Apple, publishers to settle e-books price-fixing suit: Report

Suspected of collusion with intent to drive up e-book prices, Apple and some of its major publication partners are now negotiating to settle a suit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Negotiations continue, but sources close to the talks tell Reuters that Apple and its partners are looking to avoid a long litigation process by bending on some of the wording used in contracts with publishers and retailers.

The "most favored nation" clause, as it has come to be known, states that the price of an electronic book published using Apple's iBookstore cannot be higher than any other iteration of the same content at other retailers. The contract has, to this point, prevented other content retailers like Amazon from undercutting Apple's iBookstore prices for e-books.

According to Reuters' sources, Amazon (as well as consumers in general) stand to gain the most from this settlement. Amazon could sell e-books cheaper, making its Kindle hardware more attractive for potential tablet buyers, and if the prices on Amazon fall, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and any other e-book retailers would have to tailor their prices accordingly -- a win for consumers.

Agreements between Apple and several major publishers helped launch the original iPad (and Apple) into the e-book market in January 2010, giving Apple an inroad to disrupting Amazon's stranglehold on the e-book business.

Because of the success of the iPad, the "agency model" (a business model that allows publishers to set prices of their content for retailers and enables companies like Apple to take a 30 percent cut from each sale) has come under intense scrutiny.

Though Apple is not likely to take a major financial hit after the settlement (it represents about 10 percent of the e-book market according to analysts), Amazon stands to gain upward of $1 billion in revenue, according to Cowen & Co. analyst Jim Friedland.

In the pre-iPad world, Amazon was able to control pricing of e-books individually, and to undercut publishers still placing large investments in paper-based distribution. As publishers worried that their margins would collapse with Amazon reducing prices at will, Apple was able to secure deals for fixed-pricing on e-books made available on its newly formed iBookstore.

The lawsuit is expected to be settled in the next couple of weeks, which would include an elimination of the agency model wording in contracts between Apple and publishers. Once the settlement is reached, expect to see a shift in pricing strategies, especially from Amazon, as it will surely look to secure some of its lost market share.

Would lower e-book prices from Amazon sway your decision to buy a Kindle instead of an iPad? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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US soldier's lawyer slams Afghan killings 'blackout'

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Advantages of Fitted Bedroom Furniture | Home Improvement Grants ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The many advantages of fitted furniture over free-standing vary from the people who simply want to plan their own individual design, look and finish, different to that of their friends and neighbours, to those tight on space who ...

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East-leading Rangers win 4th straight

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Obama energy officials funded solar firms despite ?junk bond? ratings from S&P, Fitch

The U.S. Department of Energy backed hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for discredited solar power start-ups whose corporate debt was already sullied with ?junk? ratings by Standard & Poor?s and Fitch Ratings, two of the world?s leading credit agencies, a federal government investigation has shown.

Despite the finding, Energy Secretary Steven Chu vigorously defended the ethics of his agency in a hearing last week held by House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa.

Details are emerging this week about the Energy Department?s practices that indicate the agency spent a disproportionate amount of funding on these tainted solar power projects.

Congressional aides interviewed personnel at Fitch and S&P, and officials inside Obama?s Energy Department, as part of their investigation.

A company called Solopower was cited in a ?dire? warning by S&P, which accurately forecast that the firm would ?fail to meet its debt obligations.? Nonetheless, it received $170 million in federal funding guarantees, investigators told The Daily Caller.

Another company, Abound Solar, was approved for a $400 million loan guarantee by Obama officials, investigators said. Fitch Ratings, however, had earlier assigned a ?junk credit? rating to Abound. Fitch deemed the firm ?highly speculative? and ?lagging in technology? behind its competitors.

It was also rated less creditworthy than Solyndra, another infamous administration solar power investment, which caused scandal for the White House last year when it declared bankruptcy.

?The markets were expressing a sense of caution on these firms,? Jeffrey Solsby, a senior aide to Issa, told TheDC. ?The administration did not have this same sense of caution.?

Earlier this month, About Solar announced that it would stop producing solar power panels and lay off 180 employees. Before the disclosure, the company had already spent $70 million of its awarded federal funds.

