This article from the Sunday Times summed up the year very well.  Some of my take-outs were:

• Deflation averted – good news
• Temporary inflation boost over Xmas & in the New Year – better than deflation
• Global growth estimated at 3% in 2010 by the IMF
• V-shaped recovery likely

By David Smith

We have all lived through a remarkable time. As we approach the end of 2009, we are also preparing to say goodbye to a year that will go down as the worst for the global economy and world trade since the second world war.

It has also been, by a margin, the worst year for the UK economy since the Depression. Even if the figures are eventually revised up, as I expect them to be, that record will not be affected. On the Treasury’s estimate of a 4.75% slump in gross domestic product this year, that is more than twice the decline recorded in the previous worst year, 1980.

For the global economy, the International Monetary Fund estimates that world GDP has fallen 1.1% this year. That does not sound much but is the first drop recorded on the IMF’s database, which stretches back to 1970. Before that we had the post-war “golden age” of the 1950s and 1960s.

Advanced economies have seen a GDP fall of 3.4% this year, the IMF says. World trade has slipped before, falling 2.7% in 1975 and 0.9% in 1983, but this year’s fall, 12%, takes us into new territory.

It may seem odd then to say that things could have been a lot worse. Part of my mission is to take the “dismal” out of the dismal science of economics.

The first thing to say is that the worst of the downturn happened quite a long time ago. The period between October 2008 and April 2009 was when global growth, world trade and the UK economy “fell off a cliff”. Economies then stabilised and started on a modest path of recovery. That is true of the world economy and, notwithstanding the official GDP figures, of Britain.

The improved economic tone, and the rise in markets, has happened as we have come out of that sickening dive. Anything could have happened to the banking system, from nationalisation of every bank to the cash machines running out. Instead, as the Bank of England’s financial stability report pointed out on Friday, the banks are a long way from being back to normal but an even worse crisis was averted, for which credit is due to the authorities.

In March, the world was looking at “mark-to-market” financial losses of £24.3 trillion. The recovery in markets has cut that to £6.3 trillion. House prices, expected to fall by up to 25% at the start of the year, will end with a modest rise. Sterling rose over the course of 2009 too.

There is other good news. Last week saw a flurry of concern about inflation, as headline consumer price inflation rose from 1.5% to 1.9% and retail price inflation turned positive (by 0.3%). There will be further rises over the next two to three months, before inflation comes down again.

Why is that good news? The dangers of prolonged deflation were exaggerated but the risk was there and has been averted. Had this crisis been followed by a prolonged period of deflation, comparisons with the 1930s might indeed have been justified. As it is, I would much rather have Britain’s problems than those of Japan.

Best of all is the job market. Employers and employees have shown huge flexibility to get through this recession. Wage freezes, cuts and shorter working weeks mean employment has fallen by only a third of what it was reasonable to expect.

The government deserves a little credit for its labour-market policies, including job and training guarantees. Aggressively expansionary monetary policy and modestly expansionary fiscal policy have helped.

Last week brought news of the first drop in the claimant unemployment count since February last year. The wider Labour Force Survey measure held below 2.5m for the fourth month running, against high-profile predictions of something like armageddon in the job market.

One of the worst labour-market forecasters, interestingly, has been Danny Blanchflower, formerly of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, who was appointed to the MPC for his labourmarket expertise.

In January he predicted that unemployment would rise to 3m, or worse, over the following 12 months. In May, even when it was clear from the data that the claimant count was rising much more slowly than expected and that the wider jobless measure could be expected to follow suit, he predicted monthly unemployment rises of 100,000 for the rest of the year. Even as lower numbers came through, he insisted it was the lull before the storm.

It may still be, though it would be an odd recovery that saw job losses accelerate. Unemployment probably has further to rise and will be slow to fall. The Treasury expects the jobless total in 2014 to be some 50% above its pre-recession level.

Only if there is a “double-dip” in the economy, however, would you expect a big unemployment surge. The job-market numbers suggest the economy has been recovering for some months. The risk of that recovery running into a roadblock will be one of the key issues for next year.

There will be more to be said on this but let me just leave you with a couple of quick observations. We are clearly not yet out of the woods. The Bank, in its report, noted renewed worries about the vulnerability of the financial system to sovereign risk, because of Dubai and Greece. Many high-deficit countries, including the UK, have yet to announce the “credible fiscal consolidation plans” the Bank thinks necessary.

The banking system has to wean itself off emergency financial support and needs to get on with it. The Old Lady has taken the banks to her bosom but wants them to stand on their own two feet.

Banks should be doing more to help themselves. By reducing pay bills by 10% and cutting dividend payments by a third, they could rebuild capital by £70 billion over five years. They face big challenges, of big losses on commercial property and rolling over funding in the markets, though the Bank sees these as bumps in the road rather than roadblocks.

The debate about whether banks are lending enough to businesses — or whether the demand for loans has just shrunk — will continue. The return to normal interest rates (which the Bank thinks is 5%) will pose problems, though it will not happen over the next 12 months.

Having said all this, it is very difficult for Britain not to have a recovery if the world economy is growing. The UK is an open economy and 3% global growth next year, which is what the IMF expects, will lift Britain. Most recoveries are V-shaped and the strong likelihood is that this one will be, though there are any number of alternative shapes, including W, square root and saxophone, to debate.

But as we look forward to those debates and say farewell to a fascinating year, probably never to be repeated, we can breathe a sigh of relief that it was not even worse.

PS: We may be getting close to wrapping up 2009 but the excitement is not yet over. Next week will be my annual forecasting league table, which will make some people’s Christmases and ruin a few others. This year’s competition, as much a part of the seasonal ritual as mulled wine or carols from King’s, has an added twist. Readers were invited to submit their own forecasts and some will have done well in comparison with the professionals. There will be prizes.

We are in an online age but the forecasting league table is best viewed on good old-fashioned newsprint. So make sure to get a copy of the paper, even if it means trudging through shoulder-high snowdrifts. Until then, I offer you my best wishes for Christmas. (David Smith, The Sunday Times) http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article6962721.ece

Henrik Thomsen (courtesy of Times Online)

I was upset to read in The Sunday Times today about General Electric using UK libel laws to gag one of its critics.

Henrik Thomsen is being sued in the UK courts for voicing his concerns over the company’s drug Omniscan and now refuses to discuss the matter anywhere in the country.

It seems to me this is just another example of independent thinkers being driven away from the UK for fear of being silenced by our repressive libel laws.

Recently American newspapers threatened not to publish here for fear of being sued. Celebrities are increasingly coming to the UK courts as libel tourists with cases which would not stand up in other countries.

Our books, newspapers and universities have led the world. We’ve always been proud of our right to freedom of speech. Why then, is Britain now seen as the soft touch when it comes to letting the rich and powerful take away our voices?

Jack Straw has pledged reform, but experience tells us we won’t see change tomorrow. He’d better hurry up – or he might find it’s just him and the celebrities left here.

Top 10 paperbacks – fiction

1. “Run for Your Life” by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Grand Central)

2. “Dead Tomorrow” by Peter James (Pan)

3. “The Associate” by John Grisham (Arrow)

4. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Stieg Larsson (Penguin)

5. “Girl Missing” by Tess Gerritsen (Transworld)

6. “In Time for Christmas” Katie Flynn (Arrow)

7. “The Girl Who Played with Fire” by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)

8. “The Gift” by Cecelia Ahern (Harper)

9. “Fairytale of New York” by Miranda Dickinson (Harper)

10. “The Bodies Left Behind” by Jeffery Deaver (Hodder)

Top 10 paperbacks – non fiction

1.  “Dreams from My Father” Barack Obama (Canongate)

2. “Dewey” by Vicki Myron (Hodder)

3. “Dear Fatty” Dawn French (Arrow)

4. “Blood Rivals” Martin Howden (Blake)

5. “I Did Tell, I Did” by Cassie Harte (Harper)

6. “The Men Who Stare at Goats” Jon Ronson (Pan)

7. “Bad Science” by Ben Goldacre (HarperCollins)

8. “F in Exams” by Richard Benson (Summersdale)

9. “50 People Who Buggered Up Britain” by Quentin Letts (Constable)

10. “That’s Another Story” by Julie Walters (Orion)

Fonte: The Sunday Times Bestseller List, December 13, 2009

La lista è redatta da “The Bookseller”, i dati sono forniti da Nielsen BookScan e si riferiscono alla settimana 29 novembre – 5 dicembre 2009.

It has been a while since i last updated but i have some more free time now and intend on building up a bigger profile online, where i will be able to provide some study material and updates on local events happening in Oxford.

First of all i want to give students some guidance on where to get important material to study with:

The best place to get frequent study material is by reading the language everyday, this is a good way to get an introduction to new Vocabulary and also some structure. 

My first recommendation is to use the News… this is excellent for many reason as you are not only kept up to date but also able to, with some patience, learn lots of new and relevant vocabulary. It is also an excellent way in which you can develop a topical vocabulary which can also improve your conversational level.

There are a variety of different newspapers in the UK and most have a different level of English, here is a brief summary of the levels that you should expect from the major papers.

The easiest to read of the UK newspapers are the “Tabloids” this essentially means newspapers that are not totally focused on reporting serious journalism and provide much lighter reading..

• Daily Star
• The Daily Mirror – this is a socialist, Pro Labour newspaper.
• The Daily Sport - this is a paper with a bad reputation as not providing any form of serious journalism.
•  The Sun – This is one of the most popular newspapers in the UK

These newspapers also do release a Sunday Paper that is a bit more in-depth and provides a much bigger read, if you are going to buy one a week i would recommend the Sunday papers.

There are also the Mid Market newspapers that have a slightly higher level of English:

• Daily Express
• Daily Mail

 These are both politically biased to the Conservative party.

There are also some compact newspapers that are very much the best read in terms of serious journalism and will provide a much higher level of vocabulary.

• The Times
• The Independent
• The Guardian

You also have the broad sheets that are essentially the upper class newspapers that are dedicated to a high level of language and very focused and serious style of Journalism.

• The Daily telegraph
• The Financial Times

As an overview that is how the Newspapers work within the UK i will also advise that you look into the sunday newspapers, Importantly The Sunday Times. This is a large newspaper with a variety of different articles and separate papers and magazines covering a large area of subjects.

Other resources that may be of Interest when looking to access more vocabulary is to look into the use of blogs, (im guessing you know what these are if you are here) and find different topics in which to read about,

good ideas would be to look into Language learning blogs or other free language services.

Hope this was Helpful

Regards
Mark

先日18日に行われた2010年ワールドカップ（Ｗ杯）の欧州予選プレーオフ、フランス対アイルランドの第2戦で、フランスが延長戦の末、ティエリ・アンリのハンドで得たゴールで1−1の引き分け、ワールドカップ行きのチケットを手に入れた件で、「正義感の強い」イギリスメディアは連日大騒ぎだ。スポーツ欄だけではなく、ニュース欄でも大きく取り上げている。このハンドはビデオで見ても明らかにハンドなのに、レフェリーが見逃した。アイルランドサッカー協会（IFA）は国際サッカー連盟（FIFA）に抗議、再試合を申請したが、FIFAは却下、フランスサッカー連盟（FFF）も拒否した。全て予想された結果だ。アイルランドも勝ち目なしと、早々に諦めたようだ。試合の後、インタビューを受けたフランス人ジャーナリストは、ワールドカップでは大きなお金が動くし経済効果も大きいので、FFFは絶対再試合を受け入れないと断言していた。その通りだった。これが逆の立場だったら、どうなっていただろうと思う。

当のアンリはハンドは認めてるけど、審判の責任だからと謝ってないし、「再試合がフェア」と言ってるけど、それもFIFAが再試合拒否の裁定を出してからだ。代表辞退も考えたらしいけど、結局辞めないし。自分のイメージ挽回のために、口先だけで適当に言い逃れて、ほとぼりが冷めるのを待ってるんだろう。

