32 militant Islamists arrested in Tunisia |
- 32 militant Islamists arrested in Tunisia
- US small caps looking pricey, despite job growth
- Awesome! Cumberbatch wins praise for playing troubled genius Alan Turing
- NBC renews ‘The Blacklist’, ‘Chicago Fire’, ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ and ‘Grimm’
- Atletico thrash Real 4-0 in Madrid derby rout
- Greek cabinet plans for high-risk talks to head off default
| 32 militant Islamists arrested in Tunisia Posted: 07 Feb 2015 05:01 PM PST
News of the arrests came one day after a secular-Islamist coalition cabinet headed by Prime Minister Habib Essid took office. The new cabinet faces many challenges, including Islamist groups that emerged after a 2011 uprising. "Counter-terrorism forces foiled plots to carry out spectacular attacks against vital installations, including the Interior Ministry, security stations and civilian buildings in the capital Tunis," said Mohammed Ali Aroui, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "During the past three days, we arrested 32 terrorists from this group planning to attack targets in Tunis and other cities," he said, adding that the group included "several terrorists returned from fighting in Syria." Aroui said troops killed Tunisian and Algerian militants in Mount Chaambi near the Algerian border. Since a 2011 uprising in Tunisia toppled the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country has become a major source of jihadi fighters traveling to Syria. With an economy heavily reliant on foreign tourism, Tunisia has been cracking down on Islamist militants. "Our priority will be to strengthen measures to combat extremism and strengthen security capabilities to confront terrorism and the protection of the democratic transition," Essid said this week. The number of Tunisians fighting in Syria has been estimated at about 3,000. A few hundred have returned to Tunisia and many have been tracked down and arrested. Aroui said special forces are pursuing other militants in the southern city of Gafsa led by an Islamist named Mourad Gaesseli. He did not give details about the identity of this group. Ansar al Sharia, which the United States lists as a foreign terrorist organisation, was among the most hardline movements calling for an Islamic state to emerge since Tunisia's 2011 uprising. The Libyan branch of the group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Libya in recent months. — Reuters  |
| US small caps looking pricey, despite job growth Posted: 07 Feb 2015 04:55 PM PST
With nearly all of their revenue coming from the United States, the companies in the Russell 2000 should be the most obvious beneficiaries of a growing US economy. Yet fund managers and analysts warn that small-cap stocks already trade at valuations high above long-term averages, even after significantly lagging large-company shares in 2014. This could put a cap on further gains. "Small-cap companies have something of an advantage in this economy. But investors have figured that out," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors in New York. Companies in the Russell 2000 look expensive compared with their history, said Steven DeSanctis, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a Feb 3 note to clients. The trailing price-to-earnings ratio of the index is at 22.7, which is 40 per cent more than its long-term average of 16.2. Its price-to-sales ratio of 1.6 is nearly 67 per cent higher than its long-term average. High valuations already appear to be cutting in to returns, DeSanctis said. The Russell 2000 is up 11.9 per cent over the last 12 months, compared with a 16.7 per cent gain in the large-cap Standard & Poor's 500 index over that time. Year to date, both indexes are up less than one per cent. Still, Steven Raineri, the lead portfolio manager of the Franklin All-Cap Value fund, increased his stake in small-company stocks by 25 per cent over the last year in part because of signs of improvement in the housing market and in consumer confidence. Overall, multi-cap fund managers increased their stake in small-cap stocks 10 per cent over the same time, according to Morningstar data. "We're happy if there's a disconnect and we can find companies we like at prices we're comfortable with," Raineri said. He has been adding to his holdings in companies such as Gibraltar Industries Inc, a US$500 million (RM1.77b) market-cap company that makes mailboxes and other products used in the construction of housing developments, and Griffon Corp, an US$813 million market-cap company that manufactures garage doors and landscaping products. Both companies derive 70 per cent or more of their revenue from the United States, according to Thomson Reuters. Overall, in the last five years, 81.3 per cent of revenue for Russell 2000 companies came from the United States, compared with 64.3 percent of revenue for S&P 500 companies, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Nonfarm payrolls increased 257,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday, well above forecasts. The dollar index rose slightly more than one per cent on the news. Raineri said that he is more concerned about the dollar continuing to rise quickly than higher share prices for small-cap stocks. A rapid jump in the dollar could be a sign that investors are seeking safety, and could draw investors away from small-cap stocks, he said. "If the dollar gets too strong too fast, it's going to be taken as a sign of the global economy weakening," he said. — Reuters |
| Awesome! Cumberbatch wins praise for playing troubled genius Alan Turing Posted: 07 Feb 2015 04:55 PM PST