Federal investigators detailed other dramatic abuses at the green energy firms:

Bright Source Energy, which?received a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee to build a solar power plant, has spent some $56 million on a ?desert tortoise relocation program.? And?Beacon Power, which received Energy Department funding, went bankrupt ? but not before paying three executives more than $250,000 in ?bonuses? in March 2010.

Foreign firms also received loan guarantees from the federal government as part of the program. One such overseas company was Spain?s Abengoa, another corporation with a poor credit rating, which rounded out the energy department?s junk bond portfolio.

Federal investigators told TheDC that an audit of these loans and loan guarantees indicated that the administration ?ignored??clear warning signs of a ?likely loss? of taxpayer dollars. Investigators also said the administration exercised ?improper influence? in the approval of loan guarantees to favored companies ?through manipulation of analysis ? defrauding taxpayers and misappropriating assets.?

Even more damning allegations, which suggest that former Obama administration officials and campaign bundlers received a sizable share of those federal funds, are now surfacing.

Christine Lakatos, a researcher and conservative writer who has followed the emerging scandals for several years at the blog Green Corruption, told TheDC the administration is engaging in ?crony capitalism with ?green? dollars.?

Lakatos claimed the scandal goes deeper than Rep. Issa and his investigators have detected.?She said companies linked to contribution ?bundlers? from President Obama?s 2008 campaign?received about 80 percent of the ?green energy? loans made by the Energy Department during the last three years.

the line

China punishes social media, websites on coup talk

(AP) ? China is closing a dozen websites, penalizing two popular social media sites and detaining six people for circulating rumors of a coup that rattled Beijing in the midst of its worst high-level political crisis in years.

The extensive clampdown, announced late Friday by state media, underscores the authoritarian government's anxieties over a public that is wired to the Internet and eager to discuss political events despite censorship and threats of punishment.

A Xinhua News Agency report said Beijing police questioned and admonished an unspecified number of Internet users and detained six people not further identified. Aside from the 16 websites shut down, two Twitter-like services run by Sina Corporation and Tencent Holdings, which each have more than 300 million users, said they would disable their comment functions for three days in a necessary "concerted cleanup."

Users of the services ? the most unfettered media in China ? received a notice when they tried to post comments explaining the suspension was due to the many "rumors and such illegal, harmful information." Original postings are still allowed, and some used them to castigate the government.

"Every time you murder free speech, we all take note of your reaction. Your gradual loss of public credibility is the result of such messes," Wang Gongquan, a private equity executive, wrote on his Sina microblog account, which has 1.3 million followers.

Both the coup rumors and the crackdown show how the firing two weeks ago of Bo Xilai, the populist leader of the mega-city of Chongqing, has brought leadership struggles out of the usually closed confines of elite Communist Party politics and into the public.

Yet to be fully explained, Bo's dismissal came after a top aide fled temporarily to a U.S. consulate, apparently to seek asylum and in violation of party rules. It also came as the senior leadership gears up for a handover of power to a younger generation leaders in the fall, always an a period of intense bargaining.

Politically minded Chinese saw the removal of Bo, considered a contender for a top job only months ago, as a sign of divisive infighting. Speculation about Bo's fate and that of others ricocheted across microblogs and spiraled into talk of troop movements and gunshots around the leadership's Zhongnanhai compound in central Beijing on March 19.

The Internet sites and people punished fabricated and disseminated rumors that "military vehicles are entering Beijing, something is going wrong in Beijing" and similar posts, Xinhua said, citing the State Internet Information Office, an interagency body charged with policing the Internet.

Over the past week, President Hu Jintao and other senior leaders have tried to project an image of unity and reassert control over the public message. Censors have furiously blocked and unblocked a range of terms to quell errant microblog chatter; "coup" remained a banned search term Saturday.

"Internet rumors and lies packaged as 'facts' will turn conjecture into 'reality,' stir up trouble online and disturb people's minds," the party's flagship newspaper People's Daily said in a commentary accompanying the announcement of the clampdown. "If allowed to run amok, they will seriously disrupt social order, affect social stability and harm social integrity."

The Twitter-like microblogs, with their huge user numbers and rapid-fire postings, have proved a challenge for Beijing and its Internet monitors. Social media played a role in forcing the government to disclose more information after a crash on the showcase high-speed rail network last summer and to provide more information on the thick air pollution in Beijing and other cities.

