Comba Telecom sélectionnée pour la Coupe du monde 2014 au Brésil : pour fournir des solutions sans fil de bout en bout aux stades du tournoi

SAO PAULO, BRESIL ET HONG KONG–(Marketwire – Feb 25, 2013) – Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited (« Comba Telecom » ou le « Groupe », code à la bourse de Hong Kong : 2342), un fournisseur de solutions sans fil de premier plan au niveau international, a annoncé avoir remporté plusieurs projets consistant à fournir des systèmes d’antennes distribuées (DAS – Distributed Antenna Systems) sans fil aux stades qui accueilleront les tournois de la Coupe des Confédérations 2013 et de la Coupe du monde de football 2014 qui se dérouleront au Brésil.

Comba Telecom fournit et installe une série de solutions de bout en bout qui inclut des DAS à opérateurs et bandes multiples, des répéteurs, des antennes placées en intérieur et en extérieur, ainsi que des accessoires permettant des communications vocales et de données simultanées sur les réseaux iDEN, 2G, 3G, 4G et Wi-Fi. Avec l’achèvement de la mise en place du système sans fil partagé de Comba Telecom, les opérateurs mobiles du Brésil seront en mesure d’offrir à leurs abonnés une expérience fluide et solide sur leur appareils mobiles à haut débit dans le site sportif d’une capacité de 70 000 spectateurs.

Comba Telecom permet des communications sans fil dans les sites suivants : l’Estádio Nacional de Brasília (anciennement, Estádio Mané Garrincha) à Brasilia, l’Arena Octávio Mangabeira (également connue sous le nom d’Arena Fonte Nova) au Salvador et l’Estádio Castelão à Fortaleza. En outre, Comba Telecom fournit des produits et solutions aux principaux entrepreneurs de systèmes sans fil à l’Arena Pernambuco à Recife.

M. Johnny Brito, Directeur général de Comba Telecom Brazil, a déclaré : « Nous sommes ravis d’être choisis comme fournisseur de solutions sans fil dans les stades accueillant les tournois de football. Avec la Coupe des Confédérations qui se déroulera cette année et la Coupe du monde en 2014, nous sommes l’un des seuls fournisseurs de solutions à posséder les produits et la capacité de service avec la profondeur et l’ampleur nécessaires pour assurer que les installations soient achevées à temps.

M. Patrik Westfalk, Directeur général de la société pour la région Caraïbes et Amérique latine, a ajouté : « La popularité de médias sociaux tels que Facebook et Twitter, associée à l’explosion du trafic de photos et vidéos signifie qu’il est essentiel que toute solution soit suffisamment solide pour pendre en charge les demandes extrêmement nombreuses sur la capacité de données durant ces évènements de grande envergure. Avec un bilan éprouvé de solutions lors des Jeux olympiques d’été de Pékin et pour les prochains Jeux olympiques d’hiver de Sotchi en Russie, le succès de cette Coupe du monde est une étape supplémentaire pour Comba Telecom dans la région et dans le monde entier. »

Comba Telecom présente une sélection de ses DAS utilisés dans les projets de la Coupe du monde 2014 au Congrès mondial du mobile 2013 à Barcelone.

Comba Telecom est située dans le Hall 7, stand n° 7F14

Logo de la société
http://release.media-outreach.com/release.php/Images/122

À propos de la solution de DAS de Comba Telecom
Les solutions du portefeuille de DAS à haute et faible puissance de Comba Telecom prennent en charge jusqu’à 6 entrées indépendantes : 900 MHz, 1 800 MHz, 2 100 MHz, 2 600 MHz, 1 800 MHz MIMO et 2 600 MHz MIMO dans un système unique. Elles sont conçues de manière optimale pour faciliter l’installation avec une faible empreinte et sont scellées pour résister à toutes les conditions environnementales. Entièrement compatibles avec les applications situées en intérieur et en extérieur pour soutenir l’ensemble des principales modulations en mode mixte avec une efficacité élevée et un MCPA linéaire atteignant jusqu’à 40 W par bande de fréquence. Les installations de contrôle à distance incluent un navigateur Web en réseau local, des alertes systèmes envoyées au centre d’exploitation du réseau ou système EMS standard, une puissance de sortie contrôlée par logiciel et un contrôle automatique du gain par lien optique. Parfaitement conformes aux normes 3GPP et CE.

Avec sa conception modulaire, la solution DAS de Comba permet une évolutivité maximum avec des systèmes d’antennes et de fibres partagés – permettant ainsi au système de s’adapter facilement aux demandes de couverture et de capacité grandissantes sur le réseau. Ainsi, les opérateurs de réseaux sans fil peuvent facilement accroître la portée de leurs services vocaux et de données à l’aide du DAS, améliorant donc l’efficacité des dépenses en capital et des dépenses d’exploitation par rapport aux architectures de réseau traditionnelles.

