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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Vermont’s Independent Sen. Bernard Sanders spent over eight hours denouncing the new agreement to extend Bush-era tax cuts to millions of Americans.

Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Sanders spoke out against President Barack Obama’s efforts, saying the deal only increases America’s debt and fails to solve the underlying economic issues that mire the country.

Reading letters from constituents, Sanders took aim at Obama, Senate Republicans, China and others.

“I’m not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle. I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides,” Sanders said.

Nonetheless, the deal will move forward and is likely to clear Congress before the holidays.

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Sao Paulo, Brazil (AHN) – Brazil’s largest newspaper has sued an independent blog that had parodied the newspaper.

Folha de S. Paulo sued the blog “Falha de S. Paulo,” which was created last September by brothers Lino and Mário Ito Bocchini. Lino is a journalist while Mário is a graphic artist.

In Portuguese, “Folha” is similar to the English word for “Journal” and the word “Folha” sounds similar to the word “Falha,” which means “failure.” In addition, the blog’s logo was inspired by that of the newspaper.

The blog has published photos, stories and jokes that poked fun at the newspaper.

With its patience worn, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo sued blog Falha de S. Paulo alleging improper use of trademark because of the similarities.

Lawyers have reportedly told the brothers that they will likely lose the case, not necessarily because of the merits of the suit, but rather because the newspaper has deep pockets to hire lawyers and fight a protracted court battle and the brothers have limited funds.

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Manhattan, NY, United States (AHN) – Madoff trustee Irving Picard has filed more lawsuits against seven banks on behalf of the con man’s victims. He is seeking more than $1 billion in damages from the financial institutions for being part of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Picard is trying to beat a two-year deadline about to expire on Saturday. The deadline, set by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, marks the second anniversary of Madoff’s arrest. With the Wednesday filing, Picard brings to 10 the number of banks he has hailed to court in a bid to recover money for investors.

Picard is seeking $425 million from Citigroup, $400 million from Natixis and smaller amounts from Merrill Lynch, Fortis Prime Fund Solutions Bank, ABN Amro Bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Nomura Bank International.

Last week he filed multi-billion dollar lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and HSBC. The first lawsuit the Madoff trustee filed a few months ago was against Swiss bank UBS.

With these latest filings, Picard has sought more than $34 billion from the banks and feeder funds. So far the trustee has recovered about $2.5 billion.

Citigroup said it will defend the bank’s name in court, claiming Picard’s lawsuit is without merit. Natixis denied the trustee’s allegations, Bilbao said it has no knowledge or indication of the fraud and ABN Amro declined to comment on the lawsuit.

According to Picard, these seven banks offered Madoff investors derivative investment products and other financial instruments with returns tied to performance of the funds. The trustee said the banks continued to structure transactions to take advantage of returns from Madoff company’s despite indicators of fraud.

He cited as proof of Citigroup’s apparent knowledge of the Ponzi scheme an email and meeting between a Citigroup official and a whistle blower who alerted the bank that Madoff was operating a scam.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Howard Stern announced on Thursday he renewed his contract with Sirius XM radio. News of the new five year agreement was broadcast on his satellite radio show.

“On my first day in satellite radio Sirius had approximately 600,000 subscribers. Today, the two companies have 20 million; and, in my view, we have just scratched the surface of how many people will get on board,” said Howard Stern. “I am especially excited that my show will now be heard through Sirius XM on mobile devices. Access to my show on mobile devices will open up additional opportunities for my fans to hear me wherever they are.”

Sirius merged with its competitor XM satellite radio in 2008 to form Sirius XM.

Speculation had been growing for months on what Stern would do. Some theories had him renewing his contract; others had him going to Internet, traditional broadcast radio, or premium cable TV. The shock jock who famously battled with censors over his often raunchy show when he was on terrestrial radio had been in fierce negotiations for months at close of his original five year, 500 million contract drew to a close.

“Howard is a great talent and we are thrilled that he will continue to provoke, engage and entertain on SIRIUS XM. Our agreement is good news on all fronts – it is good for SIRIUS XM subscribers and good for SIRIUS XM stockholders. Howard forever changed radio and was instrumental in putting SIRIUS on the map when he first launched on satellite radio. He is one of the few ‘one-name’ entertainers in the country and our 20 million subscribers are lucky to have him,” said Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer, Sirius XM.

Some notable reactions on Twitter include actors John Stamos and Brent Spiner.

Stamos told his followers, “not many people can say they are the absolute best at what they do!! congrats to howard stern on his new deal with sirius.”

Famed actor of an interplanetary space series Spiner told his followers, “Wish I had stock in Sirius radio today. Up on news of Howard Stern’s new contract. Tis the season to be jolly, falalalalalala!”

