Energía solar
La española Abengoa planea desarrollar su primer proyecto termosolar de tecnología cilindroparabólica en el desierto de Atacama, en Chile, con una inversión de US$ 12 mlls. La firma dijo que la planta suministrará calor al proceso productivo de Minera el Tesoro, filial de la chilena Antofagasta Minerals, ubicada en el Norte de Chile.
Lawyers to clients: show us the money
The results of a survey found that nearly all law firms had increased or planned to increase the fees that they charge clients this year. A full 95% of the firms responding were billing or planned to bill at rates higher in 2011 compared with 2010, the survey found. The median increase in billing rates was 4%. The rise in rates is a reflection of high confidence among law firms, even as the overall economy continues to falter. Three quarters of firms surveyed reported an uptick in revenue and profits per lawyer in 2010, according to the survey. About half the participating firms reported that they reduced overhead costs in 2010. At the same time, firms indicated they had become more flexible about billing rates. Just over half of the firms with 250 lawyers or more said they used alternative fee arrangements that were less profitable than projects billed on an hourly basis.
Lawyers settle... for temp jobs
There is a growing field of itinerant "contract" attorneys who move from job to job, getting paid by the hour, largely to review documents. These short-term jobs have increasingly become a fixture in the $100bn global corporate legal industry. The terms of temporary contract attorney work are becoming more stringent, with some recent jobs capping the number of hours attorneys can work or paying them based on their average speed.
After years without change, cracks appear in I.P.O. process
The way companies go public looks almost identical to the Ford Motor Company's I.P.O. more than 55 years ago. A company hires lead underwriters, which serve as the company's spiritual and logistical advisers, helping the company prepare the necessary regulatory documents and marketing the offering to potential investors. The lead underwriters, and sub-underwriters hired by them, then build a book of investors who buy the shares. Through this process, an I.P.O. price is set and the company's shares are sold into the public market. The goal of the underwriting process is to provide a steady channel for companies to go public, and a vetting procedure to determine whether a company is ready to do so. But today, the I.P.O. market is heated, and there is the specter of a bubble in social media Internet stocks as well as a postbubble hangover in Chinese issuers. During this period, the flaws in the current system become more apparent. Some of these flaws are significant and hurt investors. The first crack to appear is in the gate-keeping function. Underwriters are set up by the regulatory system to be gatekeepers. Underwriters pass on some companies and certify others that their I.P.O. is worthy for the public. Theoretically underwriters should be doubly incentivized beyond the regulatory requirements to bring good companies to market. Otherwise customers will refuse to buy shares in future I.P.O.'s underwritten by that bank. The wave of Chinese and social media I.P.O.'s shows that this gate-keeping function can become weak. Companies are being brought to market with uncertain prospects or because they are in a hot space. If a company is characterized as such, its main quality too often seems to be whether it can be sold instead of whether it should be sold. This is a rerun of the technology bubble.
Egypt's secret military trials erode trust
Chants of "The army and the people are one" could be heard in Tahrir Square during Egypt's revolution this spring. But the sense of respect that activists held for the military has dwindled as more people have been arrested and subjected to secret trials, a continuation of a Mubarak-era practice.
Bernanke urges GOP to support debt ceiling hike
The chairman of the Federal Reserve said threats to block the increase backfire and worsen the economy. Republicans are vowing to prevent an increase that doesn't include a deal to slash government spending by the same amount. The nation reached its $14.3tn borrowing limit in May.
Nokia and Apple settle patent dispute
Nokia and Apple have agreed a technology licensing agreement that settles the long-running legal dispute between the two firms. Nokia sued Apple for patent infringements in 2009 and extended the action in December last year. Apple had countersued, accusing Nokia of infringing its patents. Nokia said Apple had agreed a one-off payment, the value of which was not disclosed, and ongoing royalties to use its technologies. Apple said the deal covered both companies' patents.
Khodorkovsky sentence is defended
Russian prosecutors deny that senior judges intervened to increase the latest sentence given to former billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In February, an ex-court aide said the trial judge had already printed a verdict giving Khodorkovsky 10 years when he was told to make it 14. But investigators ruled a document said to be the original verdict was not proof of interference. Khodorkovsky was convicted of fraud at a trial widely criticised abroad.
Hackers break into US Senate site
US officials said they have ordered a security review after hackers managed to break into the Senate website at the weekend. The incident had been "inconvenient", but had not compromised the security of the staff.
UK celebrity lawyer says women in racy clothes can victimize men
A British lawyer who has defended celebrity clients is taking heat from anti-rape activists for a blog post that asserts women who dress provocatively can victimize men. DUI and traffic defense lawyer Nick Freeman is controversial and so proud of his nickname "Mr. Loophole" that he had it trademarked. Freeman notes a recent "slut walk" held to protest a Canadian police officer who said women law students should "avoid dressing like sluts" to prevent sexual assault.
Gay judge's same-sex marriage ruling upheld
Chief U.S. District judge James Ware said that former Chief judge Vaughn Walker did not have to divulge whether he wanted to marry his own gay partner before he declared last year that voter-approved Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Walker publicly revealed after he retired in February that he is in a 10-year relationship with a man.
