Thousands of people have gathered at ancient sites in Central America and elsewhere in anticipation of what they believe will be the end of the world. The date – 21 December 2012 – is, some believe, the end of the “long count” calendar of the Mayan civilisation. In China, police have arrested hundreds of members of a Christian group who apparently believe the prophecy. Last year, experts said a new reading of the calendar showed that it did not in fact predict the apocalypse. Many believe the date instead marks the start of a new era in the calendar. Among the believers of the “apocalypse” themselves, there were different opinions on when exactly the world will end. Some said it would end at midnight on Thursday, while others gave the deadline of just after 11:00 GMT on Friday. Both predictions have failed to materialize, and we at Corporate Profile hope you believers out there are not too disappointed, that we weren’t swallowed by a black hole, wiped out by meteor shower, burned by lava and swept away by tidal waves. But don’t worry, we still have atomic weapons to finish us off, which by the way is the most likely way humanity will perish according to various experts.
The Vatican has come out in first place in a long-awaited draw to expand the Internet address system with new domain names that go beyond the usual .com, .org or .net endings. ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the World Wide Web. Ranking high means the applicant could get approval early next year to operate the new domain and approve addresses using it. In the Vatican’s case, Rome could then ensure only genuine Roman Catholic institutions get to use that domain name. Several other faith-based groups applied for other top level domain names such as .bible or .islam. The extension .mormon was the next-highest religious application drawn, coming in at 118th place. Some religions seem to have kept out of the fray entirely. There were no applications for .buddhist, .hindu or .jewish.
It’s a historic moment today for the New York financial world. IntercontinentalExchangeis buying the New York Stock Exchange for $8.2 billion, which will allow it to leverage the growing demand for clearing financial derivatives expected next year. Unlike stock trading, derivatives remain highly profitable for the exchanges, and new rules next year will sharply increase demand for clearing over-the-counter contracts. The deal will link up two powerful derivatives exchange and clearing house operators, but while the New York Stock Exchange has stood for 200 years as an iconic symbol of U.S. capitalism, it is almost an afterthought in this deal. For ICE, the crown jewel of NYSE Euronext is Liffe, Europe’s second-largest derivatives market. Liffe will help ICE compete against U.S.-based CME Group, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Thousands of people have gathered at ancient sites in Central America and elsewhere in anticipation of what they believe will be the end of the world. The date – 21 December 2012 – is, some believe, the end of the “long count” calendar of the Mayan civilisation. In China, police have arrested hundreds of members of a Christian group who apparently believe the prophecy. Last year, experts said a new reading of the calendar showed that it did not in fact predict the apocalypse. Many believe the date instead marks the start of a new era in the calendar. Among the believers of the “apocalypse” themselves, there were different opinions on when exactly the world will end. Some said it would end at midnight on Thursday, while others gave the deadline of just after 11:00 GMT on Friday. Both predictions have failed to materialize, and we at Corporate Profile hope you believers out there are not too disappointed, that we weren’t swallowed by a black hole, wiped out by meteor shower, burned by lava and swept away by tidal waves. But don’t worry, we still have atomic weapons to finish us off, which by the way is the most likely way humanity will perish according to various experts.
The Vatican has come out in first place in a long-awaited draw to expand the Internet address system with new domain names that go beyond the usual .com, .org or .net endings. ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the World Wide Web. Ranking high means the applicant could get approval early next year to operate the new domain and approve addresses using it. In the Vatican’s case, Rome could then ensure only genuine Roman Catholic institutions get to use that domain name. Several other faith-based groups applied for other top level domain names such as .bible or .islam. The extension .mormon was the next-highest religious application drawn, coming in at 118th place. Some religions seem to have kept out of the fray entirely. There were no applications for .buddhist, .hindu or .jewish.
It’s a historic moment today for the New York financial world. IntercontinentalExchangeis buying the New York Stock Exchange for $8.2 billion, which will allow it to leverage the growing demand for clearing financial derivatives expected next year. Unlike stock trading, derivatives remain highly profitable for the exchanges, and new rules next year will sharply increase demand for clearing over-the-counter contracts. The deal will link up two powerful derivatives exchange and clearing house operators, but while the New York Stock Exchange has stood for 200 years as an iconic symbol of U.S. capitalism, it is almost an afterthought in this deal. For ICE, the crown jewel of NYSE Euronext is Liffe, Europe’s second-largest derivatives market. Liffe will help ICE compete against U.S.-based CME Group, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade.