Relativity in $200 million loan from Ron Burkle (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Just weeks before the release of his first big-budget epic, "Immortals," Relativity Media CEO Ryan Kavanaugh took a $200 million loan from billionaire Ron Burkle, TheWrap has learned.

The loan was obtained from Colbeck Capital Management, a fund in which Burkle has invested. The money was needed to help Relativity cover "Immortals'" multi-million marketing costs and also so that Relativity could continue to make movies, according to several individuals with knowledge of the loan.

The loan terms included giving Colbeck close to 5 percent of the gross box office receipts from "Immortals" and from Relativity's upcoming Snow White epic, "Mirror, Mirror."

Individuals close to the deal differed over how onerous the terms of the loan were. One person involved said the loan was obtained at an 8.5 percent interest rate, and defined the gross figure as coming only after advertising and production costs have been recouped.

But another person with knowledge of the deal said that the interest was at 15 percent, and that Colbeck would receive "first dollar gross," meaning cash direct from box office receipts.

A spokesman for Relativity had no comment.

Colbeck Capital declined to comment.

At a cost of around $85 million, "Immortals" has so far taken in $69 million domestically since its November 11 release, and is on track to be a modest moneymaker for the studio.

But with prints and advertising costs running into the tens of millions of dollars, the studio needed cash ahead of release, and had secured it from another fund before striking the deal with Colbeck.

The involvement of Burkle, a Los Angeles billionaire with ongoing interest in the movie business, is a new wrinkle in the story of Relativity and its swashbuckling chief, Kavanaugh.

Burkle came close to buying Miramax with Harvey Weinstein two years ago, and currently co-finances movies with The Weinstein Company.

One individual close to the parties involved said that Burkle is circling a JP Morgan deal to buy out Elliott Management's minority interest in Relativity. The investment bank has been quietly negotiating with Relativity for months to lead a $700 million investment in the company, a story that TheWrap broke in May. That deal has not yet closed.

If Burkle were to buy an equity stake as part of the JP Morgan deal, then presumably the loan would be renegotiated at more favorable terms.

Colbeck Capital Management is led by two former investment bankers, Jason Colodne and his partner Jason Beckman, who previously worked together sourcing and investing in distressed credit at Goldman Sachs.

Relativity has in the past year expanded to become a full-fledged independent studio, complete with a distribution system. The studio aims to produce 10 movies next year, including "Mirror, Mirror" in March, starring Julia Roberts in an stylized remake of the Snow White story.

Many in Hollywood have been skeptical of Kavanaugh's ability to continue financing his ambitions for his studio, but the young mogul always seems to succeed in proving his naysayers wrong and find a new financial backer.

In May, Kavanaugh sought out JP Morgan senior banker Ryan O'Hara to buy out Elliott's stake under a clause that gave him the option to do so at a certain price.

The move followed months of reports of tension between the independent studio and the hedge fund. Elliott, which manages some $15 billion in capital for institutional and private investors, has been Relativity's primary financial backer as the company has grown from a production house to an independent movie distributor.

The hedge fund has been tightening the cash spigot on Relativity in recent months, making it hard for the studio to finance its slate, and to find the necessary cash to release its completed films.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enindustry/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111128/media_nm/us_relativity

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Oil sands opponents turn focus to Enbridge project (Reuters)

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) ? Enbridge Inc's proposed C$5.5 billion ($5.3 billion) pipeline to British Columbia poses a raft of environmental risks, according to a new report that signals the project will become the next battleground over the future of Canada's oil sands.

The study by a trio of environmental groups, released on Tuesday, comes on the heels of a U.S. decision to push back approval of TransCanada Corp's Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline by more than a year.

The delay has led the Canada's oil industry and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government to intensify their emphasis on exporting oil sands-derived crude to Asia.

The Enbridge project, known as the Northern Gateway pipeline, is the first attempt at doing that in scale.

But the new report - issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pembina Institute and Living Oceans Society - says the project would threaten native communities, the salmon fishery and wildlife habitat on the West Coast.

The report uses last year's Enbridge pipeline rupture and oil spill in Michigan, and even the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, as examples of why governments and regulators should block the proposal to bisect the rugged Western Canadian province with steel pipe.

Northern Gateway would move 525,000 barrels of crude a day to the port of Kitimat, British Columbia, where it would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to Pacific Rim refiners. The project is a key part of the Conservative government's plans for a National Energy Strategy.

Regulatory hearings are scheduled to begin in January and will take months. About 4,000 people have registered to comment on the project.

"The Joint Review Panel assessing the proposed project and the cabinet ministers with final decision-making authority over its fate should reject the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, given the grave safety risks it would impose on a culturally, economically and ecologically valuable region," said the report.