A new rule requiring social media users to register accounts under their real names and identity card numbers by the middle of March failed to deter the rumors over Bo or a coup.

Following the detentions, shutdowns and other penalties, Pan Shiyi, a celebrity real estate developer and prolific microblog poster with 9 million followers, questioned Saturday whether the tactics were "the right medicine" to deal with rumors. Pan had not directly posted about a coup but had noted the heavy-handed censorship. To dispel rumors about himself, he said: "I'm not among the six."

Associated Press

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Evanescence, Green Day, Tokio Hotel, My Chemical Romance: Musical March Madness Final Four!

After three weeks of battles, one of these four will take home the MMM title - voting in all Final Four matchups is now open!
By James Montgomery


Evanescence's Amy Lee
Photo: Getty Images

Well, that was intense. After 48 hours of epic Elite 8 battles, we've reached the Final Four of MTV's Musical March Madness. And while making it this far is certainly an accomplishment, there's not exactly a whole lot of time to sit around and savor it.

That's because voting in our Final Four matchups is already under way, and polls will remain open until Sunday (April 1) at midnight ET. You've carried your favorite band to the cusp of championship glory, but can you help push them over the top?

Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket!

Let's take a look at the four bands still standing in MMM: true, tourney-tested squads that have survived three weeks of brutal back-and-forth battles just to make it to this point. In a way, they're all champions; too bad only one will actually be able to call themselves that.

#5 My Chemical Romance vs. #5 Green Day

My Chem are the champions of the Midwest region, having survived a furious rally from upset-minded Metallica in the Elite 8 (seriously, with more than 600,000 votes cast, MCR won by 400). Meanwhile, defending MMM champs Green Day had to stage a serious comeback of their own against Adam Lambert, who led until late Thursday before succumbing to GD's full-court press. At this point of the tournament, there truly are no easy matchups, and this one, well, it's going to be a war. Both bands have been put through the wringer, and both know how to win a close contest; can My Chemical Romance finally take home the MMM title (they've been in the Final Four three consecutive years), or will Green Day make history as the first band to repeat as champions? All we can do is wait and see ...

#1 Evanescence vs. #12 Tokio Hotel

Speaking of history: Congratulations to Evanescence, the first #1 seed to make the MMM Final Four. They've battled hard throughout the tournament, having bested tough foes like Paramore, Linkin Park and Dave Matthews Band just to reach this point. As a reward, they draw perhaps the toughest opponent in the entire field: Tokio Hotel, a band that's steamrolled their way through the competition. They've throttled all challengers and even got revenge (big time) against rivals Coheed and Cambria in the Elite 8. No two bands have enjoyed as much fan support in MMM 2012, which is why we're certain this one's going to be a classic. And not to go out on a limb here, but we suspect the winner of this one may very well be the band hoisting the championship trophy next week. No pressure or anything.

Is your favorite band still alive in the Final Four? Help carry them to the championship — or assist in shattering some dreams — by voting now. Polls close Sunday at midnight, so get cracking — we're so close to crowning a champ!


Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket!

MTV's 2012 Musical March Madness tournament reaches the Elite Eight! Voting runs until midnight ET on Thursday, March 29, and winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act is still alive, it'll be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM or by downloading one of our custom badges — but get ready, it only gets more difficult from here on out.

Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists

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SEDCOR Economic Business Forum ? April 12, 2012 | SEDCOR.COM


Agriculture ? the Economic Super Star of the Oregon Economy

Presented by:

Dalton Hobbs
Assistant Director, Oregon Department of Agriculture

Tom Fessler
General Manager, Woodburn Nursery
Chairman ? Oregon Board of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture

Click Here To REGISTER


Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill
1313 Mill Street SE -?Salem, OR
12:00 ? 1:30 pm


Sponsored by:

Wells Fargo Advisors


Agriculture is important to both the urban and rural areas of the Willamette Valley and plays a significant role in the economy. Dalton Hobbs will discuss trends for agriculture, along with why we need to continue to support public agricultural development programs within the Oregon Department of Agriculture and their close partnership with organizations such as SEDCOR and other economic development organizations around the state.