八百長とまでは言わないけれど、都合のいい結果を正そうとしないその後のFIFAの対応が、やはりスポーツも所詮ビジネス、影響力のあるサッカー強国に有利な世界なのねと思わせる一件だ。The Sunday TImesで、興味深い「陰謀説」記事を見つけた。元フランス代表のミシェル・プラティニ欧州サッカー連盟の会長の手引きによって、今回のプレーオフは、強国に有利になるように、くじ引きではなく、世界ランキングの高い国と弱い国が当たるシード方式を採用したと言われている。強国に有利になるようにしているのには、高額のテレビ契約料やスポンサーの思惑も絡んでいるのかもしれない。また、プラティニ会長もFIFAのジョセフ・ゼップ・ブラッター会長も、ビデオ判定導入には何故か消極的だ。確かに、偶然にしては、なんだかうさんくさい。

フランスとイギリスのメディアの論調の違いも面白い。フランスは自国チームのふがいなさを酷評しつつも、FIFAやFFFの決定には異議はないようだ。かたやイギリスメディアは、「Cheat（いかさま）」「Fallen Idol（堕ちたアイドル）」等と手厳しい。これはアングロサクソンとラテンの価値観の違いか。ルールや公正さを重視するアングロサクソンに比べ、ラテン人は自分が良ければ全て良し、「運も実力のうち」「神様の思し召し」「ラッキー♪」って感じだろう。

またイングランド人には、この1件が、1986年ワールドカップ準々決勝で、マラドーナの「神の手」ゴールで、イングランドがアルゼンチンに敗れた悪夢を思い起こさせる。自国のことでないのに今回の大騒ぎは、このことも多いに関係してるのだと思う。

フランスは、対戦相手が多少なりとも自制心のあるアイルランドで良かったと胸を撫で下ろしてるだろう。これがエジプトやアルジェリアが相手だと大変なことになっていたかもしれない。サッカーの世界での権力のなさでワールドカップ行きを逃した、アイルランドチームが本当に気の毒だ。

There has been a huge media frenzy in UK about the Thierry Henry’s ‘Hand Of God’ during Ireland vs France World Cup 2010 play-off on November 18th and it’s aftermath: since France won a ticket to South Africa with 1-1, thanks to Henry’s ‘cheating’ act. UK media with “strong sense of mission to pursue justice” have been putting up big articles about  this incident, not only in sports sections but also in general sections, everyday since then. You can see clearly that it was handball, but the referee missed to see this crucial foul or chance to correct the mistake. Irish Football Association (IFA) demanded a rematch, but FIFA and the French Football Federation (FFF) said ‘NO’ – but it is all expected. IFA seems to give up already because they know that it is a fight they will never win. After the game, a French journalist who was interviewed by BBC said that FFF would never accept a replay, because big money and industries involved and economic effect would be enormous. He was right. But what it would happen, if France lost with Irish footballer’s  handball – would FIFA give the same judgement?

Henry admitted his handball but never say sorry. He said that replay would be fair for Ireland but AFTER FIFA and FFF refused a rematch. It was reported that he considered quitting “Les Bleus” but he decided to stay anyway – all talks doesn’t convince me if he is truly remorseful, but I believe he is saying whatever to repair his image and just waiting for everyone to forget about his ‘mistake’

I don’t call it setup, but FIFA and FFF’s reluctance  to correct their convenient result is truly disappointing, and now I strengthen my belief that soccer is just another business, and always a stronger with bigger political power wins – fair play is a mere myth for important games like this. I read an interesting article by the Sunday Times “Conspiracy or coque up?” The play-offs were seeded on the basis of world rankings in favour of the bigger nations, and it was reported that the proposal to introduce seeding had come from UEFA (president is former French player Michel Platini). Why? Could it be related to the advance long-term television contracts, or the influence by one of a big sponsor which will possibly gain huge profit if France win? For some reason, Platini and FIFA president Sepp Blatter are said to be reluctant to introduce video technology, which can bring fairer judgement – why? Maybe a coincidence, but all these things sound pretty dubious.

Also it is very interesting to see the different stances between British and French media. Though French media criticizes their team done terrible in the game but they don’t attack the FIFA and the FFF of their judgement. On the other hand, British media is harsh on Henry as ‘cheat’ or “fallen idol,’ as well as on the FIFA. Probably this is due to the difference in Anglo-Saxons and Latins mentality: in compare to Anglo-Saxons’ values in fairness and justice, Latins would just think, “luck is also a part of his ability” “miracle” “godsend” – they would never criticize someone who give them a jackpot, even though from a devil.

In addition, for English, this incident reminds them of the nightmarish Hand of God goal, scored by footballer Diego Maradona during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter final Argentina vs England – probably it explains why British media is so obsessed with this incident which is not related to their own team.

French must be happy that the opponent was Ireland – if it was Egypt or Algeria, it would be a huge riot!

I am extremely sorry for Ireland who lost a chance to go to World Cup, due to a lack of political power in football world, rather than their lack of ability. Shame on Henry, shame on France, and shame on FIFA!

By David Smith

The Queen’s speech, published last Wednesday, sets out the areas the government considers important in the year ahead.  Britain’s impending serious housing shortage, one must conclude, is not a priority.

True, this was a speech designed to extract maximum political advantage for the government in the months left before the election.  And true, not all changes require legislation.  But the need to build many more homes in Britain, and thus improve affordability, which was once such a priority for Gordon Brown, has slipped off the agenda.

When he was chancellor, this was a big issue.  Britain needed 240,000 new homes annually to meet demand and hold down house-price inflation.  Though the housing market has changed since that target was set, the underlying picture has not.  The UK has 61.4m people, and official projections are for this to rise to 63.5m by 2013, 67.8m by 2023 and 71.6m by 2033.

How far are we running behind the target?  The National House-Building Council reports that it received applications to build just under 25,000 new homes in the three months from August to October: 27% up on the same period last year, but still barely more than a third of the target.  While the builders are increasing their output, it is from a very low base.  Government initiatives, meanwhile, most of them launched in a blaze of glory, have either been forgotten or scaled back to the point of irrelevance.  Remember the £60,000 home?  How about eco-towns?