À propos de Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited
Faisant partie des principaux fournisseurs de solutions sans fil au monde, la société Comba Telecom est principalement impliquée dans la R&D et la fabrication de produits sans fil améliorés tels que les RRU, les sous-systèmes et les antennes de station de base et les systèmes d’accès sans fil. Le Groupe fournit également des solutions et des services clés en main complets à ses clients internationaux. Ayant leur siège social à Hong Kong, les opérations internationales de Comba Telecom incluent des plateformes de fabrication en Chine, des centres de R&D en Chine et aux États-Unis et plus de 40 bureaux dans le monde entier.

Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez consulter le site : www.comba-telecom.com

Marketwire News Archive – Yahoo! Finance

Read More..

Pistorius' brother facing culpable homicide charge

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The family lawyer of Oscar Pistorius said on Sunday that the double amputee athlete's brother is facing a culpable homicide charge for a 2010 road death.

Lawyer Kenny Oldwage would not confirm details of the case Carl Pistorius is facing, but Sunday's development compounded problems for the family after Oscar was charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Carl Pistorius was allegedly involved in a crash with a woman motorcyclist and he was supposed to be in court last Thursday, as his brother Oscar was facing a bail hearing, according to local media reports.

Oscar Pistorius was released on bail Friday and his brother Carl was seen driving into the home of their uncle Arnold early Sunday in Waterkloof, a wealthy suburb of Pretoria, the nation's capital, where Oscar is now staying.

The problems surrounding his older brother Carl are the latest twist in a case that has transfixed South Africa and much of the world. Sunday's revelation of the culpable homicide charge immediately created a stir.

"It's also doubly sad because it's involved with Oscar and his brother and all the family — so they have double sort of trouble. So, not good," said Johannesburg resident Jim Plester.

Oscar Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, but the athlete says he killed his girlfriend accidentally, opening fire after mistaking her for an intruder in his home.

The Pistorius family has yet to react to the accusations that Carl is facing.

On Saturday, the family took steps to lower its profile on social media after someone hacked into the Twitter account of Carl. They cancelled all the social media sites for both Oscar's brother and his sister Aimee.

Carl has always been close to Oscar but was a notable absent when their uncle Arnold, flanked by Oscar's sister Aimee, read out a first reaction to the shooting on Feb. 17, even though he was also on the premises.

The three-story house where Pistorius is staying with his aunt and uncle lies on a hill with a sweeping view of Pretoria. It has a large swimming pool and an immaculate garden.

Pistorius was born without fibula bones due to a congenital defect and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He has run on carbon-fiber blades and was originally banned from competing against able-bodied peers because many argued that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. He was later cleared to compete. He is a multiple Paralympic medalist, but he failed to win a medal at the London Olympics, where he ran in the 400 meter race and on South Africa's 4x400 relay team.

___

AP Sports Writer Gerald Imray contributed from Pretoria.

Read More..

Vatican 'Gay lobby'? Probably not

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Benedict XVI not stepping down under pressure from 'gay lobby,' Allen says


• Allen: Benedict is a man who prefers the life of the mind to the nuts and bolts of government


• However, he says, much of the pope's time has been spent putting out fires

Editor's note: John L. Allen Jr. is CNN's senior Vatican analyst and senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.

(CNN) -- Suffice it to say that of all possible storylines to emerge, heading into the election of a new pope, sensational charges of a shadowy "gay lobby" (possibly linked to blackmail), whose occult influence may have been behind the resignation of Benedict XVI, would be right at the bottom of the Vatican's wish list.

Proof of the Vatican's irritation came with a blistering statement Saturday complaining of "unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories," even suggesting the media is trying to influence the papal election.

Two basic questions have to be asked about all this. First, is there really a secret dossier about a network of people inside the Vatican who are linked by their sexual orientation, as Italian newspaper reports have alleged? Second, is this really why Benedict XVI quit?

John L. Allen Jr.

The best answers, respectively, are "maybe" and "probably not."

It's a matter of record that at the peak of last year's massive Vatican leaks crisis, Benedict XVI created a commission of three cardinals to investigate the leaks. They submitted an eyes-only report to the pope in mid-December, which has not been made public.

It's impossible to confirm whether that report looked into the possibility that people protecting secrets about their sex lives were involved with the leaks, but frankly, it would be surprising if it didn't.

There are certainly compelling reasons to consider the hypothesis. In 2007, a Vatican official was caught by an Italian TV network on hidden camera arranging a date through a gay-oriented chat room, and then taking the young man back to his Vatican apartment. In 2010, a papal ceremonial officer was caught on a wiretap arranging liaisons through a Nigerian member of a Vatican choir. Both episodes played out in full public view, and gave the Vatican a black eye.