Stern, the self-proclaimed “King of all media: is credited with revolutionizing the talk radio format. Known for his large and extremely loyal fan base and for his unequalled ability to migrate fans to other media, but the figures Stern attributes are being called inflated.

Much of the 20 million subscribers Sirius XM has now is linked to the “growth came from the [2008] merger between Sirius and XM,” says Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times.

At the height of Stern’s broadcast on terrestrial radio, his show was carried by 62 stations across the country and had 12 million listeners.

Howard’s new contract will run through December 31, 2015. His payout hasn’t been disclosed but under the terms of the new contract, Sirius XM will now have the right to transmit Howard’s exclusive programming to mobile devices.

In February, Sirius XM launched its BlackBerry app, however Stern and MLB.com were excluded for undisclosed reasons.

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New York, New York, United States (AHN) – The American International Group announced Wednesday it will repay the U.S. Federal Reserve $21 billion credit line. AIG will fund the repayment from the sales of two life insurers from outside the U.S.

After paying back what AIG borrowed from the regulator in 2008 at the onset of the financial crisis, the insurance giant will focus on retiring its obligations to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury invested $48 billion in AIG and owns 80 percent of the company.

The Treasury said it plans to convert its AIG preferred shares into 1.66 billion shares of common stock by March 15.

The Treasury, according to reports, is planning to sell up to 20 percent of its AIG shares in the first quarter of 2011 as part of its unloading its stake in the insurance giant.

The stock offering is expected to raise at least $15 billion. The securities will be sold to private investors, similar to what the Treasury did with its Citigroup and General Motors holdings.

Since January, AIG shares gained 41 percent on the New York Stock Exchange to $42.22. If the Treasury sells its AIG stocks at $29 per share, finance experts said the Treasury will break even on its investment.

A Treasury official said the AIG action dovetails with Washington’s strategy to exit investments in private companies as soon as practical, while protecting taxpayers’ money.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States (CNS) – Earlier this year, Taylor Swift became the latest spokeswoman for CoverGirl, where she joined the ranks of A-listers like Drew Barrymore and Rihanna. Now the “Speak Now” star is the face of the beauty giant’s new NatureLuxe line.

NatureLuxe is described as a new simple, high-quality luxury makeup line, which will include a Silk Foundation and a Gloss Balm upon its January 2011 launch. The products drop heavier emollients for more natural ingredients

The Silk Foundation formula uses cucumber water along with hints of natural jojoba and rosehip extracts. The new Gloss Balm blends mango butter, shea and other butters.

Swift’s ads for NatureLuxe will begin appearing in January.

“I’m really excited for people to discover the new NatureLuxe line from CoverGirl!” Swift said in a statement. “The Silk Foundation and Gloss Balm are really light and fresh, they feel amazing on my skin.”

CoverGirl is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Along with Swift, their celebrity spokespeople have also included Ellen DeGeneres, Tyra Banks, Molly Sims, Brandy, Faith Hill, Keri Russell, and Queen Latifah.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The gaming industry which has been hard hit in recent years is slated is slated to rebound due to improved economic conditions triggering a recovery in U.S. gaming revenues in late 2011. However 2007 pre-economic meltdown gaming revenue levels will not return until 2012. 

According to PwC’s Playing to win: The outlook for the global casino and online gaming market to 2014, U.S. gaming revenues will rise to $68.3 billion in 2014 from $57.2 billion in 2009, marking a 3.6 percent compound annual increase.

The report also found that U.S. will remain the largest region in 2014, however Asia Pacific will be the fastest growing region with a projected 23.6 percent increase compounded annually to $62.9 billion in 2014 from $21.8 billion in 2009.

“The gaming industry is facing an evolution, which presents both challenges and opportunities for the industry’s established players and those considering to enter the market,” said Mary Lynn Palenik, director, gaming, entertainment, media & communications practice, PwC US. 

She goes on to say, “The explosion of entertainment choices for consumers will make it vital for the industry to produce an offering and experience that consumers want to spend money on.”

Regional Casinos will be Fastest Growing Category 

Propped by the growth in racetrack casinos, regional casinos will be the fastest growing category during the next five years as investment in new and improved offerings and facilities continue to re-direct visitors and revenue. 

Tribal casinos, which fueled growth at double digit annual rates through 2006, have experienced fewer openings over the last few years, a slower economy, and increased competition from regional casinos. 

A return to double digit increases which filled coffers the first half of the decade is not expected. Rather, revenues at tribal casinos will increase from $26.5 billion in 2009 to $30.3 billion in 2014, a 2.7 percent compound annual increase.