The slump in new housing supply has, of course, helped to prop up prices, thought not as much as the “sellers’ strike” by existing homeowners.  But it is storing up serious problems for the future.

Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz a property investment company, says: “The current undersupply of property is likely to worsen, as house builders struggle to deliver any substantial increase in new properties in 2010.  Developers are only going to be building about 100,000 units next year, whereas at the peak this was around 180,000 units a year.”  The market will stay thin, which will support prices, but it is a long way from normal.  Judging from the Queen’s speech, the government has run out of ideas about what to do about it.

Gross mortgage lending last month was an estimated £13.5 billion, up 5% from September, but down 27% from £18.5 billion 12 months earlier, the Council of Mortgage Lenders says.  It reports that the number of loans to buy new homes has picked up significantly in recent months, but remortgaging has dropped to levels last seen a decade ago. (David Smith, The Sunday Times).

La banda británica Blur regaló ayer en el diario The Sunday Times un cd con 10 de sus canciones. Se convirtió en el tercer grupo musical en hacer esto, detrás de Prince y Sigur Rós.

Las canciones que decidieron poner en el disco fueron grabadas durante varios shows que realizaron en el verano europeo.

La lista es la siguiente:

1- She’s So High

2- Girls & Boys

3- Badhead

4- Beetlebum

5- Parklife

6- Out of Time

7- Song 2

8- Pop Scene

9- Tender

10- The Universal

Además, el 29 de noviembre la banda lanzará cinco canciones más para que puedan descargarse desde iTunes.

Hacé click en la tapa del diario y lee la nota completa (en inglés).

According to yesterday’s copy of L’Equipe, and possibly much to no one’s surprise, Wiggo is joining Sky. Jonathan Vaughters has evidently realised the futility in trying to hang on to a rider who wants to be somewhere else. No doubt Garmin will be amply compensated for losing a rider, still under contract, who finished 4th in this year’s Tour. Also, assuming that the 5 delinquent Pro-Tour teams managed to get all their paperwork in order and submitted to the UCI by the deadline, there’s probably going to be no more “big surprises” in 2009.

Regrettably, the weather today was both overcast and humid. However, nothing could dampen the boys’ (and girls’) spirits as we set off this morning for the pointage. I managed to cling onto the back of the peloton as we rode up the route de Grasse. The club hosting the pointage had thoughtfully signposted the way thus preventing most, but not all, from getting lost. A number of clubs arrived at the same time swamping the refreshments table and picking it cleaner than a horde of locusts.

On the way back from this morning’s ride, I picked up the newspapers (L’Equipe, Nice Matin and The Sunday Times) to enjoy over a coffee. There was an interview in The Sunday Times Sports section with David Brailsford which I started to read, anticipating gleaning some interesting titbits about Team Sky or indeed confirmation that Bradley Wiggins was Sky-bound. The interview almost immediately took a strange turn, backtracking to 2004 when David Millar was apprehended by the French police, in the company of Brailsford. At once, I realised it was a Paul Kimmage interview where no doubt there was going to be some pointed homily about doping in the peloton and it was highly improbable that I would learn anything of either use or interest about Sky, or indeed anything related to cycling. In the hope, rather than expectation, that I might be proved wrong. I read the entire interview. I wasn’t.

Instead of going to watch OGCN play Toulouse this evening, we’ve elected to stay at home and finish up a few necessary household chores (no, not the ironing) ahead of our trip to Paris next week. I’ve bought another bookcase which needed assembling. This will house my growing collection of cycling books in the entrance hall thereby alleviating the overcrowding in the main bookcase just outside of the kitchen which is home to my substantial collection of cookery books.

Most women will say that they can never have enough shoes. While I don’t necessarily disagree, given the choice between books and shoes, I will almost always opt for the former, unless you’re offering me a pair of Christian Laboutin’s. If you don’t believe me you are most welcome to come and check my respective collections of both.

My beloved also needed to tend to his collection of citrus trees which are exhibiting a distinct lack of TLC as evidenced by the absence of both fruit and leaves. I am many things, but green fingered I am not. He leaves them in my care during the week at his (and their) peril.

Postscript: 10/12/09 Wiggo’s transfer to Sky confirmed at a press conference this morning over 2 week’s after the L’Equipe story.

After Julie Bennett conquered the industry of graphic design in high-end music magazines like NME, she found a new niche in painting where she could get her hands dirty. A few years ago, when she exhibited her work in the Saatchi Online Gallery, The Independent labelled her one of “Saatchi’s new stars”. Her unique style has also gained her attention from The Evening Standard, The Sunday Times and Artists and Illustrators Magazine. She’s exhibited her paintings all around London from the Sassoon Gallery to the Sartorial Gallery.

Catch her latest work in the “Girls at Gold” show at The Gallery, Goldsmiths Student Union which features eight female artists – four from Camberwell, where Julie is currently studying, and four from Goldsmiths. The show opens on Monday 23 November and runs until 11 December. More info here. Julie’s website is www.juliebennett.co.uk.

A native Londoner, Julie gives us a bit of insight into how the city influences her work, talks about her failed attempt at becoming a rock star and her infatuation with Boy George.

Andrea

LLO: How has living in London influenced your painting?
JB: I was born in London so London is obviously a massive part of my life. Even though I’ve travelled around, London is still my favourite place. I absolutely love the diversity of people. It’s great for portraits. I’m always so inspired by walking the street and people watching on the tube. I want to take photos of people sometimes, but obviously I can’t.

Girl with Feather Earring

LLO: Your background is in graphic design for some big magazines like NME and Q. What made you turn to painting, and do you find your design experience inspires your current work?
JB: I achieved all my dreams in graphic design – to work in music, at NME and Q. I worked at nearly every music magazine London holds – Kerrang!, Classic Rock. I even worked for a bit on the UK launch of Rolling Stone magazine. I needed a new dream, so I decided to become a rock star. I enrolled on a guitar course at Goldsmiths for two years, but I was really, really bad and had no talent to write my own music. So I decided to try painting. I enrolled on a painting course at Slade. It was brilliant, exactly what I needed. I was excited to use paint and get messy. You don’t get messy with graphic design. My graphics experience comes into painting in that I’m so interested in magazines and popular culture.