NUMEROUS THREATS AT ONCE

The study also aims to build general opposition to Alberta oil sands development, which green groups say is 23 percent more carbon-intensive than conventional oil production. By contrast, a much-referenced report last year by IHS CERA, the energy consultancy, said it was 6 percent more carbon intensive when judged from production to end use.

Environmentalists used similar greenhouse-gas intensity and other arguments in their battle against Keystone XL. They include an unproven assertion that oil sands-derived crude is more corrosive in pipelines, increasing the risk of ruptures.

An Alberta study released last week disputed that argument, but pointed out there is still no formal, peer-reviewed research on the issue.

The report said Enbridge has failed to gauge the impact on the Northern Gateway pipeline if numerous threats emerged at once, as with the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which contributed to the Fukushima nuclear plant catastrophe.

"A fall frontal rain storm that triggered a rock avalanche could rupture the pipeline. Poor weather conditions combined with associated floods and erosion could prevent ground or air access for emergency response crews," it said.

"Avalanches, rockslides, explosions, or leaks from the (proposed adjacent) natural gas pipeline all can have cumulative impacts that worsen the ability to respond."

Enbridge dismissed the report, calling it a compilation of criticisms that have already been leveled at the line. As well, company spokesman Paul Stanway said most of the charges laid by the green groups had been dealt with in Enbridge's regulatory application.

"There are a number of inaccuracies in the report," he said. "And most of the questions (raised) have been answered in the application.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; editing by Frank McGurty and Rob Wilson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111129/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_enbridge_northerngateway_environment

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Massive Black Hole Yields its Mysteries to Astronomers (SPACE.com)

To strive for the most complete understanding of a black hole, astronomers have turned their telescopes to the double-star system Cygnus X-1, which boasts the first of these discovered oddities.

The move paid off, providing detailed information on the black hole's mass, spin and its distance from the sun.

The knowledge could help scientists piece together information about the black hole's state today, and also reveal clues about its early history.

Decades in the dark

To study objects in space, astronomers rely on information emitted in the form of electromagnetic radiation ? light. But the gravity of black holes is so strong that no emission escapes, making them a challenge to study. The only information they reveal is their mass, spin and electrical charge.

Containing a star and a stellar-mass black hole, Cygnus X-1 is tucked within the constellation of Cygnus the swan, inside the Milky Way. Its discovery in 1972 prompted widespread discussion, including a friendly bet by Stephen Hawking, as to whether or not it held a black hole. (Hawking lost.) [Video: Final Nail in Stephen Hawking's Cygnus X-1 Bet?]

In three papers published in the December issue of the Astrophysical Journal, Mark Reid and Lijun Gou of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., and Jerry Orosz of San Diego State University report the most detailed look at a black hole ever when they examined Cygnus X-1.

Distance scale

Before the astronomers could start their measurements, they needed to determine just how far away the Cygnus X-1 system is.

Using the Very Large Baseline Array, a radio telescope system spanning from Hawaii to the Virgin Islands, the team first calculated the most accurate distance yet to Cygnus X-1. The object is 6,070 light-years from the sun, they found.

The Very Large Baseline Array also revealed that the object was moving very slowly through the Milky Way ? only about 9 miles per second (15 kilometers per second).

The scientists then combed through two decades' worth of data from Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer, the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics, and visible light measurements.

Combining this data allowed them to calculate that the black hole within Cygnus X-1 is almost 15 times more massive than the sun, making it one of the most massive stellar black holes in the Milky Way.

Stellar black holes are smaller and more common than their supermassive cousins. While the larger black holes tend to be found in the centers of galaxies, stellar-mass black holes are sprinkled throughout. Currently, about 20 stellar black holes have been studied within the Milky Way alone, though theoretical arguments suggest our galaxy may boast a few hundred million.

From there, the astronomers calculated that the black hole spins more than 800 times per second ? almost half the speed of light.

None of these steps could have been taken until an accurate measurement of the distance to Cygnus X-1 was obtained. Previous estimates had placed it between 5,800 and 7,800 light years.

"If the distance is so rough, the measured spin rate could be anywhere," Gou told SPACE.com.

Speedy spin

That rapid rotation could help astronomers as they analyze other dark giants.

"Knowing that the black hole was formed with an apparently large spin helps constrain detailed models of supernova and/or stellar collapse," Orosz told SPACE.com in an email.

Its fast spin, combined with its slow progress through the galaxy, give hints about the black hole's origin.

The high rotational speed was most likely a product of its birth. At the same time, if the black hole had been created by a stellar explosion called a supernova, the force of the blast would have provided a "kick" that would have caused Cygnus X-1 to travel faster through the Milky Way.

