| 'Home' advantage
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Bride-to-be Megan Ziemba was weighing two Caribbean destinations for her winter wedding when the U.S. government stepped in and tipped the balance. Ziemba, a New Yorker, chose a colonial mansion in Puerto Rico, where her 100 guests won't have to worry about a new passport requirement that has given the U.S. territory an edge in the crowded Caribbean tourism market. .
Honeymoon owner to merge with rival
CANADIAN uranium miner sxr Uranium One has agreed to buy national rival UrAsia Energy in a deal that will create the world's second biggest uranium miner by market capitalisation. The merged company will be worth $US5 billion ($6.45 billion) and be the only company with mines in Australia, the US, South Africa, Canada and Kazakhstan. Uranium One owns the Honeymoon Uranium project in South Australia, which it said would come into production in the first quarter of 2008. Under the terms of the acquisition, UrAsia shareholders will receive 0.45 common shares of Uranium One for each issued share of UrAsia, representing a value of $C7.05 ($7.67) per share based upon the closing price of Uranium One on the Toronto Stock Exchange on February 9. If the merger is approved, the company will be named Uranium One.
The honeymoon's over Private Lives
There is nothing private about the lives of Elyot and Amanda. This divorced couple wouldnt know how to keep a secret from each other, let alone any unfortunate person who comes within close range of their overbearing personalities. Two ill-fated people find themselves pulled into this feuding couples orbit: their respective new spouses, on their respective honeymoons. The beauty of Noel Cowards sophisticated comedy of manners Private Lives is that we care at all whether this combustible couple reunites. We root for them to get back together not because its best for them, but because its best for anyone else who suffers from their self-involved mooning. Coward makes their contrived comedic meltdowns so delicious to watch, and two Sacramento Theatre Company actors make this match-made-in-hell a hoot.
Will big retail undermine big brands?
YES, big retail will undermine big consumer brands. Today, it is the honeymoon period. Retail needs the big consumer brands to generate footfalls and revenue, and big consumer brands are overjoyed that their products which were relegated to the back of poorly maintained and dusty shelves have now got a visibility and presence they never had before. Consumers are rewarding the stores by opening their wallets or swiping their credit cards with an enthusiasm, which they have not evidenced before. But how long will this honeymoon continue? How long will it take for retail to recognise the power in their hands? That they can breathe new life into medium-sized brands, that consumers will be more demanding for choice, and certainly some would be actively seeking greater value from the retailer's own brands? Even before big retail became a reality, we saw the rumblings of a power-struggle between retailers banded together through trade associations and consumer goods manufacturers refusing to stock a new product, demanding a higher margin, asking to be paid for window-displays.
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