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Sources: Jackson to take Raiders

Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson, who was scheduled to interview Tuesday in Chicago for the Bears' offensive coordinator job, will accept an offer to serve in that capacity for the Oakland Raiders, sources close to the situation tell ESPN.
Jackson interviewed with Raiders owner Al Davis last week and has had a desire to become an NFL offensive coordinator. His biggest project is expected to be working with Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who has been a disappointment since Oakland selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2007.

Russell again struggled this season and was benched by coach Tom Cable for four of Oakland's final seven games.

Jackson's move now leaves the Ravens with an opening. Baltimore will have two primary options in hiring a quarterbacks coach; the first would be to promote offensive consultant Al Saunders, who has fared well in working with quarterbacks, and the other is to hire former Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn.

At the very least, the Ravens will interview Zorn for the position before making their decision about which coach would be best to work closely with quarterback Joe Flacco.

Ask Gill: flight refunds, Madeira by boat, Broadway, India visas, Premier Inn prices

raham Hough from London writes
We should have flown from Geneva to Stansted with easyJet on Monday, February 2 but the flight was cancelled (as were most flights into Britain that day) owing to heavy snow in southern England.

Easyjet said the earliest it could fly us back to London was on Wednesday, February 4. This was not an option as we all had important business commitments on the Tuesday afternoon.

We spent the night in a hotel in Geneva (which we paid for) and found our own way home by train. Easyjet has made us a modest offer of £259 each but that still leaves each of us £241 out of pocket.

My travel insurer says we have no valid claim and must pursue the airline.

But what's the legal position when bad weather is to blame?

Gill Charlton replies
When airlines in the European Union have to cancel flights for reasons beyond their control, such as bad weather, they are legally required to provide hotel accommodation and meals for customers and to rearrange a flight at the earliest opportunity. (Switzerland is a signatory to the relevant EU regulation.)

The law also says that passengers can choose between applying for a ticket refund or accepting the re-routing. Unfortunately "re-routing" is not defined in the EU regulation nor in IATA's approved conditions of carriage.

Airlines tend to interpret the wording as the offer of a seat on another of its own services.

Given this, it could be said that you took yourself outside the scope of the EU regulation – and the airline's own conditions of carriage – by arranging your own hotel room and journey back to Britain.

"If passengers make their own travel arrangements instead of taking up the airline's re-routing offer it can be an uphill struggle to get the money back", said a spokesman for the Air Transport Users Council.

"Ideally we would like airlines to reimburse passengers in full as this would be in keeping with the spirit of the EU regulation, but in Mr Hough's case we feel that meeting his extra expenses halfway seems a reasonable compromise."

To madeira – without flying

David Buckman, London, writes
My partner will not fly but we would dearly like to spend a week or so on Madeira. Is it possible to travel there by sea?

Gill Charlton replies
Cruise ships heading south from Britain spend only a day in Madeira (above), but there are two other options.

A German container ship with a Spanish crew departs from Felixstowe every fortnight for Madeira (a five-day voyage). The return trip is via Las Palmas in the Canaries, Cartagena and Cadiz (10 days with a day in each port). OPDR ships have two double cabins. The return fare is £2,235 per person including all meals. Book through Strand Voyages

Broadway tickets

Hazel and Don Illingworth, Norwich write
As part of our golden wedding anniversary we will be spending a few days in New York in December and we should like to see a Broadway show. Can you give us the name of a reliable ticket agency?

Gill Charlton replies
It's usually possible to book tickets direct with New York theatres using the online booking facility on their website. This will give you the greatest choice of seats and enable you to avoid booking fees. You collect the tickets from the box office on the day.

Can we see India without a visa?

Stephen Mayhew, St Neots, Cambs writes
We are due to go on an Ocean Village cruise in October that will be calling at Cochin for the day. The cruise line is insisting that we purchase tourist visas, though we would be quite happy to save £120 and "view Cochin through a porthole", to quote John Birch from Benmar's visa service. Who is correct?

Gill Charlton replies
Theoretically you should be able to stay on board without a visa, but immigration officers at Cochin do occasionally insist that all passengers have visas because the ship is docking in Indian waters.

The Indian High Commission's visa agent, VFS Global, says that you should be fine with a transit visa, which costs £15 a person. However, Ocean Village tells me that it has had difficulties with the immigration authorities over transit visas as these are primarily designed for ship-to-airport transfers. It says that it also insists on tourist visas in case passengers need to disembark for medical treatment or want to return home early to deal with an emergency.