Pope Benedict XVI

HIDE CAPTION

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

>

>>

In that context, it would be a little odd if the cardinals didn't at least consider the possibility that insiders leading a double life might be vulnerable to pressure to betray the pope's confidence. That would apply not just to sex, but also potential conflicts of other sorts too, such as financial interests.

Vatican officials have said Benedict may authorize giving the report to the 116 cardinals who will elect his successor, so they can factor it into their deliberations. The most immediate fallout is that the affair is likely to strengthen the conviction among many cardinals that the next pope has to lead a serious house-cleaning inside the Vatican's bureaucracy.

It seems a stretch, however, to suggest this is the real reason Benedict is leaving. For the most part, one should probably take the pope at his word, that old age and fatigue are the motives for his decision.

That said, it's hard not to suspect that the meltdowns and controversies that have dogged Benedict XVI for the last eight years are in the background of why he's so tired. In 2009, at the height of another frenzy surrounding the lifting of the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying traditionalist bishop, Benedict dispatched a plaintive letter to the bishops of the world, voicing hurt for the way he'd been attacked and apologizing for the Vatican's mishandling of the situation.

Even if Benedict didn't resign because of any specific crisis, including this latest one, such anguish must have taken its toll. Benedict is a teaching pope, a man who prefers the life of the mind to the nuts and bolts of government, yet an enormous share of his time and energy has been consumed trying to put out internal fires.

It's hard to know why Benedict XVI is stepping off the stage, but I doubt it is because of a "gay lobby."

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John L. Allen Jr.

Read More..

Comba Telecom a dévoilé la nouvelle génération de portefeuilles de sous-systèmes, multi-systèmes et d’antennes multibandes lors du Mobile World Congress 2013

BARCELONE, ESPAGNE ET HONG KONG–(Marketwire – Feb 24, 2013) – Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited (« Comba Telecom » ou « le Groupe ») ( HKSE : 2342 ), un leader international dans la fourniture de solutions sans fil, a annoncé le lancement d’une nouvelle génération d’antennes et d’un portefeuille de produits de sous-systèmes permettant d’opérer une migration progressive de la 2G/3G vers les réseaux LTE pour les opérateurs mobiles du monde entier.

Compatible avec toute une gamme de fréquences LTE, le portefeuille inclut une vaste palette d’antennes et de multiplexeurs afin de répondre à un certain nombre de problèmes associés au LTE auxquels les opérateurs mobiles sont confrontés :

Déploiement du réseau LTE : Les nouvelles antennes et multiplexeurs de station de base multi-systèmes et multibandes de Comba Telecom sont compatibles avec toute une gamme de fréquences LTE et 2G/3G. En créant une couverture simultanée des réseaux 2G/3G et LTE avec une seule antenne, la solution de Comba permet aux opérateurs mobiles de déployer plusieurs systèmes sur les sites cellulaires nouveaux et existants, avec un encombrement matériel moindre. Par comparaison avec les modèles traditionnels de déploiement de plusieurs antennes par site, cette solution permet de réduire les problèmes potentiels d’acquisition de site et de surcharge des sites cellulaires existants.

• Les antennes de station de base LTE sont extrêmement compactes et compatibles avec les fréquences de 790 à 960 MHz et de 1 710 à 2 690 MHz.


• Les antennes ultra-large bande LTE sont compatibles avec un maximum de 6 canaux. Elles ont été conçues tout spécialement pour correspondre à la vaste gamme de fréquences LTE déployée dans le monde entier et qui s’étend de 700 MHz à 2,7 GHz


• Les multiplexeurs large bande et multibandes LTE proposent de vastes fourchettes de combinaison de fréquences allant de 380 à 2 700 MHz

Petit déploiement cellulaire : La gamme d’antennes MIMO camouflées de Comba Telecom a été spécialement conçue pour fournir une couverture 3D unique dans la rue, les quartiers résidentiels et les autres scénarios caractérisés par un petit déploiement cellulaire mais nécessitant une couverture à haute densité, comme les centres commerciaux et les aéroports. Non seulement les antennes répondent au besoin de débit de données élevé du LTE, mais elles ont été également conçues spécialement pour présenter un encombrement minimal avec une certaine esthétique facilitant le déploiement.

Mme Carol Ye, Directrice générale adjointe du service Antennes et sous-systèmes de Comba Telecom, a déclaré : « Nous sommes ravis de lancer notre nouveau portefeuille produits lors du Mobile World Congress de cette année. Ce portefeuille inclut notre nouvelle génération d’antennes LTE. Elles sont compatibles avec l’ultra-large bande dans une vaste gamme d’inclinaisons électroniques variables et présentent d’excellentes fonctions de modelage du faisceau ainsi qu’une fiabilité élevée. Nos nouvelles antennes à bande unique sont particulièrement fines et compactes, et même plus fines que la largeur de certains des smartphones les plus populaires !

