CHARLOTTE, N.C. is certainly getting a lot of media attention lately, as first lady Michelle Obama opens the three day Democratic National Convention yesterday. Her nationally televised address was a portrait of the U.S. economy from the view of working people, including the first lady’s father, a city water plant worker with multiple sclerosis. Mrs. Obama did not mention Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, or his party. But her story drew an implicit comparison to Mr. Romney’s life of greater privilege. Where are those tax return Mr. Romney? Republicans criticized Democrats’ opening night as a play to the party’s most ideological voters that focused more on attacking Mr. Romney than showing evidence of accomplishments by Mr. Obama.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is still unfazed at the prospect of the FB stock going down to zero. Yesterday, Facebook’s shares dropped to a fresh low of $17.73 in 4 p.m. trading, after analysts at the two biggest underwriters for the company’s IPO-Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan -cut their price targets on the stock. Despite these drawback Facebook is still trying to reassure worried investors investors and employees. Facebook said Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will not sell any stock in the company for a year, and that two of its directors-Marc Andreessen and Donald Graham-have no plans to sell their personal holdings beyond the amount needed to cover their tax liabilities. Facebook has publicly said little about its stock slide, but internally is reassuring employees about their shares. Mr. Zuckerberg told them it may be “painful” to watch the stock plunge, but that investments Facebook has made will soon bear fruit. Hopefully it’s not just going to be the edible kind.
As expected, while the big ones squabble Nokia is taking centre stage today by co-hosting a press event with Microsoft today in New York, where they are expected to unveil devices running the new Windows Phone 8 operating system. Rumours and reported “leaks” suggest there will be two handsets, offered in a range of colors, with at least one featuring Nokia’s PureView camera technology and “wireless charging” via a separate base. With Nokia’s growing losses and announcements of 40,000 job cuts, and with Microsoft still not having been able to crack the smartphone market, this is a critical event for both companies. Common NOKIA show us what you got!
If you want a diamond and can’t afford it, just go to a diamond exhibit and swallow a couple of them! – thought two Chinese men when they went to a gem exhibition in Sri Lanka. But you must try very hard not to get caught! That’s the tricky part! For these two Chinese nationals the story did not end with a happy ending. After swallowing a $13,000 diamond, police caught up with him, and after the arrest and a decent dose of laxatives, we are now patiently waiting for diamond to re-imerge. I recently stumbled upon a really nice Chinese proverb – a diamond that lands in shit will still be diamond. And the morale of the story? Sometimes, if you are lucky and get a chance to dig in someone elses shit, you just may find a diamond.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. is certainly getting a lot of media attention lately, as first lady Michelle Obama opens the three day Democratic National Convention yesterday. Her nationally televised address was a portrait of the U.S. economy from the view of working people, including the first lady’s father, a city water plant worker with multiple sclerosis. Mrs. Obama did not mention Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, or his party. But her story drew an implicit comparison to Mr. Romney’s life of greater privilege. Where are those tax return Mr. Romney? Republicans criticized Democrats’ opening night as a play to the party’s most ideological voters that focused more on attacking Mr. Romney than showing evidence of accomplishments by Mr. Obama.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is still unfazed at the prospect of the FB stock going down to zero. Yesterday, Facebook’s shares dropped to a fresh low of $17.73 in 4 p.m. trading, after analysts at the two biggest underwriters for the company’s IPO-Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan -cut their price targets on the stock. Despite these drawback Facebook is still trying to reassure worried investors investors and employees. Facebook said Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will not sell any stock in the company for a year, and that two of its directors-Marc Andreessen and Donald Graham-have no plans to sell their personal holdings beyond the amount needed to cover their tax liabilities. Facebook has publicly said little about its stock slide, but internally is reassuring employees about their shares. Mr. Zuckerberg told them it may be “painful” to watch the stock plunge, but that investments Facebook has made will soon bear fruit. Hopefully it’s not just going to be the edible kind.
As expected, while the big ones squabble Nokia is taking centre stage today by co-hosting a press event with Microsoft today in New York, where they are expected to unveil devices running the new Windows Phone 8 operating system. Rumours and reported “leaks” suggest there will be two handsets, offered in a range of colors, with at least one featuring Nokia’s PureView camera technology and “wireless charging” via a separate base. With Nokia’s growing losses and announcements of 40,000 job cuts, and with Microsoft still not having been able to crack the smartphone market, this is a critical event for both companies. Common NOKIA show us what you got!
If you want a diamond and can’t afford it, just go to a diamond exhibit and swallow a couple of them! – thought two Chinese men when they went to a gem exhibition in Sri Lanka. But you must try very hard not to get caught! That’s the tricky part! For these two Chinese nationals the story did not end with a happy ending. After swallowing a $13,000 diamond, police caught up with him, and after the arrest and a decent dose of laxatives, we are now patiently waiting for diamond to re-imerge. I recently stumbled upon a really nice Chinese proverb – a diamond that lands in shit will still be diamond. And the morale of the story? Sometimes, if you are lucky and get a chance to dig in someone elses shit, you just may find a diamond.