Premier Inn breaking its price promise

Jeremy Reeve, Wallingford, writes
I read your piece with regard to Premier Inn's guaranteed pricing policy (Ask Gill, March 14) with interest. My experience has been very different.

Last July I booked three rooms at the Arundel Premier Inn for July 2-5 2009, after guessing that the Goodwood Festival of Speed would, as usual, be held over this weekend. The cost was £66 per room per night.

In December I was contacted by the hotel to say that it was invoking its "key events" policy and that the room rate would now be £102.50 per night for the Thursday night and £124 per night for Friday and Saturday including breakfast (usually an extra). I was told I would either have to pay up or cancel.

How can Premier Inn tell you that the booked rate is never increased and yet continue to pursue this "key event" policy on rates?

Gill Charlton replies
Quite a few readers emailed to say that they had suffered price rises at Premier Inns after hotels discovered that "key events" were taking place nearby. I went back to the company for clarification.

"Our brand policy is that we honour all rates given at the time of booking. If a hotel breaks this policy we will address this and act accordingly", Premier Inn's spokesman said. "We are contacting all of our hotels this week to remind them of our policy and ensure it is adhered to in future."

London hit by worst snow in 18 years

Heavy snow disrupted air and rail travel in Europe today, halting flights at Heathrow airport entirely and bringing traffic in London almost to a standstill.

Tens of thousands of commuters were advised not to attempt the journey into work in London, experiencing some of its worst snow in 18 years.

Buses were cancelled altogether and hundreds of schools were closed across the country, leaving children to play and build snowmen in parks and gardens.

In northern France, snow blanketed Paris and surrounding countryside and brought major air, rail and road systems to a halt.

London Mayor Boris Johnson suspended the congestion charge for motorists in the centre of the capital today and appealed to higher powers to end the bad weather. "My message to the heavens is - you have put on a fantastic display of snow power, and I think that is probably quite enough," he told the BBC.

London business leaders said the estimated cost to the British capital alone could be as much as £48 million in lost productivity. All flights in and out of Heathrow were cancelled.

London's three other commercial airports reported severe delays and flight cancellations. Highway authorities warned of hazardous driving conditions in southern and central England.

Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports were also forced to cancel some flights and Gatwick, Stansted and Luton close to London, and London City Airport were badly hit. A Cyprus Airways jet at Heathrow slipped off a taxiway after arriving from Larnaca but came to a safe halt. There were no injuries.

Britain’s Met Office said some parts of the country, including London and other parts of south east England, were covered by up to 20 centimetres of snow this afternoon. It issued a "severe weather" warning for large parts of the country, with weather experts saying south east England was experiencing some of its worst snow since the early 1990s.

The international rail operator Eurostar also reported delays due to snow in Britain, France and Belgium.

Many workers attempted to walk to their offices, trudging through thick snow, but London's Chamber of Commerce said lost productivity could cost the capital dear at a time when the economy is already in recession.

"We know that a one-day closure of the Tube alone can cost the capital up to £48 million ...so with most of London's transport infrastructure down, the costs could be similarly high," spokeswoman Helen Hill said in a statement. "Hopefully things will not grind to a halt completely however, as local staff may be able to get into the office and many others can now work remotely and conduct business online."

So far, this winter has been Britain's coldest in more than a decade and forecasters expect the cold weather to continue for several more days with freezing winds blowing in from Russia.

Snow in Europe closes airports, schools, offices

A man sits on a park bench with two snowmen in St. James's Park, in central London February 2, 2009. (Agencies)

The statue of Nelson Mandela is covered in snow in Parliament Square in London February 2, 2009.(Agencies)

Tourists pose beside a snowman in Parliament Square, in central London February 2, 2009.(Agencies)

Tables stand covered in snow in London's Canary Wharf February 2, 2009. Heavy snow brought much of London's transport to a halt on Monday with airport runways forced to close and all bus and many train services suspended.(Agencies)

People walk dogs through heavy snow in King George V park in Farnborough, southern England, February 2 2009. Heavy snow brought much of London's transport to a halt on Monday with airport runways forced to close and all bus and many train services suspended.(Agencies)

LONDON - Heavy snow disrupted air and rail travel in Europe on Monday, halting flights at London's main airport entirely and bringing traffic in the British capital almost to a standstill.