Notre nouvelle gamme d’antennes, associée à nos multiplexeurs personnalisés et à nos solutions uniques de petite couverture cellulaire 3D, permettra à Comba Telecom de proposer à ses clients une solution de migration tout en douceur de la 2G/3G vers le LTE avec un rapport coût/performance inégalé.

Les solutions LTE diversifiées de Comba ont été déployées dans différents pays et régions comme Hong Kong, l’Amérique du Sud, le Moyen Orient, la Russie, etc. »

Comba Telecom expose au stand n° 7F14, Hall 7 du Mobile World Congress 2013

Logo de la société
http://release.media-outreach.com/release.php/Images/122

À propos de Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited
Faisant partie des principaux fournisseurs de solutions sans fil au monde, la société Comba Telecom est principalement impliquée dans la R&D et la fabrication de produits sans fil améliorés tels que les RRU, les sous-systèmes et les antennes de station de base et les systèmes d’accès sans fil. Le Groupe fournit également des solutions et des services clés en main complets à ses clients internationaux. Ayant leur siège social à Hong Kong, les opérations internationales de Comba Telecom incluent des plateformes de fabrication en Chine, des centres de R&D en Chine et aux États-Unis et plus de 40 bureaux dans le monde entier.

Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez consulter le site : www.comba-telecom.com

Marketwire News Archive – Yahoo! Finance

Read More..

Oscar Pistorius gets bail as murder trial looms

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius walked out of court Friday — free at least for now — after a South African magistrate released him on bail, capping four days of often startling testimony that foreshadowed a dramatic trial in the Valentine's Day slaying of his girlfriend.

But as he was driven away, chased by photographers and cameramen, questions continued to hound the double-amputee Olympian about what actually happened the night he gunned down Reeva Steenkamp inside a locked bathroom in his home.

Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder, and even Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair expressed doubts about his story that he mistook the 29-year-old model for an intruder and fired out of fear.

"Why would (Pistorius) venture further into danger" by going into the bathroom at all, Nair asked.

Cries of "Yes!" went up from Pistorius' supporters when Nair announced his decision to a packed courtroom after a nearly two-hour explanation of the ruling.

Nair set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000), with $11,300 in cash up front and proof that the rest is available. The 26-year-old track star was also ordered to hand over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and keep away from his upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria, which is now a crime scene.

He cannot leave the district of Pretoria without his probation officer's permission and is not allowed to consume drugs or alcohol, the magistrate said. His next court appearance was set for June 4.

Earlier, Pistorius alternately wept and appeared solemn and composed, especially as Nair criticized police procedures in the case and as a judgment in the track star's favor appeared imminent. He showed no reaction as he was granted bail.

Pistorius left the courthouse in a silver Land Rover just over an hour after the bail conditions were set. The vehicle, tailed by motorcycles carrying television cameramen, later pulled into the home of Pistorius' uncle.

"We are relieved at the fact that Oscar got bail today, but at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva, with her family," said Pistorius' uncle, Arnold Pistorius. "As a family, we know Oscar's version of what happened on that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court case."

Dozens of journalists and international and local television crews had converged on the red-brick courthouse to hear the decision — a sign of the global fascination with a case involving a once-inspirational athlete and his beautiful girlfriend, a law school graduate and budding reality TV show contestant.

Nair said Pistorius' sworn statement, an unusual written account of what happened during the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, had helped his application for bail.

"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," Nair said.

Pistorius said he shot Steenkamp accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house. He described "a sense of terror rushing over" him and feeling vulnerable because he stood only on his stumps before opening fire.

Prosecutors say he intended to kill Steenkamp as she cowered in fear behind the locked bathroom door after a loud argument between the two.

Yet despite poking holes in Pistorius' version of events and bringing up incidents they say highlight his temper, the state's case started to unravel during testimony by the lead investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha.

Botha, who faces seven charges of attempted murder in an unrelated incident, was removed from the case Thursday. His replacement, the nation's top detective, Vinesh Moonoo, stopped by the hearing briefly Friday.

While Nair leveled harsh criticism at Botha for "errors" and "blunders," he said one man does not represent an investigation and that the state could not be expected to put all "the pieces of the puzzle" together in such a short time.

The prosecution accepted the judge's decision without protest. "We're still confident in our case," prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku said.

Pistorius faced the sternest bail requirements in South Africa because of the seriousness of the charge, which carries a life sentence if convicted. His defense attorneys had to prove that he would not flee the country, would not interfere with witnesses or the case, and his release would not cause public unrest.

