The initiative smacks of an organisation desperate to extract as much revenue as it can by whatever means. Locog defended the move, saying it would be selling off all equipment used in the Games as well as computers from its offices.
Locog chairman Seb Coe disagreed that the auction was ‘demeaning’. “I think we’ve done the best torch relay that I have ever witnessed and the interest is extraordinary,” he said. “And yes, we’ve done some things that have upped the cost a bit in key areas, and this is not a bad way of helping us fund it.”
Coe was speaking at the Beyond Sport awards in London, where he received the ‘Leadership in Sport Award’ for Locog’s International Inspiration legacy programme.
Beckham’s manager said the player was aware of the torch being sold and he was ”happy to help off-set the costs to other relay runners”.
Locog said the torches cost £495 each to make, although some runners had theirs paid for by a sponsor.
Locog said yesterday other sporting items would follow on the auction website, including beach volleyballs from the event at Horseguard’s Parade and the relay batons from athletics.
Yesterday, Locog had two pages of framed autographed photographs of Locog chairman Lord Coe, rower Sir Steve Redgrave and athletes Daley Thompson and Dame Kelly Holmes up for auction on the site.
Locog has a tight budget of £2.2 billion raised through sponsorship and the sale of tickets, broadcast rights and merchandise.
This is separate to the £9.3 billion public sector budget.
Locog hopes to raise net merchandise revenue of £100 million, but the sale of the torches has added a new dimension to commercialising the Olympics.
Locog commercial director Chris Townsend said: ”The relay will last for 70 days and the flame will carry with it the values and spirit of the Olympic Games across the UK.”
Townsend said the “authentic London 2012 torches” would be released in special limited editions marking significant moments along the Torch Relay.
They will feature metallic shards signed by athletes and celebrities.
On the website, Locog is enthusiastic about the torch descriptions. ”This rare and historical Olympic artefact could be yours to own!” it says.
The torches will be delivered in a bespoke collector’s box.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Here Comes The Dude? Wedding Planning Gets Manly - Fast Company
The season of ceaseless weddings is upon us, so Fast Company called up Chris Easter, cofounder of TheManRegistry.com, to find out if today's men take an equal interest in planning their weddings. Easter argues that they can and do--and the rapidly growing revenues of his site are an indication that he’s right. Just don’t expect a special “50 Hottest Bridesmaids” feature on his website anytime soon.
FAST COMPANY: What’s TheManRegistry.com?
CHRIS EASTER: TheManRegistry.com is an e-commerce site and informational resource for soon-to-be-engaged or currently engaged men. The idea was originally, let’s create a men’s gift registry. Registries typically focus on the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, but there’s nothing aimed at men: grills, camping equipment, man cave stuff. The idea evolved into an overall comprehensive e-resource.
There’s a stereotype that men are less into wedding planning than women.
There’s some truth to it traditionally. But couples are getting married at older ages, closer to thirty than in their early 20s, and so couples are spending more of their own money and less of mom and dad’s money on weddings. If I’m spending my money, I’m going to be more involved, more hands-on with vendors. Our company proves that men do care intimately about planning their weddings and just needed an outlet. A lot of what guys are getting involved in was unheard of 30 years ago.
For example?
A close friend of mine wrote some custom music for the procession. He put his own twist on it.
Did he do it with an electric guitar and smash it at the end?
I pushed for that. It would have made the YouTube hall of fame. No, he kept it classical, but with a bit of a twist. There was a violin.
Until recently Conde Nast alone had multiple bridal magazines. How did they not figure out there would also be a market for grooms?
That was our question. The issue for us is the for-men-by-men approach. There was a website back in the 90s that tried to target the groom, but it got acquired by Brides.com, which took too much of a female approach. TheManRegistry is by men. It’s like reading Men’s Health or Maxim.
A Maxim for married men? That’s not a contradiction in terms?
I give Maxim as an example of a male-centric magazine.
You don’t have a “50 Hottest Bridesmaids” issue planned?
We haven’t gone there yet. We push the envelope occasionally. We’ve had content on wedding sex, what to do if you’re a virgin, sex on your honeymoon. But we take the process very seriously. The wedding day is the biggest day of both of your lives, equally for the groom and bride.
What’s your business model?
The revenue is split between e-commerce sales--we have over 4,000 products on the site--and we’re also ad-supported. The wedding industry is a $40 billion industry, so there’s quite a bit of space to carve out a niche for grooms.