Tens of thousands of commuters were advised not to attempt the journey into work in London, experiencing some of its worst snow in almost 20 years. Buses were canceled altogether and hundreds of schools were closed across the country, leaving children to play and build snowmen in parks and gardens.

"I'd rather be sledging than at school," said 7-year-old Georgie Cunliffe, who was playing in a London park.

Conditions familiar to eastern Europe and other northerly countries notoriously pitch Britain into chaos, its infrastructure ill prepared for the cold.

In northern France as well, snow blanketed Paris and surrounding countryside and brought major air, rail and road systems to a halt.

London business leaders said the estimated cost to the British capital alone could be as much as 48 million pounds ($69 million) in lost productivity.

All flights in and out of Heathrow, a major international hub, were canceled.

London's three other commercial airports reported severe delays and flight cancellations. Highway authorities warned of hazardous driving conditions in southern and central England.

Dublin, Cork and Belfast airports were also forced to cancel some flights and Gatwick, Stansted and Luton close to London, and London City Airport were badly hit. A Cyprus Airways jet at Heathrow slipped off a taxiway after arriving from Larnaca but came to a safe halt. No-one was hurt.

WEATHER WARNING

Britain's Met Office said some parts of the country, including London and other parts of south east England, could be covered by up to 15 centimeters of snow by midday on Monday.

It issued a "severe weather" warning for large parts of the country, with weather experts saying south east England was experiencing some of its worst snow since the early 1990s.

The international rail operator Eurostar also reported delays due to snow in Britain, France and Belgium.

Many workers attempted to walk to their offices, trudging through thick snow, but London's Chamber of Commerce business organization said lost productivity could cost the capital dear at a time when the British economy is already in recession.

"We know that a one-day closure of the Tube alone can cost the capital up to 48 million pounds ...so with most of London's transport infrastructure down, the costs could be similarly high," spokeswoman Helen Hill said in a statement.

"Hopefully things will not grind to a halt completely however, as local staff may be able to get into the office and many others can now work remotely and conduct business online."

In France, traffic jams were recorded on roads leading into the capital during the rush hour and the Paris transport authority said many buses had to be canceled.

So far, this winter has been Britain's coldest in more than a decade and forecasters expect the cold weather to continue for several more days with freezing winds blowing in from Russia.

London snowstorm could cost billions

LONDON — Britain’s capital cleared the soggy remnants of a paralyzing snowstorm Tuesday as businesses counted the multibillion-pound cost.

An estimated six million people skipped work Monday when the largest snowstorm to hit London in 18 years stopped bus and subway services, grounded airliners and hobbled businesses.

The Federation of Small Businesses said the cost to Britain’s economy through lost productivity could be as high as three billion pounds.

Transportation officials, business leaders and local authorities accused one another of failing to prepare for the long-predicted storm that crippled Britain’s transport network by dropping more than 10 centimetres of snow in London overnight Sunday, and another 10 centimetres Monday.

“We can’t change nature and if nature does this to us we have a problem,” said John Ransford, chief executive of Britain’s Local Government Association, which represents the small district and town councils largely responsible for keeping roads and sidewalks clear.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said many of the city’s authorities simply didn’t have enough snow plows to deal with the downfall. In the borough of Fulham and Hammersmith, the local authority said it had no plows and only two machines to salt roads.

The Association of British Insurers said that car accidents on Britain’s icy highways surged Monday, with claims for damage 30 per cent than normal.

Most airports, bus routes and subway lines in London were working as normal Tuesday, but more than 1,000 British schools remained closed and thousands of workers were staying home for a second day.

David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said few people raised in the freezing British winters of 1960s and 1970s could understand the failure to prepare.

“I wonder whether we have become a bit too complacent, or we are being a bit too bowled over by the constant talk of global warming,” he told BBC radio. “We should be perhaps planning on the basis that there is more freak weather about and we shouldn’t just buckle to it.”

Many Londoners noted that bus services had continued through the Second World War and paused only for around an hour during the 2005 transit network suicide bombings.

Some suggested that British workers had set a poor example for the country’s children. Young Britons may become adults who think that “when things get difficult you should just stay at home and have fun,” said Margaret Morrissey, of the parenting lobby group Parents Outloud.

Exclusive: first Google Phone / Nexus One photos, Android 2.1 on-board

Google Introduces Nexus One Mobile Phone, Designed With HTC

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., aiming to take on Apple Inc.’s iPhone, introduced a mobile phone called Nexus One.