The world's most dangerous countries for women
Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan are the world's most dangerous countries for women due to a barrage of threats ranging from violence and rape to dismal healthcare and "honour killngs". India and Somalia ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the global perceptions survey. Countries were ranked by overall perceptions of danger as well as by six risks: health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, cultural or religious factors, lack of access to resources and trafficking.
Supremes show fund bosses how to skirt fraud
The Supreme Court has shown mutual fund bosses an easy way to skirt class-action lawsuits. All it requires is keeping their big pots of invested money legally separate from management. But the ruling involving Janus Capital Group appears to have even broader implications for aggrieved investors. Exchange-traded funds, money-market funds and other listed firms might be able to follow the same blueprint to avoid liability.
Rebels back with vengeance at key oil port near Tripoli
Al Arabiya, Online news, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Libyan rebels make fresh advances
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar
STC introduces Blackberry tablet device
Arab News, Pro-government, Jidda, Saudi Arabia
New Lebanese cabinet is government of confrontation
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England
Germany warns against unilateral ME moves
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt
Netanyahu: Unilateral declaration of Palestinian state will create negotiation impasse
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel
Clinton slams Damascus, Tehran for bloody crackdown
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel
Red Cross donates stockpiled medicine to Gaza hospitals
Ma'an News Agency, Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories
Army takes seaport back from Al Qaeda,kills scores of leaders
Yemen Observer, Sana'a, Republic of Yemen
Retail banks will be ring-fenced
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Blues to lodge complaint against Villa
BreakingNews.ie, Online news portal, Cork, Ireland
CNN reporter, briefly in Syria, hears 'horror' stories
CNN International, London, England
Prison riot death toll rises to 19
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England
Amazing maps that show how Facebook is taking over the world
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England
Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris cancel their nuptials which were planned for this Saturday
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England
UN gathers testimony from Syrian refugees
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France
GREECE: Protesters vow to besiege parliament over austerity plan
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Standoff over Greek debt risks turmoil in eurozone
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey
Legal victory for supporters of gay marriage in California
Independent The, London, England
Must we watch this political death show on our TVs?
Spiked, (Alternative Internet Magazine), London, England
Human rights victory for rapists and paedophiles
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England
Arnold Schwarzenegger's mistress speaks for the first time
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England
RI, ILO to build social justice new era :president's message
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
PT: Army chief just showed army's stance
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand
SandP's downgrades Greece again
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan
Southern Cross Cable director answers the critics
Computer World, IT information, Fairfax, New Zealand
Hizbullah, allies dominate Lebanon govt
Daily Jang, Left-wing daily, Karachi, Pakistan
Bahrain says to sue British newspaper over articles
Dawn, English-language daily, Karachi, Pakistan
Jayalalithaa demands Chidambaram's resignation
Hindu The, Left-leaning daily, Chennai, India
UK may cut student visas by quarter million
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India
Industrialists firm on a toll-free service road
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India
Aussie women soldiers to fight on frontline
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand
Hizbullah, allies dominate Lebanon govt
News The, Left-wing, Karachi, Pakistan
11 dead as Kandahar clashes enter 2nd day
Pajhwok Afghan News, (Independent news agency), Kabul, Afghanistan
Ugandan rebels kill six in northeastern DR Congo
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China
Rising food prices changing what we eat: Oxfam
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore
Winklevoss v Facebook
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia
China: China says its nuclear reactors passed inspections
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan
Kaohsiung embraces cycling
Taiwan Today, Government Information Office, Taipei, Taiwan
University degrees not worth paying for, feel Britons
Thaindian News, Bangkok, Thailand
Facebook hires ex-press secretary for Bill Clinton
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India
ISI arrested 5 CIA informants who helped in Osama raid: US daily
Times of India, Conservative, New Delhi, India
Canada Post locks out workers
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Virgin Atlantic bans three after brawl on Barbados flight
Caribbean360, Online news portal, St. Michael, Barbados
State University renders tribute to heroes of the June 14 Expedition
Dominican Today, Independent daily, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Romney still front-runner of Republican presidential pack
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada
JUDGEMENT: Manatt-Dudus report goes to Parliament today
Jamaica Gleaner, Independent daily, Kingston, Jamaica
Wall Street rebounds in oversold market
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S
Gulf states vow to seek end to Yemeni crisis
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S
Despite excruciating pain, bike accident victim must wait 2 weeks for surgery
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario
Traffic horrors as gas tanker flips
Trinidad Guardian, Independent daily, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Dan Aykroyd, Lorne Michaels set to attend Alberta dinosaur museum fundraiser
Vancouver Sun The, Conservative, Vancouver, Canada
Obama calls for Sudan ceasefire
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Chelsea to sell Michael Essien for Luka Modric?
GhanaWeb, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ethiopia suspends flights to Sudan and Djibouti due ash cloud
Sudan Tribune, Khartoum, Sudan
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