But ahead of the BAFTA awards in London today, Benedict Cumberbatch rejects the idea that he is typecast. The 38-year-old British actor, who has a best actor nod for playing codebreaker Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game", insists he can and has played idiots. "If anyone's got any other stupid people I can play, let me know," he said while being quizzed about his latest incarnation as the troubled intellectual. In the movie, Cumberbatch harnesses the astonishing energy he showcases in hit TV series "Sherlock" into the obsession that Turing had with cracking the Nazis' Enigma code machine. He puts in a mesmerising performance as a brilliant, tortured man who helped bring forward the end of World War II but ended his life in despair after being prosecuted and then chemically castrated for being gay. S Barry Cooper, a maths professor who has written a book about Turing, said Cumberbatch "deeply inhabited Turing's story, encompassing all his brilliant insight, struggle and 1954 suicide". Cumberbatch said Turing "got under my skin", and is a passionate defender of a man he said was a "war hero" but who was treated deplorably by the country he served. Playing 'the long game' Cumberbatch is not classically handsome but has remarkable allure—entire fan sites are dedicated to his cheekbones — and in 2013 was named Empire magazine's sexiest movie star. He has an army of followers who call themselves the "Cumberbitches" although, with the good manners instilled by his expensive Harrow boarding school, he prefers to call them "Cumberpeople". But despite working solidly since graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he has never sought out the typical 'leading man' roles. Cumberbatch first caught the attention of the critics a decade ago in a TV biopic of wheelchair-bound theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. It is a role that fellow Briton Eddie Redmayne has reprised for the big screen in "The Theory of Everything". He is up against Cumberbatch at the forthcoming Oscars as well as the BAFTAs. His next big break was "Sherlock", the BBC's sharp remake of the detective stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, which turned Cumberbatch into a star overnight. He portrays Sherlock Holmes as a manic, obsessively intelligent man with few social skills, a performance that has won him an Emmy and a Golden Globe nomination. Since then, Cumberbatch has barely been off our screens, with parts in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "Star Trek Into Darkness", "12 Years A Slave", "August: Osage County", and even "The Simpsons". "The Fifth Estate", where Cumberbatch played WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was something of a flop, although his performance was well-regarded. Once described as having a voice like a "jaguar hiding in a cello", the actor also played the dragon in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and stars in the upcoming movie "Penguins of Madagascar". Cumberbatch found his calling watching his mother Wanda Ventham on stage. "It was like looking behind the curtain and seeing how a magician does his tricks—and it thrilled me," he told one interviewer. His father Timothy Carlton is also an actor and the couple played his on-screen parents in "Sherlock". Cumberbatch is now starting his own family, having recently announced his engagement to Sophie Hunter and that they are expecting their first child. But he shows little sign of slowing down—another series of "Sherlock" is in the pipeline and his much-anticipated "Hamlet" opens in London in August. While he is clearly having a moment, Cumberbatch is determined not to be taken in by the hype, repeatedly insisting: "I'm in it for the long game." — AFP-Relaxnews |
| NBC renews ‘The Blacklist’, ‘Chicago Fire’, ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ and ‘Grimm’ Posted: 07 Feb 2015 04:49 PM PST
NBC has high hopes for the coming episodes of "The Blacklist", which in its latest season averaged 17.4 million cross-platform viewers weekly. "Chicago Fire" and its spin-off "Chicago PD" have also secured entry into the 2015-2016 season. The drama series are watched each week by 10.1 million and 9.4 million viewers respectively. NBC could even expand the successful franchise with a second spin-off, "Chicago Med". The veteran detective series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" has been renewed for its 17th season, much to the delight of its 9.5 million fans, and "Grimm" will also return with its fifth season. The network has not announced whether it will renew the freshman series "The Mysteries of Laura", "Constantine" (which stands a slim chance of scoring another season), "State of Affairs" or the comedies "Marry Me" and "About a Boy". – AFP-Relaxnews |
| Atletico thrash Real 4-0 in Madrid derby rout Posted: 07 Feb 2015 04:42 PM PST
First-half goals from Tiago and Saul Niguez put Atletico in command before Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic sealed a first home league win over Real since 1999 just after the hour mark. Atletico have now beaten their city rivals twice in La Liga and over two legs in the Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey this season to bounce back in fine style from their heartbreaking loss in the Champions League final last season. Real still lead their city rivals by four points, but Barcelona can move to within a point of the leaders should they beat Athletic Bilbao today. "It is easy to analyse this game because Atletico were better in every facet of the game: they fought more, had more quality on the ball, had better organisation, everything," said Real boss Carlo Ancelotti. "It is the worst game we have played since I have been coach." Atletico boss Diego Simeone meanwhile lauded his players ability to carry out his gameplan better than he could ever have imagined. "I always insist that the players are the most important people. Today their capacity to understand what we needed and execute it was fantastic," said the Argentine. World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo returned from a two-game ban, but the visitors were otherwise depleted without the injured Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and suspended Marcelo. Atletico suffered an injury blow of their own after just 10 minutes when Spanish international Koke limped off, but that curse turned into a blessing as he was replaced by Saul. The hosts went in front on 13 minutes when Mandzukic laid Juanfran's cross from the right into the path of Tiago on the edge of the area and the Portuguese's low effort had too much power for Iker Casillas, who will feel he should have kept it out. Four minutes later Atletico doubled their lead with a move of real quality as Guilherme Siqueira hurtled down the left and his cross was acrobatically turned home by Saul