The phone was designed in close partnership with Taiwan’s HTC Corp., Mario Queiroz, Google’s vice president of product management, said today at an event at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Exclusive: first Google Phone / Nexus One photos, Android 2.1 on-board



Well here you have it folks, honest-to-goodness pics of the Google Phone... AKA, the Nexus One. As you can see by the photos, the design of the device is largely similar to those we've seen, but the graphic on back is slightly different, and that piece of tape is covering a QR code (how very Google of them). Just like we've heard before, the updated OS features new 3D elements to the app tray, as well as an extended amount of homescreens, though it looks like the lock screen / mute is the same as in Android 2.0.1. Additionally, there's now a new grid icon at the bottom of the homescreen, which when pressed brings up a webOS card-style preview of all homescreen pages -- which raises some interesting possibilities. Apparently there's been a new software update for the device pushed tonight, and sure enough the phone is identified as the Nexus One on the system info page. Quite clearly this device is running on T-Mobile, and is also using WiFi, so there's two other questions you've got answers to. The phone also appears to come loaded up with Google Navigation (a bit of a no-brainer) and the brand-spanking-new Google Goggles. Hardware wise, the Nexus does look incredibly thin and sleek, and while there's not a slew of buttons (those four up front are clearly touch sensitive), there is a dedicated volume rocker along the side. Oh, and note this... no HTC logo anywhere to be found. We'll update the post as / if we get more info, but for now, feast your eyes on the gallery below!

Update: One item of interest. In the packaging there's a quick start guide which points users to a "questions" page at google.com/phone/support. The page is a dead end right now, but it certainly gets an eyebrow raise from us. If there is a real Google Phone in the offing, that seems a likely landing page for support.


Nexus One, The Google Phone, Captured In The Wild (Pictures)

Apparently, Googlers aren’t supposed to be tweeting the details of the Google Phone, but they have no problem tweeting about how awesome it is. And they also apparently have no problem showing it off. And not surprisingly, pictures of the device are starting to hit the web. Without further ado, this is it.

Cory O’Brien, a San Francisco-based blogger, got his hands on one tonight and tweeted out that picture. He also notes that, “Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android.”

As you can see, the Google Phone, which is apparently being called the “Nexus One” (for more on that, see here), does look exactly like the HTC Passion, which everyone was including in their posts earlier. You’ll also notice that there’s a key difference: It’s not HTC-branded at all.

Update: And here are some others that Engadget and others dug up:

Tila Tequila, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton React To Casey Johnson's Death

Casey Johnson's friends and family are reacting to the tragic news of the 30-year-old Johnson & Johnson heiress' death. The socialite, whose body was discovered in her Los Angeles home on Monday, apparently died of natural causes, leaving behind an adopted daughter, Ava-Monroe.

Johnson's fiancée, reality star Tila Tequila, expressed her loss on her Twitter page in a series of messages: "Everyone please pray 4 my wifey Casey Johnson. She has passed away. Thank u for all [your] love and support but I will be offline to be [with] family. This is a very heartbreaking time for me. I just want some [privacy] as I deal with the loss of my fiancé Casey Johnson... [my] heart is shredded. I'm still in shock! Once again thank U for the outpour of love and support. I just wish to have some privacy at this heartbreaking time. R.I.P my Angel.

"@caseyjonsonJnJ u will forever be in my heart!" her tweets continued. "I love u so so much and we will marry when I see u in Heaven my wifey. I can't stop these haunting visions of her and I. We made such a lovely couple, only beginning to spend the rest of our lives together..."

Celebrity DJ and friend Samantha Ronson, also took to Twitter, writing, "R.I.P. Casey Johnson. Am so sick of those 3 letters." Lindsay Lohan, who retweeted Ronson's thoughts, added, "r.I.p. To a friend to and of many- Casey Johnson- my regards to her family, friends and her beautiful daughter Ava* you are in our hearts CJ."

E! Online reports that Johnson's good friend and godmother to Eva, Nicky Hilton, along with her mom, Kathy, and boyfriend, David Katzenberg, stopped by Johnson's house after hearing the news of her death. Hilton's sister, Paris, not only took to Twitter to express her condolences, but also spoke to about the loss.

