Fan's Preview

Eagles Have Their Eye on Cowboys-Giants Season Opener: A Fan's Preview
By Robert Dougherty | Yahoo! Contributor Network
2012/9/5
The Philadelphia Eagles don't start their season until Sept. 9 against the Cleveland Browns. Yet Eagles fans like myself know full well that the season really begins on Sept. 5. And unlike most of the other 29 teams still waiting around to kick off, there is extra reason for Philadelphia to pay attention to the year's very first game.
To reach their big goals, the Eagles will probably need to win the NFC East - and to do that, they must dethrone the defending division and Super Bowl champion New York Giants. But Philadelphia also has to hope that the Dallas Cowboys can't overtake New York first. As such, it will be required viewing in Philadelphia to see Dallas and New York meet on opening night on Sept. 5.

2 Chainz Keeps It Loose During 2012 VMA Rehearsals

2 Chainz Keeps It Loose During 2012 VMA Rehearsals
'Sometimes I don't even realize the moment that I'm in because I'm just too damn enjoying myself,' VMA performer tells MTV News.
By Rob Markman (@RobMarkman) , with additional reporting by Sway Calloway (@realsway)

Get More:
2012 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, 2 Chainz

We ain't never told no lie, though we may have kept a secret or two. Though it was announced on Tuesday (September 4) that 2 Chainz will be taking the stage at the 2012 Video Music Awards, MTV News caught up with Deuce a day earlier as he rehearsed behind closed doors for the big show.

It was killing us to hold it in, and fans will have to wait until Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT to see what Chainz has in store, but we can assure you that the Atlanta rap rep has more than a few tricks up his long, lanky sleeves.

Manning no longer in the shadow of big brother Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | Updated: Wednesday, September 5, 2012 7:43am

Manning no longer in the shadow of big brother

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | Updated: Wednesday, September 5, 2012
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Eli Manning is no longer living in the shadow of his big brother. Far from it.

The New York Giants quarterback enters the kickoff to the NFL season against the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday night as a two-time Super Bowl MVP. He's now unquestionably among the league's elite after leading Tom Coughlin's team to two titles in five seasons, and a third title is a distinct possibility with the 31-year-old seemingly getting better coming off a career season.

What's even more impressive is Eli is still Eli. He's hard-working, laid-back and looking for nothing more than doing it better than the year before.

Ex Cowboy Bennett just wants to help Giants win

Ex Cowboy Bennett just wants to help Giants win

2012/9/4

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Martellus Bennett tried to be diplomatic about his four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and did his best to look forward to his new career as the starting tight end for the New York Giants.
There was no boasting about wanting to get back at Dallas in the NFL season opener Wednesday at MetLife Stadium or taking any cheap shots at Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo or owner Jerry Jones.
The free-spirited Bennett kept his thoughts and any lingering bitterness close to the vest, for the most part. The 2008 second-round draft pick says he just wants to help the Giants win this season and show that he can be a dominant player now that he is out of Jason Witten's shadow.
I'm more so just trying to show the Giants what they have," Bennett said Saturday after the Super Bowl champions practiced. "That part of my book is done, it's over. That chapter of my book is over, and I've got new (stuff) to write about. And I'm excited to get to write the new parts of my life. And it's been great so far. I've been enjoying it and I'm happy pretty much

Michael Strahan becomes Kelly Ripa's co-host on "Live! With Kelly"

Michael Strahan becomes Kelly Ripa's co-host on "Live! With Kelly"

Originally published: September 4, 2012
By The Associated Press

Former football star Michael Strahan joined "Live! With Kelly" as permanent co-host on Monday, fulfilling a joking prophecy he made to Regis Philbin more than four years ago.

The gap-toothed former New York Giant jogged onto the morning show set and picked up co-host Kelly Ripa in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. He replaces Philbin, who left last November. Strahan was the survivor in a series of on-air tryouts of potential co-hosts since Philbin left, and his hiring has been an open secret for the past two weeks.
Strahan appeared relaxed and amiable on his first day and drew "ahhhs" from women in the studio audience when he presented Ripa with a dozen red roses.
"It's so nice to have a co-host literally sweep you off your feet," Ripa said, "and I know that he can bench press me if