Does anyone take you to task for labeling certain products as being for men? Some women grill, and some men bake.
The Man Registry is about being a man by stepping up and being involved in the planning of your wedding. Being a man can mean a lot of things. Being a man is not about being out with your shirt off drinking beers. It’s about: This is the biggest day of your life, and if you’re not involved, that’s a problem.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
For more from the Fast Talk interview series, click here. Know someone who'd make a good Fast Talk subject? Mention it to David Zax.
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[Image: Flickr user ashley.adcox]
Source: www.fastcompany.com
London trader and wife jailed for insider dealing - Reuters UK
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - A British trader and his wife who helped fund a lavish lifestyle from illegal share dealing, were jailed on Wednesday in a landmark case pursued by prosecutors on both sides of the Atlantic.
James Sanders, who owned and was a director of now-defunct brokerage Blue Index, his wife Miranda and James Swallow, a Blue Index co-director, had last month pleaded guilty to a combined 18 counts of insider dealing between October 2006 and February 2008.
James Sanders, dubbed by Judge Peregrine Simon as "the driving force behind the criminality", was jailed for a record four years. Miranda Sanders - who was tipped off about imminent U.S. takeovers by her sister in America - was jailed for 10 months, as was Swallow.
The striking, sharply-dressed couple, who are both in their mid thirties and have two young children, saw their sentences cut by 25 percent after pleading guilty, although James initially argued his trades were legitimate stock picks.
They held hands while judge Peregrine Simon read out the case against them and kissed after sentencing. Miranda turned to smile and nod encouragingly at a woman in the court room's public gallery, who burst into tears on sentencing.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which brought the UK prosecution, said the three scooped almost 2.0 million pounds in profits from illegal share dealings, while Blue Index clients made around 10.2 million - a precursor to the Sanders' couple selling the business for around 8.0 million.
The FSA, which only started prosecuting notoriously tricky insider dealing cases in 2007 after being criticised for its "light touch" approach to regulation, had pushed for three custodial sentences despite the couple's young family.
"This was a case of systematic abuse by approved people of their privileged position in the market - we are determined to stamp out such abuse," said Tracey McDermott, acting head of enforcement at the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
"No doubt as they prepare to spend their first night behind bars, they will be reflecting on the consequences of their greed. Others, who might be tempted to do the same, should be in no doubt about our continued commitment to use all of the tools at our disposal to tackle those who abuse the market."
NAILED
The FSA was first alerted to possible insider dealing after spotting unusually heavy trade in U.S.-listed staffing services company Kronos ahead of its takeover by private equity house Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners in 2007.
Calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its U.S. peer, the regulator eventually pieced together the links between the Sanders couple and Miranda's San Francisco-based sister and brother-in-law, an M&A partner at accountancy firm Deloitte, "Annie and Arnie" McClellan.
In a tortuous case that involved trawling through 26 million emails and 800,000 phone calls recorded on Blue Index's office lines, regulators focused on dealings in five takeover targets: Kronos, Per Se, aQuantive, ChoicePoint and Getty Images.
McDermott told a journalist briefing there were "whoops of joy" in the FSA's offices when in one recorded telephone call, James Sanders' father Tim asks: "Is this not insider dealing?" James answers: "No, not really. Well ...". When his father laughs and says: "Try proving it", James says: "Yes, exactly".
A consummate trader, James Sanders told a newspaper in 2008 his mantra was: "Buy at the point of maximum fear" after snapping up a 5 million pound property in London's exclusive Kensington district for a 22 percent discount at the height of the credit crunch.
The FSA found what they called his "life plan" in his kitchen, in which he documented his plans to pay off his mortgages and luxury cars and resign from Blue Index by placing one 200,000 pound tip a year.
In a scribbled account, he put aside 100,000 pounds for a "car fund" and 50,000 for a watch, clothes, holidays and wine.
Blue Index was a specialist brokerage of contracts for differences (CFD), a tax-efficient trade that allows dealers to speculate on short-term price fluctuations of assets such as stocks by buying a percentage of their value, or "margin".
The FSA said the insider in the case was Miranda's brother-in-law Arnold McClellan, a senior partner at the San Francisco branch of Deloitte. It said Miranda's sister Annabel or Arnold leaked privileged, price-sensitive information to the British couple about U.S. securities listed in New York.
James Sanders then disclosed information to James Swallow and encouraged Blue Index clients to trade in those stocks.