"I am devastated to hear this news. I've known Casey since I was a baby," she told the magazine. "She had a big heart and she was a good friend. I feel so sad, I don't want to believe it. My condolences go out to her family and loved ones."

Johnson's father is New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, and her great-grandfather was the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson, the famed maker of everything from baby powder to Q-Tips, Visine, Tylenol and Band-Aids. "The Johnson family is mourning its tragic loss, and asks for privacy during this very difficult time," a statement from the Jets read.

Casey Johnson Tila Tequila Lesbian Sex Tape



Casey Johnson Engaged to Tila Tequila and Arrested for Grand Theft

Google Phone 'Nexus One' Set For January 5 Unveiling

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. is again trying to shake up the mobile market.

In holding an event Tuesday in which it was expected to outline its vision for how a mobile phone should be made and sold, the Internet search leader will likely raise the stakes in its bid to gain more control over how people surf the Web while they're on the go.

The catalyst in Google's latest attempt to redefine the mobile market apparently will be the Nexus One, the first smart phone designed by the company's own engineers.

Google has said little about the phone except to confirm that its workers received the handsets three weeks ago for a final round of internal testing. Google is expected to provide the first concrete details about the phone, along with the company's vision for how such devices should be made and sold, during a news conference Tuesday at Google's headquarters in Mountain View.

In its invitation to the event, Google said the wireless market has only seen "the beginning of what's possible" with the free Android operating system that it introduced for mobile phones in late 2007.

Android was designed to make it easier to interact on a mobile phone with Web sites and services, including Google's, while providing an egalitarian platform to run applications developed by outside programmers.

The applications don't have to go through an extensive review before they can be distributed to Android-powered devices, a contrast from the control that Apple Inc. holds on its hot-selling iPhone.

Until now, Google has been content to let other companies design the devices relying on Android. And those devices thus far have largely been distributed like most other mobile phones, tethered to major wireless carriers that typically require buyers to lock into two-year contracts in return for discounts on the handsets.

Google moves to keep lead as web goes mobile

The expectation that Google would unveil a rival to the iPhone on Tuesday was part of a careful plan to try to do what few other technology companies have done before: retain its leadership as computing shifts from one generation to the next.

The rapid emergence of the smartphone as a versatile computing device may be as much a challenge as an opportunity for Google, which built its multibillion-dollar empire largely on the sale of small text ads linked to search queries typed on PCs.

As people increasingly rely on powerful mobile phones instead of PCs to gain access to the web, their surfing habits are bound to change. What is more, online advertising could lose its role as the web’s primary economic engine, putting Google’s leadership into question.

“The new paradigm is mobile computing and mobility,” said David B Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School. “That has the potential to change the economics of the internet business and to redistribute profits yet again.”

In recent decades, the power of industry giants such as IBM and Microsoft, which once seemed unassailable, waned as computing shifted from big mainframes to PCs, and from PCs to the internet. Many analysts say it is now Google that is faced with a less certain future in the face of another shift.

Still, they say Google saw this coming years ago and has been preparing for it. Google executives now say they are confident that the company will thrive as the mobile internet grows.

“We are incredibly excited about the opportunities that we see in mobile,” Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google who oversees mobile applications, said in an interview on Monday. “We have invested a considerable amount, and we can now really provide a compelling mobile experience.”

Top Google executives, including Eric E Schmidt, the chief executive, have long said the mobile internet was Google’s biggest opportunity for new growth. They orchestrated a string of acquisitions of companies with mobile-related technology, including Android, maker of a cellphone operating system; GrandCentral, a service for making calls that can bypass telephone lines; and AdMob, an advertising network for mobile applications. The AdMob deal is awaiting approval from regulators.

Google also invested far more aggressively than its competitors in mapping technologies and services tied to a user’s location, which are likely to become the vital underpinnings of new advertising systems on GPS-equipped mobile phones. Last month, Google came close to paying more than $500 million to acquire Yelp, a website for business listings and reviews. While the deal collapsed at the last minute, Google’s interest underscored its determination to become a force in mobile advertising.

And in recent years, Google has worked systematically to loosen the hold that other companies have on the mobile industry.

In 2008, for example, Google bid $4.7 billion in a government auction of US airwaves. While Google had no intention of winning, it bid to ensure that the airwaves would be subject to so-called openness requirements, meaning that Verizon Wireless, which won the bidding, would not be able to exclude Google services such as Web search, Gmail and maps from phones using those frequencies.