Tom Fessler will examine Oregon agricultural diversity and how it makes us special, as well as makes things more difficult. Our distance to markets is a big drawback, but niches in the different markets can bring success.

Fessler knows a great deal about Oregon?s number on agricultural commodity nursery products. His family farm outside of Mt. Angel spans some 2,000 acres. Nursery products make up the primary crop, but the Fessler family also raises grass seed, beans, broccoli and cauliflower. No other agricultural industry in Oregon has had the meteoric growth of the greenhouse and nursery industry now valued at more than three-quarters of a billion dollars.


Bios

Dalton Hobbs has worked for nearly 30 years in a variety of communication, marketing and developmental positions at the Oregon Department of Agriculture. He currently directs the department?s internationally recognized Agricultural Development and Marketing policy area, which provides market access, certification, promotion and market entry programs for Oregon farmers, ranchers, fishermen and food processors.

Tom Fessler is a fourth generation farmer in the Mt. Angel, Woodburn area. Tom grew up working with his parents and grandparents helping on the farm. He knew at a young age he wanted to farm. The nursery operation was started in 1967, so he grew up both farming and growing nursery crops. After finishing high school Tom started in production at the nursery. After many years he started in overall business management with his father. Today he is general manager of the business. Tom is past President of the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

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5 new facts from Cameron about making 'Titanic'

By Josh Grossberg, E! Online

Shizuo Kambayashi / AP

Director James Cameron attends a press conference to promote his 3-D version of "Titanic" in Tokyo Friday, March 30, 2012.

He snagged the world record for the deepest solo dive last week in the South Pacific, but James Cameron just can't resist going back to Titanic.

In London for the premiere of his 3-D rerelease of his Best Picture-winning epic about the doomed ocean liner, which is hitting theaters next month in honor of its 15th anniversary, the famed director talked to E! News about the making of "Titanic," the phenomenon it became and casting stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Here are five new things we learned:

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1. Keep Reshuffling Those Deck Chairs: Cameron, 57, admitted he may have bit off more than he could chew with the 1997 melodrama, particularly given the cost overruns that earned Titanic a flood of negative publicity, so much so that it was being heralded as a bomb before it even opened.

"You know it just seemed like we were doomed," the helmer tells E! News, reflecting back at the long shoot and tortuous postproduction process. "The press were just having their way with us...that we were the biggest idiots in history of Hollywood at least since "Cleopatra"...and so it was difficult. You just had to focus on the work and [hope] that all those rounds just go over the top of the bunker."

2. Capturing Lightning in a Bottle: On "Titanic" becoming a box-office phenomenon -- its $1.8 billion in global ticket sales were the highest-grossing film in history until surpassed by his own film, "Avatar" -- Cameron cited as the reason the fact the flick was able to tap into a set of universal emotions, "speaking to people at a deep kind of universal level that just bypassed language and idiom and culture.

" 'Titanic'...says, 'What would you do if you had an hour or two to live? Would you sacrifice yourself? Would you be that hero? Would you be that guy like Jack or some of those men that put the woman and children onto the lifeboats?'" mused the filmmaker.

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3. On Winslet's Audition: Cameron was effusive in his praise for his lead actress. "We cast Kate first and she just blew me away at her screen test," he remembered.

4. Enter the Heartthrob: The King of the World Deep instantly knew the chemistry was right when DiCaprio read for him. "I noticed there was something strange when Leo came in for his first meeting and all of a sudden all the women who worked for me in my entire production company were all in the meeting," Cameron said. "I thought well that's a little strange...and then Leonardo walked in and I went, 'Oh I get it I see what's going on.' Even at that age he was just such a remarkable actor and so accomplished."

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5. On Leo's Sudden Fame: Lastly, the artist turned pioneering deep sea explorer revealed that DiCaprio ran away from his iconic role post-"Titanic" because he feared being typecast. "I think it was tough on Leo because he had planned a career as an actor," Cameron said. "I mean, he admired De Niro and that ability to just immerse himself in any character and he knew now...with that iconic status of his character Jack in 'Titanic' that he was going to have to fight against that for a while. So I think he kind of distanced himself from the movie...Now he's fine because he's proven himself."

And so has Cameron both on the screen and off...or at least until "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3' hit theaters in a few years.

Gallery from E: Movies from the future!

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