Come Back to Camden

LLO: Many of the characters you paint have an androgynous look about them and your signature style is also quite layered with a dripping effect slightly distorting the faces. Can you tell us a bit about your style?
JB: It’s a celebration of paint. I allow the paint to be free. Representation isn’t really important to me. It’s more about the materials. Allowing paint to drip shows it’s still paint. Sometimes it still looks wet. Graphics is so flat, shiny and perfect. My painting is about the material, about the paint. The androgynous look is not something I go about doing on purpose. It just comes out because I’m pretty open and interested in androgynous people. I grew up a massive fan of Boy George and K. D. Lang.

Izzy After Camden

LLO: What do you think is the role of painting today and where does your work fit in?
JB: Painting is a form of entertainment. Its role is really to give us something beautiful to look at and I hope my work does that.

TVs

 Thanks Julie!

Sports journalism - the saviour?

By Myles Edwards and Suhayl Afzal

Newspapers are relying heavily on sports journalism to survive, according to leading journalists and academics.

The latest circulation figures from ABC (an independent auditor on media performance) show that sales of each quality daily and Sunday newspaper have fallen again in the year leading up to October.

Newspapers such as the The Guardian and The Observer have already ceased distribution of bulks (copies that readers can pick up free of charge from hotels and airlines), with the Times and the Sunday Times set to follow suit in January 2010.

The Sunday Times recorded a relatively low fall in circulation compared to that of other national newspapers, with a 3.37 percent drop in the past 12 months. This is partly down to the popularity of its comprehensive sports section.

Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent with the Sunday Times, believes that sport is integral to the future of newspapers.

He said: “There has never been a greater interest in top end sport than there is right now. The Premier League is the most popular in the world, Test Cricket grosses more money than ever before and it’s the same for all the blue riband events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon.”

Barclays Premier League - global audience

Mr Northcroft emphasised the importance of newspapers maintaining their high quality so that readership does not drop any further.

He added: ”Sports journalism is delivering in a sector where people really want to consume content and will pay for exclusive news or to read a brilliantly written opinion piece.”

It could be argued that newspapers should not be overly dependant on sport in this difficult time for the media due to advertising downturns. The high profile demise of Setanta in the UK is evidence of this view.

However, Mark Ogden, Northern Football Correspondent with the Telegraph said: “Newspapers still have the greatest impact and set the agenda.

“If you watch Sky Sports News or listen to Five Live in the morning, their sports bulletins are often led by the big stories in that day’s newspapers.”

Academics also recognise the importance of the sport to the success of print media.

Michael Oriard, Professor of Literature and Culture at Oregon State University said sport both benefits from and contributes to success of newspapers.

He added: “Sport coverage attracts the reader, who in turn looks to daily newspapers to satisfy their growing desire for more and more sport.”

Newspapers are relying heavily on sports journalism to survive, according to leading journalists and academics.

Sports journalism - the saviour (Photo courtesy of www.getreligion.org)

The latest circulation figures from ABC (an independent auditor on media performance) show that sales of each quality daily and Sunday newspaper have fallen again in the year leading up to October. 

Newspapers such as the The Guardian and The Observer have already ceased distribution of bulks (copies that readers can pick up free of charge from hotels and airlines), with the Times and the Sunday Times set to follow suit in January 2010.

The Sunday Times recorded a relatively low fall in circulation compared to that of other national newspapers, with a 3.37 percent drop in the past 12 months.  This is partly down to the popularity of its comprehensive sports section.

Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent with the Sunday Times, believes that sport is integral to the future of newspapers.

He said: “There has never been a greater interest in top end sport than there is right now.  The Premier League is the most popular in the world, Test Cricket grosses more money than ever before and it’s the same for all the blue riband events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon.”

Mr Northcroft emphasised the importance of newspapers maintaining their high quality so that readership does not drop any further.

He added: ”Sports journalism is delivering in a sector where people really want to consume content and will pay for exclusive news or to read a brilliantly written opinion piece.”

It could be argued that newspapers should not be overly dependant on sport in this difficult time for the media due to advertising downturns.  The high profile demise of Setanta in the UK is evidence of this view.

However, Mark Ogden, Northern Football Correspondent with the Telegraph said: “Newspapers still have the greatest impact and set the agenda. 

“If you watch Sky Sports News or listen to Five Live in the morning, their sports bulletins are often led by the big stories in that day’s newspapers.”

Academics also recognise the importance of the sport to the success of print media.

Michael Oriard, Professor of Literature and Culture at Oregon State University said sport both benefits from and contributes to success of newspapers.

He added: “Sport coverage attracts the reader, who in turn looks to daily newspapers to satisfy their growing desire for more and more sport.”

Sports journalism - the saviour (Photo courtesy of www.getreligion.org)

By Myles Edwards and Suhayl Afzal

Newspapers are relying heavily on sports journalism to survive, according to leading journalists and academics.

The latest circulation figures from ABC (an independent auditor on media performance) show that sales of each quality daily and Sunday newspaper have fallen again in the year leading up to October. 

Newspapers such as the The Guardian and The Observer have already ceased distribution of bulks (copies that readers can pick up free of charge from hotels and airlines), with the Times and the Sunday Times set to follow suit in January 2010.

The Sunday Times recorded a relatively low fall in circulation compared to that of other national newspapers, with a 3.37 percent drop in the past 12 months.  This is partly down to the popularity of its comprehensive sports section.

Jonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent with the Sunday Times, believes that sport is integral to the future of newspapers.

He said: “There has never been a greater interest in top end sport than there is right now.  The Premier League is the most popular in the world, Test Cricket grosses more money than ever before and it’s the same for all the blue riband events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon.”

English Premier League - Global Audience

Mr Northcroft emphasised the importance of newspapers maintaining their high quality so that readership does not drop any further.