The unveiling that was expected on Tuesday of the Nexus One, a thin, touch-screen handset built to Google’s specifications and made by the Taiwan company HTC, is a challenge to an industry power — Apple, whose iPhone dominates the high end of the smartphone market. While the iPhone sends millions of people to Google’s search and other services, some of the company’s applications, such as Google Voice, have not been allowed to run on the phone.

Analysts say that with the Nexus One, which Google plans to sell to consumers directly, the company is trying to free itself from Apple’s growing influence. It also wants to broaden the appeal of Android’s technology. The phone is expected to be sold unlocked, allowing consumers to buy service plans separately.

Gundotra declined to discuss specifics of the Nexus One. But he said all of Google’s mobile moves had been driven by one objective: pushing the industry to open up in an attempt to replicate on mobile phones the environment that has allowed the PC-driven web to grow at explosive rates.

“Before the mobile web really started to take off, there were many barriers to consumers,” he said. “Sometimes it was limited choice about what you could do with your phone,” he said, adding that in some cases, it could take as many as 19 clicks for a user to get to Google’s site.

Some of Google’s moves, like its bid for spectrum, confounded many in the industry. But analysts say that Google’s actions proved shrewd and that the company has, to a large extent, helped open up the mobile web and ensure that its own services, and its ads, will be accessible to all.

“You could take a view that this is a very geeky company,” said Nicholas Carr, author of The Big Switch, a book about the shift to internet computing. “That underestimates the strategy that underlies all these moves.”

Some analysts say that with the early success of the Android operating system, which is built into phones from several manufacturers, Google is already beating Microsoft, its biggest rival, in the mobile business. And they note that mobile phone software is tethered to the web more than PC programmes, playing to Google’s strengths in internet computing.

Indeed, Google has moved so aggressively to establish itself as a force in the mobile web that it has already attracted government scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission recently stepped up its review of Google’s proposed $750 million acquisition of AdMob, as some advocacy groups are raising alarms that the deal could extend Google’s dominance of online advertising into mobile phones.

Yet some questions remain unanswered: Will advertising remain central to the web economy as consumers shift to mobile phones from PCs? And will applications change people’s reliance on search engines?

Google’s text ads are sold through an auction system, and analysts say that some of its most lucrative ads show up during intensive online research tasks, like finding a vacation rental or securing a good rate on a mortgage. Those are more likely to be conducted on a PC than on a cellphone.

“It certainly remains to be seen how big mobile advertising will be,” said Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research.

Predictions about the growth potential of mobile advertising vary widely. A recent report on the mobile internet by Morgan Stanley, for instance, said while advertising accounts for 40 per cent of revenue on the desktop internet, it accounts for just 5 per cent of revenue on the mobile internet. That could change, as more personalised advertising technologies, including coupons and offers that are aimed at users in specific locations, could usher in a new wave of growth in digital marketing.

At the same time, some surveys show that users are wary of ads that could clutter the precious real estate on their small cellphone screens. And phone users seem more willing to pay a few dollars for applications or content than PC users, potentially reducing the importance of advertising.

Another risk for Google is that popular smartphone applications could erode the power of its search engine. In a recent note to investors, Ben Schachter, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, wrote that applications could eat into search revenue by giving users direct access to many commercial websites.

“When you go to Google and search for a product or for Amazon, that’s a way for Google to make money,” Schachter said. “But if you have the Amazon or the eBay app on your mobile phone home screen, you are more likely to click on that button and buy something without ever using Google.”

Gundotra dismissed those concerns. While he refused to provide specifics about Google’s mobile revenue, he said that its rate of growth mirrored the company’s results when it began selling ads on its website.

RIL sells Rs 2,675 cr treasury stocks to LIC

Reliance Industries, which has made a bid to take over petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell, on Monday raised Rs 2,675 crore (around $ 577 million) through a share sale, its second big equity fund raising in less than four months. Life Insurance Corp of India which holds around 6 per cent in Reliance Industries acquired the shares. The fund raising is seen as part of Reliance's plan to create a corpus for the takeover of Luxembourg-based LyondellBasell in a deal that could be worth around $12 billion.