Annabel McClellan has already been jailed for 11 months without parole and fined $1.0 million after being pursued by the SEC, Department of Justice (DoJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). No charges were brought against Arnold, who has now retired.
James Sanders, meanwhile, has been forced to park the Ferrari and has been disqualified as a director for five years. The court will decide on confiscation orders at a later date.
The FSA, which said it spent "millions" on pursuing the Blue Index case, is prosecuting 11 others for insider dealing - an offence that carries a maximum jail term of 7 years in the UK.
"This case really does demonstrate the FSA's determination to deliver criminal prosecutions for insider dealing," said Tim Dolan, a lawyer at Pinsent Masons.
"While the FSA have still brought relatively few criminal actions, and have not always been successful, results like this should go some way to deterring insider dealing in the future."
(Editing by Douwe Miedema and Jon Loades-Carter)
Source: uk.reuters.com
London’s parks show Occupiers the exit - Financial Times
June 20, 2012 7:35 pm
Source: www.ft.com
Late Night: Matthew McConaughey's proposal didn't wow Camila Alves - Los Angeles Times
Newlyweds Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves, recently appeared in full matrimonial regalia on the cover of People magazine, but as the actor revealed Tuesday to Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show,” the marriage almost didn’t happen.
McConaughey explained how he proposed to Alves, his girlfriend of six years and the mother of his two children. At his family’s Christmas gift exchange, he wrapped up her engagement ring inside a series of boxes and made sure she was the last person to go. When Alves finally opened her ring, McConaughey got down on one knee and proposed: “Will you marry me and take my name?”
Alves, however, didn’t exactly leap at the offer to become Mrs. Matthew McConaughey. “The first words out of her mouth were not ‘yes,’ ” the "Magic Mike" star confessed. Sounding rather serious, he added, “I’m not going to say what it was.” (One can only imagine.)
Whatever her initial objections might have been, Alves eventually “conceded” to McConaughey’s proposal, as he so romantically put it. She even got her way when it came to their unconventional wedding earlier this month. Indeed, it was Alves' idea for all their guests to stay in air-conditioned tents in their backyard, rather than hotel rooms, for the duration of their three-day matrimonial extravaganza. Guests feasted on sushi and barbecue, but no word on where they showered.
ALSO:
Source: www.latimes.com
Jaspan Schlesinger LLP Announces New Divorce Evaluation Mediation-Arbitration Practice Headed by Former Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Falanga - StreetInsider.com
GARDEN CITY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Jaspan Schlesinger LLP, a premier full-service law firm, today announced the launch of a divorce evaluation mediation-arbitration practice headed by former New York State Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Falanga, who joined the firm earlier this year. The new practice is the only such service offered by a Long Island law firm that is managed by a former justice from the matrimonial bench. At the time of his retirement, Justice Falanga was the longest-serving matrimonial judge in New York State, with over four decades of experience in matrimonial practice and judicial law.
“I have adjudicated thousands of cases from the bench and have an intimate appreciation of the extreme toll that divorce litigation takes on all concerned parties. Mediation and arbitration both provide distinct advantages over litigation, including the ability to achieve a resolution often years earlier than is likely in trial Court. This substantially ameliorates the enormous financial and emotional costs that come with divorce proceedings, while giving the parties the benefit of a realistic, insightful and neutral opinion from an experienced jurist,” Judge Falanga said.
There are approximately 1650 contested matrimonial cases and 320 post-judgment matters currently pending in Nassau County. In Suffolk County, more than 1900 contested matrimonial cases are pending, according to the New York State Unified Court System.
“The backlog of divorce cases on Long Island significantly exacerbates an already painful experience for litigants. With early neutral evaluation, mediation and arbitration, the parties can avoid the lengthy process of discovery, while benefiting from the relative speed and convenience of a private proceeding. The privacy factor also helps insulate the children to a large degree,” Judge Falanga said. “Entrusting a mediator or arbitrator who has the right experience provides a practical and impartial framework for reaching an equitable resolution with minimum pain.”
Justice Falanga joined the State Supreme Court bench in 2000, when he was inducted by college classmate United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He has also served as a Supervising Judge of the Nassau County District County Court (2004-2005) and as a Judge in the Nassau County District Court, 10th district (1995-1999). Prior to his public service, Justice Falanga was active in private practice in Nassau County for over three decades. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Georgetown Law Center.
For more information, contact Jaspan Schlesinger at (516) 726-8000 or visit the firm at www.jaspanllp.com.