He added: ”Sports journalism is delivering in a sector where people really want to consume content and will pay for exclusive news or to read a brilliantly written opinion piece.”

It could be argued that newspapers should not be overly dependant on sport in this difficult time for the media due to advertising downturns.  The high profile demise of Setanta in the UK is evidence of this view.

However, Mark Ogden, Northern Football Correspondent with the Telegraph said: “Newspapers still have the greatest impact and set the agenda. 

“If you watch Sky Sports News or listen to Five Live in the morning, their sports bulletins are often led by the big stories in that day’s newspapers.”

Academics also recognise the importance of the sport to the success of print media.

Michael Oriard, Professor of Literature and Culture at Oregon State University said sport both benefits from and contributes to success of newspapers.

He added: “Sport coverage attracts the reader, who in turn looks to daily newspapers to satisfy their growing desire for more and more sport.”

I thought I’d start a side-category called ‘Golden Oldies’ where I can put up some classic ads from the past. This one always makes me smile… stupid Earth people.

A couple of related facts:

• Viewers were not insulted at being called “a most primitive people” by the metallic creations – sales soared and the Martians received so much fan mail the agency which made the commercials, DDB, had to prepare special literature to reply to them;
• Smash was one of the ‘orphan’ brands (brands which hadn’t left the shelves but had left our minds) which was given a revamp in the noughties. Others were Cinzano and Rubiks. Interestingly… “One of the factors which unites a lot of these brands is that they had extremely iconic advertising at the time,” said Tom Blackett, of the branding consultancy Interbrand;
• Smash was made by Cadbury (now Premier Foods). Maybe that’s not news to many people but I didn’t remember that from my youth, I only remembered the laughing robots and jingle;
• The advert was voted TV ad of the century by Campaign , and 2nd best television advert of all time in a 2000 poll conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4.

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FOR easy joke, just add one part reference to male anatomy.

A few nights ago, talking about Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Stephen Colbert tried that recipe when he remarked that Blankfein “showed true Goldman Sac[h]” after the top-earning CEO told a newspaper he is “doing God’s work.”

“I have always believed that bankers are God’s representatives on Earth. They’re like the Pope – if the Vatican was incorporated in Delaware.”

                                                                                                     – Stephen Colbert

click on image to view video

In a recent interview with London paper The Sunday Times, not only did Blankfein claim divine purpose, he also referred to himself as just a “blue-collar guy.”  Sure – if that blue collar is attached to a Swedish Eton dress shirt with diamond-encrusted studs and cufflinks, priced at a mere $45,000 a pop.  The guy may take home a $68 million salary, but that doesn’t mean he can’t keep it real.

In his divine pursuit, Blankfein found it in his heart to ensure the bank giant Goldman Sachs doled out subprime mortgages to thousands of his fellow blue-collar Americans. And when those loans went bad, and homes were repossessed –well, that was just God’s way of guiding us away from such material pursuits as owning a home.

The Times article threw out revolting examples of excess in the form of Goldman Sachs salaries.

“Average pay this recessionary year for the 30,000 staff is expected to be a record $700,000. Top earners will get tens of millions…”

                                                                         — The Sunday Times of London

Wall Street/Big Bank greed isn’t news, but it does continue to enrage post-bailout, tax-paying Americans as every week we hear new reports about record profits here, excessive separation packages there and outrageous executive salaries everywhere – particular those being paid out by the same banks that took taxpayer dollars just months ago to stay afloat.

The Dodd Plan for Reform

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) introduced a bill in the Senate Banking Committee last week that his office calls “a tough, bold bill to reform the way that our financial system is regulated.” Dodd’s sales pitch to the American people continued in only slightly less vague, baby-kissing, God-bless-all-you-hard-working-Americans campaign language.

“Our plan will stop abusive practices by creating an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency with one mission: standing up for consumers. Whether taking out a mortgage, getting a credit card, or investing for retirement, Americans deserve to receive clear and accurate information, to be protected from hidden fees and abusive terms, and to know that the financial products they’re being offered are safe,” Dodd said at a press conference where he and eight other Democratic Senators introduced the bill.

Dodd’s front-and-center role on this bill wouldn’t be so laughable if it wasn’t for the fact that he was the single largest recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the 10 years leading up to the federal home loan crisis. Dodd, along with fellow Democratic Sen. John Kerry, and former Democratic Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, were the top four recipients of Fannie and Freddie campaign contributions from 1988 to 2008.

It will be interesting to see if Congressional Democrats and the White House can sell this reform bill better than they did health care reform – an effort that often reminded me of poor, bumbling Tommy Boy, crossing the country, trying to sell brake pads.

On Sunday, November 8, 2009, in The Sunday Times, Goldman Sachs’ CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, said he was doing “God’s work.” How accurate is his claim?

Mr. Blankfein is Jewish, as this jinsider.com article states, entitled, “Top Wall Street Jew: Lloyd Blankfein.” The oldest and most authoratative source to test his claim would be the Torah — the five books of Moses.

In the Torah, specifically in Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verses 1 to 3, we have the following English translation from the New International Version:

“1. At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
3. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.“

Therefore, in order for him to be doing God’s work, according to his religion, every seven years, he’d have to cancel all debts to fellow Israelites, now Jews, and keep them for all non-Jews. Where is the evidence Goldman Sachs is doing this? I can’t find any. In fact, I can only find evidence to the contrary. Namely, that all debts are kept past seven years for Jews and non-Jews alike.

For those who will argue that the Torah no longer applies to Jews, or that they can pick and choose which commandments to follow, that would indeed come as a surprise to Orthodox Jews, who I believe, rightly follow all of the Torah. Otherwise, what authority does anyone have to pick and choose which commandments of God to follow, if indeed they all be from God, as Orthodox Jews claim. If the Torah is inauthentic, in whole or in part, then Mr. Blankfein needs to cite his evidence to justify his claim that he’s doing “God’s work,” when he’s not following one of his God’s commandments.