In September 2009, Reliance raised Rs 3,188 crore by selling treasury stock worth 1.5 crore shares at an average price of Rs 2,125 per share (before the bonus issue). With this, RIL has mobilised Rs 5,863 crore that could used to fund the Lyondell takeover. “Petroleum Trust sold approximately 258.50 lakh equity shares of RIL. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, is the beneficiary of the Trust,” RIL said in a statement on Monday. RIL shares lost 1.29 per cent to Rs 1,075.35 in a strong market on Monday.

RIL said the Trust will realise approximately Rs 2,675 crore, at an average price of about Rs 1035 per share. The financial impact will be reflected in the consolidated financial statements of the company, it said.

The treasury stock — created as a result of past mergers of subsidiaries with the parent company — was held by Petroleum Trust and nominally recorded as promoters’ stake, but the stock cannot be voted as per the rules. Petroleum Trust held a 6.65 per cent stake in the company — or 10.46 crore shares — prior to the two stock sales.

Brokers crib their way to office for 9 am start

MUMBAI: The hectic parleys of the broking community with the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange in a bid to get them to defer
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the decision to start trading early didn't bear fruits.

The new year kicked off with new timings for the stock markets -- a 9 am start.

While bigger brokerage firms managed to bring round recalcitrant staffers by deciding to work in shifts, it was a struggle at smaller ones, with most scrambling for officers to man the terminals. While some firms arranged for food packets to be distributed among their staff, one had pick-up vehicles.

Kapil Mokashi, assistant manager at broking firm Sharekhan, said, "Though Sebi's decision to start the markets an hour early didn't come as a surprise, it did require some serious adjustment to schedules on our part. Since most of us live in far off places like Kalyan, Dombivli and Thane, commuting early is a difficult task."

The first-day first-show trade wasn't such a big hit, with brokerage firms recording no substantial increase in volumes. Emotions, though, ran high. "This will only lead to more headaches and stress and more heart-attacks. Real volumes will not increase, only speculative volumes will go up, which is not desirable," Himesh Bhatt, a seasoned broker, said.

While some dealers complained about leaving their homes at 6.30 am in a bid to ensure that they were at office in time for the early trade, other managers went to the extent of arranging lunch packets for their staffers. "Some of our staffers live in Dombivli," explained Mahendra Shah, proprietor of a brokerage house near CST. "They had to be at their terminal by 8.30 am. For that, they had to leave their homes by 7 am.
It's no time to be thinking of food."

Brokers of mid-sized and large brokerages who spoke to TOI said they would be working in three shifts from 6 am onwards. A trader with ICICI Securities said the office had arranged for pick-up vehicles for its employees.

But everyone didn't think alike. Dharmesh Mehta, head of equities at Enam Securities, said, "I see no logic in it (early trading) as there is no incremental benefit. Broking houses cannot increase their staff strength for one hour's extra trading session. We tried our best to oppose the move, but the stock exchanges have gone ahead." Even though staffers were allowed to leave by 5.30 pm at Enam, Mehta was sceptical if it would be possible in future given the pace at which work proceeds at brokerages.

Vikas Khemani, head of institutional equities at Edelweiss, said the move was meant to align Indian markets with global ones, but added, "I am of a belief that the volume is not going to go up because of the early trading." On a lighter note, Khemani said the early start shouldn't be a problem for those who had resolved to wake up an hour early this year. Stating that his firm would have two shifts, he said, "There are reasons which are rewarding enough for people to get motivated to come in early and put in extra work."

According to Sharekhan's Kapil Mokashi, with the markets currently having a bullish undertone, the new timings (9 am to 3.30 pm) wouldn't be very tedious. "But the real test of patience will come when we are trapped in a narrow range market with little movement through the day. Whether this was needed is still a debatable issue, but for the moment it will take us some time to imbibe this new schedule into our routine," he said.

Interestingly, the BSE Brokers' Forum had conducted a survey on the extended trading hours. It showed that 80% of those polled were against the new timings, with only 20% saying that it would not be cumbersome.

"Trading members clearly do not welcome the change as they see no benefit to the Indian capital market in terms of volumes of the Asian market or even to get an early trend of the US markets," Uttam Bagri, secretary of the BSE Brokers' Forum, said. The majority of the brokers polled also replied in the negative when asked if the change would see an increase in revenue vis-a-vis the rise in the costs.

Giving the issue a new angle, Sushil Agarwal, CFO, Aditya Birla Nuvo, said, "It might improve the traffic situation in Mumbai as a good amount of traffic will start early rather than everyone starting at the same peak time hour."