About the Firm
Founded in 1946, Jaspan Schlesinger LLP is a premier full-service law firm headquartered in Garden City, New York. The Firm's 60 attorneys provide quality legal services in virtually every area of practice, including litigation; banking and financial services; education law; corporate law; municipal law; election law; complex commercial litigation; real estate; creditors’ rights; tax certiorari and condemnation matters; land use and zoning; labor; estates and trusts; matrimonial law; taxation; and environmental matters. For more information, visit www.jaspanllp.com.
HLD Public RelationsJulie Gross Gelfand, APR, 516-536-2020jgelfand@hldpr.com
Source: Jaspan Schlesinger LLP
Source: www.streetinsider.com
Try Ascot - in London - The Sun
A London restaurant is running its very own day at the races on Sunday June 23.
The Plough Bar and Kitchen in Clapham, will show all the races on a big screen, from 2.30-5.30pm
So dust off your best suit, fasten your fascinators and jockey for a prime position to watch the dramatic climax, the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, through a pair of Veuve Clicquot sunglasses - free with every bottle of bubbly bought.
Call 020 7585 1844, email ploughevents@youngs.co.uk, or see theploughstjohnshill.co.uk.
ADD mystery to a camping trip by booking one of the new Wild Comfort mobile camping sites in Devon – whose locations are kept secret.
The luxury sites pop up at various locations in the South Hams and exact addresses are only given when booking.
But they are all close to beaches and rivers, the wilds of Dartmoor and the charming towns of Totnes, Kingsbridge, Dartmouth and Salcombe.
They are made up of five sleeping tents, one living room tent, kitchen and hot showers – and you can ask for the kitchen to be stocked on arrival. Prices are from £650 for eight people for one week with short breaks also available from £500. See oneoffplaces.co.uk.
BRITS driving abroad show a worrying lack of regard for road safety.
Twenty-seven per cent are less concerned about breaking speed limits, and 18 per cent take drink-driving less seriously than at home, according to an AXA poll.
And only 49 per cent slap a GB sticker on their vehicle abroad, even though it is required.
IF you need vaccines when abroad. it pays to shop around for the best deal.
There were some large differences in prices at clinics nationwide, when
the appointment and administration fees were added in, research by Airport Parking & Hotels (APH.com) found.
Across the seven clinics surveyed, Doctor Today was the dearest – charging £105 for the cholera inoculation and £63 for rabies.
In contrast, Well-Travelled Clinics charges £30.95 and £61.99 respectively.
The Hospital for Tropical Diseases had the cheapest rabies vaccine of those polled, at just £42.
For a full list of costs see aph.com/travelvaccines.
VISITORS to London will soon be able to get wi-fi while on the Tube.
London Underground have teamed up with Virgin Media to get 120 stations connected by the end of the year.
The first batch of stations are set to get online in July and include Oxford Circus, Camden Town, London Bridge and King’s Cross.
DESPITE the best efforts of the various UK tourist boards this year, it seems as though the days of the staycation could be over.
Research by M&S Money reveals staying in the UK can be 25 per cent more expensive than going abroad.
The cost of a week in London, for those wanting to celebrate the Jubilee and the Olympics in the capital, will set Brits back £1,631, compared with an average £1,298 for a sunny holiday overseas.
Stats from online travel agent On The Beach back up the findings – they have seen a massive increase in bookings for this summer with Spain again leading the way.
Tenerife topped the list of destinations with a year-on-year boost in bookings of 60 per cent, closely followed by Majorca which has increased by 90 per cent.
With hoteliers in Greece slashing prices by some 15 per cent and the low rate of the euro, bookings to the crisis-torn country have risen by 55 per cent. Alistair Daly, marketing director at On The Beach said: “With Britain focusing on the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympics the UK will be saturated with tourists.
“Our data shows that Brits have chosen to avoid these crowds and take advantage of the reduction on family holidays and guarantee themselves a bit of sun.
“Staycations have taken a back seat in 2012.”
A NEW travel tribe is on the rise – OATs, or Old Age Travellers.
Gatwick Airport polled 1,000 travellers over the age of 70 and found 56 per cent were travelling more now than they did when they were younger.
The airport has now launched a search to find Britain’s oldest traveller.
If you think that’s you, or want to nominate someone, email proof of date of birth, a photo and a line about a favourite travel experience to ukoldesttraveller@gatwick-airport.com before June 29.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
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