Nair questioned whether Pistorius would be a flight risk when he stood to lose a fortune in cash, cars, property and other assets. Nair also said that while it had been shown that Pistorius had aggressive tendencies, he did not have a prior record of offenses for violent acts.

Anticipating the shape of the state's case at trial, he said he had serious questions about Pistorius' account: Why didn't he try to locate his girlfriend if he feared an intruder was in the house? Why didn't he try to determine who was in the bathroom before opening fire? And why did he venture into perceived "danger" in the bathroom when he could have taken other steps to ensure his safety?

"There are improbabilities which need to be explored," Nair said, adding that Pistorius could clarify these matters by testifying under oath at trial.

Sharon Steenkamp, Reeva's cousin, said the model's family would not be watching the bail decision and had not been following the hearing.

"It doesn't make any difference to the fact that we are without Reeva," she told The Associated Press.

Before the hearing, Pistorius' longtime coach, Ampie Louw, said he hoped to put the runner back into his training routine if he got bail.

"The sooner he can start working the better," said Louw, who persuaded the double-amputee to take up track as a teenager a decade ago. But he acknowledged Pistorius could be "heartbroken" and unwilling to immediately pull on the carbon-fiber running blades that earned him the nickname "Blade Runner."

___

AP Sports Writer Gerald Imray contributed to this report from Johannesburg.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP .

Read More..

Analysis: Italian election explained

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth time


• The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%


• Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly win


• Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances

(CNN) -- Little more than a year after he resigned in disgrace as prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back -- for the fourth time.

Berlusconi, the septuagenarian playboy billionaire nicknamed "Il Cavaliere," has been trailing in polls behind his center-left rival, Per Luigi Bersani.

But the controversial media tycoon's rise in the polls in recent weeks, combined with widespread public disillusionment and the quirks of Italy's complex electoral system, means that nothing about the race is a foregone conclusion.

Why have the elections been called now?

Italian parliamentarians are elected for five-year terms, with the current one due to end in April. However in December, Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party (PdL) withdrew its support from the reformist government led by Mario Monti, saying it was pursuing policies that "were too German-centric." Monti subsequently resigned and the parliament was dissolved.

Berlusconi -- the country's longest serving post-war leader -- had resigned the prime ministerial office himself amidst a parliamentary revolt in November 2011. He left at a time of personal and national crisis, as Italy grappled with sovereign debt problems and Berlusconi faced criminal charges of tax fraud, for which he was subsequently convicted. He remains free pending an appeal. He was also embroiled in a scandal involving a young nightclub dancer - which led him to be charged with paying for sex with an underage prostitute.

MORE: From Venice to bunga bunga: Italy in coma

He was replaced by Monti, a respected economist and former European Commissioner, who was invited by Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano to lead a cabinet of unelected technocrats. Monti's government implemented a program of tax rises and austerity measures in an attempt to resolve Italy's economic crisis.

Who are the candidates?

The election is a four-horse race between political coalitions led by Bersani, Berlusconi, Monti, and the anti-establishment movement led by ex-comedian Beppe Grillo. Polls are banned within two weeks of election day, but the most recent ones had Bersani holding onto a slender lead over Berlusconi, followed by Grillo in distant third.

READ MORE: Will Monte Paschi banking scandal throw open Italy's election race?

The center-left alliance is dominated by the Democratic Party, led by Bersani. He is a former Minister of Economic Development in Romano Prodi's government from 2006-8 -- and has held a comfortable lead in polls, but that appears to be gradually being eroded by Berlusconi.

Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances, and the Democratic Party has teamed with the more left-wing Left Ecology Freedom party.

The 61-year-old Bersani comes across as "bluff and homespun, and that's part of his appeal -- or not, depending on your point of view," said political analyst James Walston, department chair of international relations at the American University of Rome.

He described Bersani, a former communist, as a "revised apparatchik," saying the reform-minded socialist was paradoxically "far more of a free marketeer than even people on the right."

Bersani has vowed to continue with Monti's austerity measures and reforms, albeit with some adjustments, if he wins.

At second place in the polls is the center-right alliance led by Berlusconi's PdL, in coalition with the right-wing, anti-immigration Northern League.

Berlusconi has given conflicting signals as to whether he is running for the premiership, indicating that he would seek the job if his coalition won, but contradicting that on other occasions.

In a recent speech, he proposed himself as Economy and Industry Minister, and the PdL Secretary Angelino Alfano as prime minister.

Roberto Maroni, leader of the Northern League, has said the possibility of Berlusconi becoming prime minister is explicitly ruled out by the electoral pact between the parties, but the former premier has repeatedly said he plays to win, and observers believe he is unlikely to pass up the chance to lead the country again if the opportunity presents itself.