To those who would say that God’s commandments in the Torah don’t apply to the actions of those working as employees of corporations, one need look no further than Exodus 32, to see that such an excuse doesn’t wash. Cite me a single verse that shows the actions of individuals were excused as a result of their participation as a group. Indeed, Aaron was held accountable for the actions of his fellow Israelites in worshipping the Golden Calf, when Moses was up on Mount Sinai.

Finally, to those who would say that all religions are fantasy, including Judaism, I say to them, that’s irrelevant to whether Mr. Blankfein’s claim that he’s doing God’s work should be held up to scrutiny, based on his own beliefs about God.

Top 10 paperbacks – fiction

1. “The Associate” by John Grisham (Arrow)

2. “Born Bad” by Josephine Cox (Harper)

3. “Cross Country” by James Patterson (Arrow)

4. “A Good Woman” by Danielle Steel (Transworld)

5. “The Gift” by Cecelia Ahern (Harper)

6.”The Prophecy” by Chris Kuzneski (Penguin)

7. “The Bodies Left Behind” by Jeffery Deaver (Hodder)

8. “You Can’t Hide” by Karen Rose (Headline)

9. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Stieg Larsson (Penguin)

10. “Found Wanting” by Robert Goddard (Transworld)

Top 10 paperbacks – non fiction

1. “The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher” by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury)

2. “Farewell to the East End” by Jennifer Worth (Orion)

3. “Mummy Knew” Lisa James (HarperCollins)

4. “The Saddest Girl in the World” by Cathy Glass (Harper)

5. “Dewey” by Vicki Myron (Hodder)

6. “Upfront and Personal” by Coleen Nolan (Pan)

7. “I Did Tell, I Did” by Cassie Harte (Harper)

8. “Dear Fatty” Dawn French (Arrow)

9.”That’s Another Story” Julie Walters (Orion)

10. “Bad Science” Ben Goldacre (Harper)

Fonte: The Sunday Times Bestseller List, November 8, 2009

La lista è redatta da “The Bookseller”, i dati sono forniti da Nielsen BookScan e si riferiscono alla settimana 25-31 ottobre 2009.

The Sunday Times ‘Harikalar şehri’ dediği İstanbul’a övgü dizdi;
İngilizler’in prestijli gazetesi İstanbul’u seçti.

‘Gitmek sonra yeniden gitmek gerek’ diye yazdı…

The Sunday Times gazetesi, “İstanbul: Türkiye’nin Kültür Başkenti” başlığı ile yayımladığı haberde “AB’nin bu güzel kentine verdiği bu yeni unvan, en az oraya gitmek, ve yeniden ve yeniden dönmek için bir bahane veriyor” dedi. Gazete şunları yazdı:

“İstanbul’un harikalar ve güzellikler yeri olduğunu, müthiş camiler ve kiliseler ile inanılmaz müzelerin bulunduğunu bilmeyen kaldı mı? Bütün bunların dikkatine getirilmesi ihtiyacı olanlar için AB, İstanbul’u üç 2010 Kültür Başkenti’nin birini ilan ederek Macaristan’da Pecs ve Almanya’daki Essen kentlerinin, göz kamaştırmasını zorlaştırdı.

Ancak eğer kültür başkenti unvanının bir şeye yarıyorsa, bunun, oraya gitmek, ve sonra yeniden ve yeniden dönmek için bir bahane oluşturmasıdır. Bu elbette ki İstanbul’un verdiği keyifin bir parçasıdır. Kaç defa giderseniz gidin, her zaman göreceğiz yeni şeyler var. Her zaman görülecek eski bir şey, yeni şey var.”

İngiliz gazetesi, Topkapı’dan, Boğaz’a, Bağlık Pazarı’ndan İstiklal Caddesi’ne İstanbul’un birçok mekamlarına dikkat çektiği haberinde gelecek yıl İstanbul’da birçok açılışların yapılacağını, daha çok lokanta, otel ve bar ile görülecek yeni şeylerin olacağını belirtirken iki yıldır onarım için kapalı tutulan Süleymaniye’nin yeniden açılacağının altını çizdi.

As children my brother and I used to think, like I presume some other children also perhaps thought, whether celluloid heroes like Amitabh Bachchan and sporting ones like Sunil Gavaskar also had to answer nature’s call. For a brief period—at an age that I can’t pinpoint but can indicate by saying that it was characterised by an overwhelming feeling in which everything seemed larger than life—we found it difficult to place our heroes atop a commode. And precisely because our minds were in conflict we occasionally did wonder about what to us was then a profane thought. Nothing remarkable happened when the idea just dropped out of our consciousness; there was no ceremony and there is no memory of it and the only fact is that we grew out of that brief period as naturally and as simply as one season melts into another.

This unsanitary beginning is to make a point that childhood curiosity is one thing and a deep-seated interest in the life of others quite another; it would be a lie to say that I don’t have any interest in the lives of others but I will emphasize that with every passing year an interest in my own life has grown gradually while the interest in the lives of others has declined. And I think that is what happens with most people; my mistakes, just like those of most other people, can be traced back to me. The margin I am keeping here is for a small minority of good boys, who are capable of committing heinous acts and also ensuring that the trail never leads to them.

With that said allow me to start this post about the paparazzi culture and the Tiger Woods life uncovering mission which has become the latest obsession in the world. Is the Tiger Woods scandal a really big story with everything remarkable about it? Truth, by the way, is no defense in defamation cases and the saviour of a reporter and a publication is fair comment (public interest). I got to learn about the fact that it had become a big scandal only via a blog called Medium Term on December 1; and my comment to it suggested that I had reacted only to the last line and not the point of the whole post. Then I read a December 8 update to the blog and the various gormless comments on both the posts; including my own.

Tiger Woods is a genuine great on the golf course and he may not be an ideal husband but is there any shortage of less-than-ideal husbands that Tiger deserves to sit on top of that heap as well. This is typical Daily Mail journalism for you; just go to their website any day and you’ve got to give them credit that they do not lose a single opportunity to have two perfect images that would tell you how an X celebrity has lost or gained a stone since she was last spotted in public. Any female celebrity that walks out without wearing a bra underneath would be up on their website with her cup size and her success at keeping gravity at bay spelt out for the reader.