Ten global launches to set an Expo record

Though the 10th Auto Expo, which begins from Tuesday in the Capital, will not showcase a Nano-like innovation, which was the toast of the previous expo in 2008, the event will witness 10 global launches — the highest so far.

Topping the launches will be small and concept cars. However, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), along with super-bikes from Harley Davidson, some luxury sedans from the likes of Mercedes Benz, BMW India and Audi and a couple of hybrid cars, will be the other draws of the show.

On the eve of the Expo, General Motor’s Chevrolet took the lead by launching a compact car, the Chevrolet Beat, priced between Rs 3.34 lakh and Rs 4.23 lakh.

Tuesday will see the unveiling of concept cars from Honda Siel Cars India and a small car from Toyota Kirloskar Motors exclusively designed for the Indian market.

Though the Honda and Toyota vehicles will only be launched in 2011 and beyond, their unveiling will mark the foray of two Japanese icons into the mass market.

World's tallest building opens in Dubai

World's tallest building opens in Dubai

The world's tallest building has been opened with a dramatic fireworks ceremony in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.

The Burj Khalifa was revealed to be 828m (2,716ft) high, far taller than the previous record holder, Taipei 101.

Known as the Burj Dubai during construction, the tower has been renamed after the leader of Dubai's oil-rich neighbour, Abu Dhabi.

Last month, Abu Dhabi gave Dubai a handout of $10bn (£6.13bn) to help it pay off its debts.

Construction of the Burj Dubai began in 2004, at the height of an economic boom.

Clad in 28,000 glass panels, the tower has 160 floors and more than 500,000 sq m of space for offices and flats.

This great project deserves to carry the name of a great man Sheikh Mohammed

The tower also lays claim to the highest occupied floor, the tallest service lift, and the world's highest observation deck - on the 124th floor.

The world's highest mosque and swimming pool will meanwhile be located on the 158th and 76th floors.

Technical challenges

The opening ceremony, held 1,325 days after excavation work started, was attended by some 6,000 guests.

Though not complete on the inside, it was officially opened by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Burj Dubai dwarfs its neighbouring buildings

In a surprise move he renamed it Burj Khalifa - after the president of the United Arab Emirates and emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan.

Sheikh Mohammed described the tower as "the tallest building ever created by the hand of man".

"This great project deserves to carry the name of a great man. Today I inaugurate Burj Khalifa," he said.

Sheikh Mohammed also unveiled a plaque inside the tower bearing the new name.

A dramatic fireworks and lights show took place around the tower while a screen displayed its exact height, which had previously been kept secret.

At 828m, Burj Khalifa dwarfs the 508m Taipei 101 and the 629m KVLY-TV mast in the US, the tallest man-made structure. Its spire can been seen 95km (60 miles) away.

"We weren't sure how high we could go," said Bill Baker of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the building's structural engineer. "It was kind of an exploration... a learning experience."

Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, the developer behind Burj Khalifa, told the BBC that the building's design had posed unprecedented technical and logistical challenges, not just because of its height, but also because Dubai was susceptible to high winds and was close to a geological fault line.

"We have been hit with lightning twice, there was a big earthquake last year that came across from Iran, and we have had all types of wind which has hit us when we were building. The results have been good and I salute the designers and professionals who helped build it," he said.

BURJ KHALIFA IN NUMBERS 95: distance in km at which its spire can be seen 504: rise in metres of its main service lift 57: number of lifts 49: number of office floors 1,044: number of residential apartments 900: length in feet of the fountain at the foot of the tower, the world's tallest performing fountain 28,261: number of glass cladding panels on the exterior of the tower In pictures: Building the Burj Khalifa Tower: facts and figures

The design incorporates ideas from traditional Islamic architecture, while the open petals of a desert flower were the inspiration for the tower's base.

Burj Khalifa will be home to 1,044 luxury apartments, 49 floors of offices and eventually a 160-room Armani-branded hotel. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower, which is part of a 500-acre development.

However, investors are facing losses even before the tower is completed because property prices in Dubai have slumped amid the global economic crisis.

Some apartments were selling for $2,700 per sq ft, but are now going for less than half that. Analysts say it will be particularly hard to lease office space because few companies can justify paying premiums for luxury.

The BBC's Malcolm Borthwick in Dubai says developers are holding back on new flagship projects, so Burj Khalifa could mark the end of an era for skyscrapers in the Gulf - at least in the short term.