Berlusconi has been campaigning as a Milan court weighs his appeal against a tax fraud conviction, for which he was sentenced to four years in jail last year. The verdict will be delivered after the elections; however, under the Italian legal system, he is entitled to a further appeal in a higher court. Because the case dates to July 2006, the statute of limitations will expire this year, meaning there is a good chance none of the defendants will serve any prison time.

He is also facing charges in the prostitution case (and that he tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when she was accused of theft) -- and in a third case stands accused of revealing confidential court information relating to an investigation into a bank scandal in 2005.

Despite all this, he retains strong political support from his base.

"Italy is a very forgiving society, it's partly to do with Roman Catholicism," said Walston. "There's sort of a 'live and let live' idea."

Monti, the country's 69-year-old technocrat prime minister, who had never been a politician before he was appointed to lead the government, has entered the fray to lead a centrist coalition committed to continuing his reforms. The alliance includes Monti's Civic Choice for Monti, the Christian Democrats and a smaller centre-right party, Future and Freedom for Italy.

As a "senator for life," Monti is guaranteed a seat in the senate and does not need to run for election himself, but he is hitting the hustings on behalf of his party.

In a climate of widespread public disillusionment with politics, comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo is also making gains by capturing the protest vote with his Five Star Movement. Grillo has railed against big business and the corruption of Italy's political establishment, and holds broadly euro-skeptical and pro-environmental positions.

How will the election be conducted?

Italy has a bicameral legislature and a voting system which even many Italians say they find confusing.

Voters will be electing 315 members of the Senate, and 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies. Both houses hold the same powers, although the Senate is referred to as the upper house.

Under the country's closed-list proportional representation system, each party submits ranked lists of its candidates, and is awarded seats according to the proportion of votes won -- provided it passes a minimum threshold of support.

Seats in the Chamber of Deputies are on a national basis, while seats in the senate are allocated on a regional one.

The party with the most votes are awarded a premium of bonus seats to give them a working majority.

The prime minister needs the support of both houses to govern.

Who is likely to be the next prime minister?

On current polling, Bersani's bloc looks the likely victor in the Chamber of Deputies. But even if he maintains his lead in polls, he could fall short of winning the Senate, because of the rules distributing seats in that house on a regional basis.

Crucial to victory in the Senate is winning the region of Lombardy, the industrial powerhouse of the north of Italy which generates a fifth of the country's wealth and is a traditional support base for Berlusconi. Often compared to the U.S. state of Ohio for the "kingmaker" role it plays in elections, Lombardy has more Senate seats than any other region.

If no bloc succeeds in controlling both houses, the horse-trading begins in search of a broader coalition.

Walston said that a coalition government between the blocs led by Bersani and Monti seemed "almost inevitable," barring something "peculiar" happening in the final stages of the election campaign.

Berlusconi, he predicted, would "get enough votes to cause trouble."

What are the main issues?

There's only really one issue on the agenda at this election.

The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11% -- and hitting 37% for young people.

Voters are weighing the question of whether to continue taking Monti's bitter medicine of higher taxation and austerity measures, while a contentious property tax is also proving a subject of vexed debate.

Walston said the dilemma facing Italians was deciding between "who's going to look after the country better, or who's going to look after my pocket better."

He said it appeared voters held far greater confidence in the ability of Monti and Bersani to fix the economy, while those swayed by appeals to their own finances may be more likely to support Berlusconi.

But he said it appeared that few undecided voters had any faith in Berlusconi's ability to follow through on his pledges, including a recent promise to reverse the property tax.

What are the ramifications of the election for Europe and the wider world?

Improving the fortunes of the world's eighth largest economy is in the interests of Europe, and in turn the global economy.

Italy's woes have alarmed foreign investors. However, financial commentator Nicholas Spiro, managing director of consultancy Spiro Sovereign Strategy, says the European Central Bank's bond-buying program has gone a long way to mitigating investors' concerns about the instability of Italian politics.

Why is political instability so endemic to Italy?

Italy has had more than 60 governments since World War II -- in large part as a by-product of a system designed to prevent the rise of another dictator.

Parties can be formed and make their way on to the political main stage with relative ease -- as witnessed by the rise of Grillo's Five Star Movement, the protest party which was formed in 2009 but in local and regional elections has even outshone Berlusoni's party at times.

Others point to enduringly strong regional identities as part of the recipe for the country's political fluidity.

READ MORE: Italian Elections 2013: Fame di sapere (hunger for knowledge)

Read More..

Regulator raps Big Four accountants

22 February 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

PWC’s Richard Sexton says there is no conflict of interest in auditing and being appointed by company management

Britain’s four biggest accountancy firms have been heavily criticised by the Competition Commission.

The regulator has accused PWC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG of being too dominant and not always meeting a shareholder’s needs.