There is no doubt that the public is interested but I have serious doubts on whether it is in public interest. It is in the interest of our gusto for the lurid that justifies such excavation. There is no moral high ground to claim but I would prefer some erotic literature over what to me is boring tabloid crap any day. How about a paper that unveils the life of tabloid scribes; would that be any less interesting?

I have learnt from friends, who have more than a passing interest in the range, that golf is a sport that mirrors life very closely. I know the rules but only those who play can tell you that it is a simple game if you can keep it simple and can get as entangled as life if you start messing with it. Mark McCormack—the man who founded the first sports management company with just under $500 in capital and thereby gave birth to a multi-billion dollar industry—loved the game of golf and wrote in his bestseller What They Don’t Teach You At The Harvard Business School: “I have often said that I can tell more about how someone is likely to react in a business situation from one round of golf than I can from a hundred hours of meetings. Maybe golf cuts more directly to the psyche than other games and situations. Or maybe it is the venue itself—green grass and rolling hills. It’s astonishing how so simple a game can reveal so much.” Tiger Woods pulling out of golf is already being seen as a threat to the sport that is struggling amid the recession and one newspaper reported that the Tiger Woods brand alone is 50 per cent of the sport.

In a statement published on his Website Tiger Woods said he was profoundly sorry and asked for forgiveness. Golfer John Daly said, “I’m in shock over it all, a lot of our players are in shock. I’m not happy with the way some of our players have responded—that’s their way of getting back because they know they can’t beat him at golf…”

Heinrich Böll, one of Germany’s leading post World War-II writers and the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972, wrote ‘a marvel of compression and irony’, The Lost Honour Of Katharina Blum, that was translated into English a year after its publication in 1974.

The back of the book cover reveals the plot: “Katharina Blum is pretty, bright, hard-working and at the centre of a big city scandal when, at a carnival party, she falls in love with a young radical on the run from the police. Portrayed by the city’s leading newspaper as a whore, a communist and an atheist, she becomes the target of anonymous phone calls and sexual threats. Her life is ruined by the distortions of a corrupt press; she shoots the offending journalist and gives herself up for arrest.

Step by step, and with an affecting forensic clarity, Katharina’s story is reconstructed for the reader, gradually disclosing an entire panorama of human relationship and motive. The novel is a masterful comment on the law and the press, the labyrinth of social truth and the relentless collusion of fact and fiction.”

The Times said, “Böll sustains a masterly and insidious tension to the end. He is detached, angry and totally in control.” Heinrich Böll served for several years as president of International P.E.N. and was a leading defender of the intellectual freedom of writers throughout the world. He died in 1985.

The plot is revealed because it is not the plot but the narration that makes the book great. On one side is Werner Tötges, the journalist behind all the falsification and on the other is Böll’s narrator, whose profession remains unmentioned, but he consistently separates facts from assumptions. The Sunday Times said: “Such is the force of Böll’s conviction, the clarity of his vision and the icy economy of his unemotive prose that within this short space he has distilled a spirit that burns into the palate the unmistakable and lasting tang of truth.”

The thickness of the book is inversely proportional to its impact—just about 140 pages. It is the social milieu of late 1960s and early 70s that the book attacks indirectly; especially the Alex Springer-owned Springer Press that controlled almost half of the newspaper circulation in West Germany.

“Art is always a good hiding-place, not for dynamite, but for intellectual explosives and social time bombs. Why would there otherwise have been the various Indices? And precisely in their despised and often even despicable beauty and lack of transparency lies the best hiding-place for the barb that brings about the sudden jerk or the sudden recognition.” (Heinrich Böll from Nobel Lecture, 1973)

The debate between Vampire & Werewolf is never-ending. Just take a look at the comparison below made by The Sunday Times – Lifestyle (13th December 2009):

Apologies for the crappy snapshots. I don’t have a scanner

click here for a bigger view

The Sunday Times wants to know who do you prefer? In other words, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? Write to them at suntimes@sph.com.sg

By David Smith

With some people arguing that we have not yet got through the bust, thoughts are already turning to how to stop the next house-price boom.  Adam Posen, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, argued last week that interest rates alone would not be enough to stop prices from getting out of hand in the future.

One way to do so, he suggested, would be to vary housing taxes according to the economy’s position in the cycle.  So, when prices are rising too strongly, stamp duty should rise to deter buyers.  Other taxes could also be used to cool over-exuberance.  When the market slows and prices fall, such levies could be cut.  We have, of course, seen a stamp-duty holiday on properties below £175,000 during this recession.

Could such a variable tax work?  There is a month of data to go, and anything could happen, but it seems clear that on the Nationwide Building Society’s measure, house prices will end the year higher than they started.  Prices rose by 0.5% last month, up 8.3% on their February low and 2.7% on a year earlier.  Because prices fell sharply in December last year, even a flat figure this month would ensure that prices end 2009 more than 5% higher.

This was not in the script.  At the end of 2008, house prices were falling at such a pace that few saw them stabilising, let alone recovering.  The average prediction was for a 10% drop in prices during 2009, and several leading forecasters predicted a 20% fall.

This year’s experience shows how hard it could be to set a variable tax.  Triggering an increase in duty each time, say, house-price inflation went above 10% would be fraught with difficulty, although we should not reject the suggestion out of hand.

Posen’s proposal was not the only tax idea doing the rounds last week.  The Liberal Democrats modified their “mansion tax”, which would now apply only to homes worth more than £2m.  Taxes, as we all know, will be going up in the next parliament, whoever wins the next election.  And that in itself may be enough to cool any boom.

More than one in three tenants expect their rent to rise in the next year, according to a consumer-confidence survey conducted by Rightmove.  The website also found that, of the 35,000 people questioned, almost two in three were renting only because they could not afford to buy. (David Smith, The Sunday Times).

We are delighted The Sunday Times listed us as one of the best sites for Christmas shopping this weekend. With up to 80% off labels such as Chloe, Missoni, Narciso Rodriquez and many more you can be party season fabulous. Limited stock so start shopping now!