The Nevada market – which includes Las Vegas, Laughlin and Reno – experienced double digit declines in 2008 and 2009, which can be attributed to the fact that Nevada casinos, more than any other casinos in the U.S., rely on foreign visitors where tourism has been down, as well as out-of-state visitation from regions that have also been significantly impacted by the global recession.

But the report finds that over the five year forecast, Nevada will increase at a 4.1 percent compound annual rate to $12.5 billion in 2014 from $10.2 billion in 2009.

According to the report, Atlantic City is the only market where revenues in 2014 will be lower than in 2009. The region has suffered the most by the economic downturn and growing competitive pressures from regional casinos in Pennsylvania and New York. For the forecast period, PwC projects a 3.2 percent compound annual decline, from $3.9 billion in 2009 to $3.4 billion in 2014.

Moving forward analysts believe social networking sites will be a key distribution platform for online gaming services, resulting in collaborative partnerships between gaming brands and social networks. 

Lotteries will also grow via interstate collaboration and online pooling while taking advantage of new online offerings.

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New Delhi, India (AHN) – The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked all the Indian airlines to make their airfares public by putting up the relevant information on their respective websites. The airlines have been given a 48-hour deadline to comply with this instruction. The Government wants to ensure transparency in ticket prices because of the fact that the flyers have constantly complained that they feel cheated because of exorbitant prices.

Earlier, in November, the DGCA had also asked the airlines to provide it with a copy of the route-wise established tariff on the first day of the calendar month.

Top officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA held a meeting with the representatives of the major Indian carriers and issued this directive afterwards. On Monday, the government officials met the representatives of full-service airlines like the Air India (the national carrier), Jet Airways and Kingfisher. On Saturday, they met the no-frill carriers like the IndiGo, Spicejet and GoAir.

During the meetings, the airlines were made aware of the provisions under the Rule number 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, which talks of making the tariff public through either websites or daily newspapers.

The meetings and the directive came as a result of the stand-off between the government and the airlines over the latter’s intentions to raise prices further, which the government is opposed to. This was visible in the recent surge in airfares, especially since November 15 this year, despite continuous government instructions to the contrary. It was in the month of November that the airlines actually went ahead with a 200-300 percent hike in fares.

As per the directive, the domestic airlines will have to “upload the route wise tariff across its network in various fare categories commensurate with date of purchase on their respective websites…” The guidelines are expected to help ensure transparency in the tariff structure of the carriers besides allowing the flyers to “enable predictability” while embarking on an air journey.

According to the directive, the airlines have to communicate detail-wise and route-wise fares, besides informing the public of the details involved in each “fare bucket.” Fare buckets are the different categories into which the aircraft seats are divided, depending upon their price.

On their part, the airlines have reluctantly agreed to comply with this directive, though many among them grudge that doing so would take away the competitive edge among themselves.

Meanwhile, Chairman of one of the major carriers, the Kingfisher airlines, Vijay Mallya said during a recent event, “There is no case of capping airfares in a liberalized environment, be it at the upper or lower band. It is a function of demand and supply and there is no exploitation by airlines.”

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New Delhi, India (AHN) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh witnessed on Monday the signing of a nuclear reactor purchase deal between two nuclear power firms from both countries.

Under the deal, the French state-controlled nuclear group Areva will supply India’s Nuclear Power Corporation with additional nuclear reactors worth $10 billion. The reactors will be built at Jaitapur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

The Nuclear Power Corp. already operates 22 nuclear power stations but it is seeking to expand its domestic operation and open up a market estimated at £90bn over 15 years.

Sarkozy was in a four-day visit to India with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Also with him are his defense, foreign and finance ministers as well as about 60 business leaders.

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Samukh, Azerbaijan (AHN) – Azerbaijan’s state veterinary service has officially confirmed that N1H1 virus was found in one of the blood samples sent from the west Azerbaijani region of Samukh where many of the country’s poultry farms are located.

A one month moratorium, or ban on bird-hunting has been imposed by the country’s environment ministry .

Last August, 2010, the World Health Organization gave the official declaration that the global pandemic of H1N1 had finally ended.

This was followed by the announcement last December 3 in South Sulawesi, Jakarta of a bird flu attack.

Health officials in Azerbaijan have advised people to take precautions against the possible spread of the virus, which migrating birds can spread from other countries. The following health tips are thus reiterated to help prevent the spread of the virus:

• Wash your hands often using soap and water. You can also use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• When you cough or sneeze, use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose. Discard used tissues in a wastebasket.
• Don’t have a tissue? Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve.
• Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing. Use soap and water or an alcohol hand sanitizer.
• Stay at home if you are sick.

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