The four accountancy firms act as auditors for 90% of the UK’s stock-market listed big companies.

They have also been criticised in the past for not doing enough to warn of the financial crisis.

Critics say accountants failed to scrutinise the banks’ balance sheets properly, missing the warning signals that led to government bailouts.

The concern is that the relationship between auditors and company management becomes too comfortable with a “tendency for auditors to focus on satisfying management rather than shareholders’ needs”.

Continue reading the main story

What do accountants do?

• Review a company’s financial position for investors


• Help with tax compliance


• Structure business in a tax efficient way


• Help to detect fraud


• Look after companies when they go bust


• Restructure companies to stop them going bust


• Help raise finance for company takeovers


• Help companies to float on the stock exchange

“It is clear that there is significant dissatisfaction amongst some institutional investors with the relevance and extent of reporting in audited financial reports,” said Laura Carstensen, chair of the Audit Investigation Group.

She added that “management may have incentives to present their accounts in the most favourable light, whereas shareholder interests can be quite different”.

“We have found that there can be benefits to companies and their shareholders from switching auditors, but too often, senior management at large companies are inclined to stick with what they know.”

The Competition Commission pointed out that companies do not tend to change their auditors – with almost a third of the FTSE 100 having used the same one for more than 20 years.

‘Gross underestimation’

She said her organisation was looking into different ways of encouraging competition in the industry. Mandatory rotation of audit firms is one idea being considered, as well as forcing companies to put the contract out to tender after a certain period.

The Big Four argue that the market is competitive and say many big clients doubt that smaller firms could build up their expertise fast enough.

“We are very clear that we report to the shareholders and engage with the Audit Committee as their representatives,” said PWC’s Richard Sexton.

Continue reading the main story

Lack of competition

FTSE 100 firms

• 31% had same auditor for more than 20 years


• 67% had same auditor for more than 10 years

FTSE 250 firms

• 20% had same auditor for more than 20 years


• 52% had same auditor for more than 10 years

Source: Competition Commission

“We believe that the Competition Commission have grossly underestimated the critical role that Audit Committees play in protecting the interests of shareholders.”

‘Significant flaws’

This was echoed by Ernst and Young, who said that competition in the market was “healthy and robust”.

Ernst and Young’s Hywel Ball added that they would co-operate fully with the inquiry but states that he did not believe that mandatory audit firm rotation was in the public interest.

Deloitte said it did not believe that the current market led to high prices, as contended by the Competition Commission, and added: “We categorically disagree that auditors typically place the interests of management over shareholders.”

However, one of the smaller rivals to the Big Four, the BDO, said it was pleased that the report had confirmed “significant flaws” in the market.

“No one solution will achieve market correction, but rather a combination of tendering requirements, encouragement of transparency and dialogue between auditors, companies and investors, and reform of outdated exclusionary practices should provide a backdrop for a healthier FTSE 350 audit market,” said Simon Michaels, managing partner at BDO.

The report is a preliminary one, with the final version due to be published in October. No evidence of tacit collusion was found.

Europe and the US are also looking into new rules for accountants. US audit regulators are also considering forcing companies to change auditors at regular intervals.

The European Commission wants to break up the Big Four, splitting their audit and their consulting businesses. Any new division would have to use a different name.

BBC News – Business

Title Post: Regulator raps Big Four accountants
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/regulator-raps-big-four-accountants/
Link To Post : Regulator raps Big Four accountants
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Ronda Rousey makes historic UFC debut in Anaheim

Ronda Rousey has an Olympic judo medal, an undeniable personal magnetism and a merciless string of victories in her short mixed martial arts career.

Now she’s finally got a showcase worthy of her talent.

Rousey and Liz Carmouche will make history Saturday night at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., when they meet in the first women’s bout in UFC history. They’re the main event at UFC 157, and Rousey is the star of the latest pay-per-view show put on by MMA’s dominant promotion.

It’s a scenario that was fairly unimaginable even a year ago in the UFC, which never had a women’s division and showed scant interest in that version of the sport. Rousey and her fellow fighters have created believers at every level of MMA in the past few years, culminating in this breakthrough onto its biggest stage.

“I feel like the brighter the lights are, the better I can see,” Rousey said.

“These are things that needed to be done for a very long time now, and I didn’t think that waiting for somebody else to do it was the wisest thing to do,” she added. “I feel like I’m the most capable person, and I should do whatever I can to make it happen.”

It’s all happening for Rousey, who has already graced magazine covers and national talk shows with a sparkling wit and charm that’s in sharp contrast to her savage, joint-dislocating performances in the cage. After winning each of her first six professional MMA fights by painful armbar submissions in the first round, Rousey is a huge favorite to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight belt handed to her by UFC President Dana White last year after she defended her title in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion.