with an overhead kick. Atletico's advantage at the break could have been even greater as Griezmann had a goal marginally ruled out for offside and strong claims for a penalty against Sami Khedira were waved away after he blocked Diego Godin's effort with his hand. Real offered barely anything as an attacking threat in the first period and coach Carlo Ancelotti responded by introducing Jese Rodriguez for Khedira at the break. However, it made little impact as Real failed to muster a single shot on target during the 90 minutes. Griezmann came close twice more with a powerful shot that Casillas parried before also trying his luck with an overhead kick that flew inches over. The Frenchman did get the goal his performance deserved 24 minutes from time when Saul headed Arda Turan's cross back across goal and he outmuscled international team-mate Raphael Varane to prod home from a yard out. And Real's embarrassment was complete a minute from time when substitute Fernando Torres crossed for Mandzukic to power home a header into the far corner. Elsewhere, Villarreal moved to within a point of Sevilla in fourth with a routine 2-0 win over Granada thanks to goals either side of half-time from Mateo Musacchio and Gerard Moreno. David Moyes has still just managed just three La Liga wins in 11 games since taking charge of Real Sociedad as Nolito's late equaliser handed Celta Vigo a share of the spoils at Anoeta. Moyes's men are now just five points above the relegation zone after Levante ended a nine-game winless streak in emphatic fashion with a 4-1 rout of Malaga to move up to 17th. — AFP |
| Greek cabinet plans for high-risk talks to head off default Posted: 07 Feb 2015 04:42 PM PST
Days before an extraordinary meeting of eurozone ministers and an EU summit, the new Greek cabinet met for three hours to thrash out details of a key policy speech to be delivered today by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. With Tsipras and his ministers still adamant that Athens be given more time by creditors to renegotiate its controversial bailout, the speech outlining the new government's legislative agenda will be closely watched around the globe. The third cabinet meeting in two days discussed a "stop-gap plan" through the end of June to meet the immediate needs of ordinary Greeks affected by austerity measures, a government source said. "The people have mandated the government to revive the economy, develop a national reform plan for a fair taxation system, to fight against tax evasion and corruption and to make public administration more effective," the source said. The plan hammered out yesterday sets out a three-year reform programme, the source added. The government that took office January 26 promising to end austerity and slash Greece's debt mountain on Friday called for temporary funding from its EU partners, saying it wanted to negotiate a new deal "without pressure and blackmail." The European portion of Greece's massive €240 billion (RM961.59b) EU-IMF bailout is due to expire at the end of the month, and Athens is under pressure to do a quick deal or ask for an extension. With neither move looking likely, credit ratings agencies warned Friday that Greece was heading closer to defaulting on its loans, a move that could see it exit the eurozone. Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece to just one notch above the range indicating vulnerability to a default, and warned of a "worst-case scenario" in which it would leave the single currency. Moody's said it was placing Greece on review for a downgrade because of "considerable uncertainty regarding the outcome of the ensuing negotiations." The bad news from the ratings agencies came on the heels of goodwill trips by Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis to London, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt that wound up with German opposition to debt relief. Germany says it expects Athens to present a plan dealing with debt repayment and economic reforms to a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday. Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said the goal at the Eurogroup meeting was not to set up a confrontation with Greece but to "look for shared solutions." Tsipras will travel to Vienna tomorrow at the invitation of Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, the prime minister's office said. Greece will also be on the agenda of the G20 finance ministers meeting in Istanbul today, while Tsipras will have his first face-to-face talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a European summit in Brussels on Thursday. Cashflow problems Meanwhile Economy Minister Georges Stathakis yesterday denied a newspaper report that Greece would run out of cash next month, insisting he had been misquoted. "There will be no problem before the summer and an agreement is reached" with European partners, he said. Tax receipts have fallen in the last two months, but Stathakis said measures to address this would be announced today. Greece is expected to return to growth this year after six years of recession that has left it with sky-high unemployment and its economy in tatters. But after the European Central Bank pulled the plug on a key source of funding for Greece's banks this week, the banks — and by extension the state — are now reliant on the Frankfurt bank's emergency liquidity funds. Greece is entitled to another €7.2 billion in loans under the huge bailout plan first agreed in 2010. But the government says hefty cuts forced under the terms of the deal have crippled the economy, and prefers instead to rip up the programme and start again. While it seeks a new deal, Athens wants €1.9 billion of profits made by the ECB from holding Greek government bonds, and permission to issue additional short-term debt. This so-called "bridge programme... is an official expression of the will of all sides to negotiate without pressure and blackmail," a government source said Friday. "The final Greek proposals... will be tabled after the bridge agreement." However, the head of the so-called Eurogroup, Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said Friday: "We don't do bridging loans." — AFP |
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