“It’s very serendipitous, the way it’s all come together,” said Rousey, a Southern California native who lives beachside in Venice. “If I could have had everything exactly the way I wanted, this is how I would have written it down. Win all my fights in the first round, then go to the UFC and headline a show, and have it as a pay-per-view and at home. People’s dreams don’t come true like that. You think so when you’re a kid, but then you get older and realize that’s not the real world. I guess the real world is pretty cool sometimes, too.”

As the anointed face of her sport, Rousey’s profile is growing among casual sports fans, even overtaking the stature of Gina Carano, the former fighter who got an acting career when director Steven Soderbergh saw her fighting on CBS. On the heels of the wildly successful debut of women’s boxing at the London Olympics, Rousey seems poised to take the so-called combat sports to greater exposure than ever before.

She already won over the most important skeptic of all: White, who initially wanted no part of women’s MMA.

“After we met, she told me she had envisioned in her mind that she was going to make it so that I couldn’t deny women, that I would have to bring her into the UFC,” White said. “We’ve had some pretty crazy conversations about a lot of things, but she was right. She willed it so that there was no way I was not going to do it.”

Rousey specializes in the armbar, a judo technique that bends an opponent’s arm in grotesque fashion until she taps out or gets a dislocated elbow. Rousey has an equally spectacular way with words: During promotion for her final Strikeforce fight against Sarah Kaufman last August, Rousey vowed to rip off Kaufman’s arm and throw it at her corner. She settled for her sixth straight armbar.

“Everybody calls her a one-trick pony, but she’s fought a lot of women that are very good, who all know exactly what she’s going to do, and they can’t stop her,” White said. “She goes right in and gets you down, goes for that arm, and they can’t stop her from doing it. She doesn’t want her arm raised in a decision. She wants to finish you, and that’s what I like.”

She’s not talking any trash for her UFC debut, though: Rousey has a warm mutual respect with Carmouche, a Marine from San Diego.

Carmouche is the first openly gay fighter in UFC history, yet she’s nearly a footnote in the UFC 157 hype compared to Rousey’s rising star. Carmouche realizes Rousey is supremely gifted, but eagerly took this historic chance to be in the UFC’s first women’s fight.

Carmouche thinks she’ll contribute to the growth of women’s MMA, something she sees every day as an instructor for children.

“When I started the program two years ago, we had one girl that was involved just because her father also participated,” Carmouche said. “Now we have multiple girls in the program, so I see it evolving every day.”

Early last year, women’s MMA resembled a minor-league novelty to White. He saw no depth of talent, no groundswell of support, and no compelling reason to muddle his carefully managed brand with one-sided fights featuring women getting beaten bloody.

Rousey changed his mind with her skill, presence, charisma and marketability. When she steps into the UFC octagon, it will complete a remarkable rise for a bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics who swiftly picked up MMA before her pro debut in March 2011.

Rousey was a two-time Olympic judoka who won the U.S. team’s first medal in the sport, but realized she had little to show for a career in the sport once dominated by her mother, Ann-Maria.

Adrift after growing disenchanted with the American judo establishment, she picked up grappling as a way to combat weight gain from “the Jameson diet” of whiskey shots while working at a bar. Her grappling teammates began encouraging her to try MMA, jokingly at first.

“After a while, I was saying, ‘You know what, you’re right, I would beat any of those women today,’” Rousey said with a laugh. “They said, ‘No, I don’t want to see you get punched!’ You tell me not to? I’m totally going to do it now. When everybody was telling me, ‘No,’ I knew I’d found my new thing.”

Yahoo! Finance – Personal Finance

Title Post: Ronda Rousey makes historic UFC debut in Anaheim
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/ronda-rousey-makes-historic-ufc-debut-in-anaheim/
Link To Post : Ronda Rousey makes historic UFC debut in Anaheim
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.

Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.

Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.

"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.

Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.

But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.

National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.

"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS

The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.

Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.

Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.

The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.

If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.

General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.

EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE

The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.

U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.

Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shares of Apple will be watched closely next week when the company's annual stockholders' meeting is held.

On Friday, a U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with the iPhone maker, blocking the company from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Read More..

NFL exec: HGH testing resolution needed

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch says the league and players association need to reach agreement soon on HGH testing.

The NFL and the union agreed in principle to HGH testing when a new 10-year labor agreement was reached in August 2011. But protocols must be approved by both sides and the players have questioned the science in the testing procedures, stalling implementation.

Speaking at the scouting combine Thursday, Birch says the NFL has full confidence in the test and "should have been a year into this by now." He calls the delays "a disservice to all of us."

On Tuesday, the union said in a conference call it favors HGH testing, but only with a strong appeal process. Otherwise, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said, "it's just a nonstarter."

Read More..