Independent research, published almost a decade ago, suggests that the black hole was produced by a stellar implosion without an explosion, when a massive star collapsed in on itself after a supernova.

However, the black hole in Cygnus X-1 seems to have been born of a relatively mild stellar death.

"In this case, there is no core bounce that generates the massive shock wave that creates a supernova," Orosz said. "Thus, a direct collapse could be a relatively mild event as seen from great distances."

Such a transformation would have allowed Cygnus X-1 to hold on to the mass and energy that most stellar black holes lose during their violent deaths.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111129/sc_space/massiveblackholeyieldsitsmysteriestoastronomers

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Amazon: Kindles Are Flying Off The Shelves (But We?re Still Not Sharing Numbers)

Amazon this morning pounded itself on the chest once more for selling Kindle devices as if they were hotcakes, particularly during last (Black) Friday. According to the company, it was the "best Black Friday ever" for the Kindle family, with Kindle sales "increasing 4x over last year". As usual, don't expect Amazon to share hard sales numbers, because they never do. We'll have to do with analyst estimates, which I'm sure will be rolling in during the course of this week (today is Cyber Monday and will likely result in another sales spike for Kindle devices). The number does run in the millions, of course.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/hd7Ui4N7dzg/

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Pakistan fumes; conflicting accounts on NATO attack (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan's military denied reports that NATO forces in Afghanistan came under fire before launching a cross-border attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend.

"This is not true. They are making up excuses. What are their losses, casualties?" army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said in a mobile phone text message on Monday.

Tensions are running high at a time when deep cooperation is needed between the NATO mission and Pakistan to stabilise Afghanistan as the United States tries to wind up the war there.

NATO described the killings as a "tragic, unintended incident" and said an investigation was underway. A Western official and an Afghan security official who requested anonymity said NATO troops were responding to fire from across the border.

Pakistan's military said the strike was unprovoked and has reserved the right to retaliate.

It's possible both explanations are correct: that a retaliatory attack by NATO troops took a tragic, mistaken turn in harsh terrain where differentiating friend from foe can be difficult.

After a string of deadly incidents in the lawless and confusing border region, NATO and Pakistan set up a hotline that should allow them to communicate in case of confusion over potential targets, or if they believe they are coming under fire from friendly forces.

It is not clear if the hotline was used, either before or after the strike that killed the Pakistani soldiers.

The attack was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated Pakistan's powerful military in May with a unilateral special forces raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Washington had been trying to repair ties badly damaged by the bin Laden affair and several other issues -- including accusations that Pakistan's military spy agency was backing militants who bomb American targets in Kabul.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Islamabad and held a town hall meeting to try and win over Pakistanis, held talks with her counterpart and called on all sides to work for peace in Afghanistan.

Any goodwill secured from the trip probably evaporated after the NATO strike, which fuelled a wave of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.

Aside from growing anger on the street, newspaper editorials are filled with sharp criticism of the United States and NATO.

"This is time for U.S./NATO/ISAF (International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) forces to understand the dark side of wanting to go it alone and think about accepting Pakistani offers for enhanced coordination," said The News.

BEFITTING RESPONSE

The mass-circulation Urdu language press went further.

"We have to send a clear and unequivocal message to NATO and America that our patience has run out. If even a single bullet of foreign forces crosses into our border, then two fires will be shot in retaliation," said Jang newspaper.

"God forbid in future if something like this happened then our armed forces have to give a befitting response."

The NATO strike has shifted attention away from what critics say is Pakistan's failure to go after militants who cross the border to attack U.S.-led NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan vowed to back the U.S. global war on militancy launched after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and won billions of dollars in aid in return.

But the unstable, nuclear-armed country has often been described as an unreliable ally, and the United States has had to resort to controversial drone aircraft strikes against militants on Pakistani territory to pursue its aims.

U.S. frustrations grew so much that President Barack Obama ordered that the raid that killed bin Laden deep inside Pakistan be kept secret, knowing it could make the United States even more unpopular in Pakistan.

Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan in retaliation for the weekend shooting incident, the worst of its kind since Islamabad uneasily allied itself with Washington in 2001.

Pakistan is the route for nearly half of NATO supplies shipped overland to its troops in Afghanistan. Land shipments account for about two thirds of the alliance's cargo.

A similar incident on Sept 30, 2010, which killed two Pakistani service personnel, led to the closure of one of NATO's supply routes through Pakistan for 10 days.

Few believe the strategic alliance between Pakistan and the United States will break, even though the aggrieved military -- the South Asian nation's most powerful institution -- may now feel it needs to assert itself.

Both sides are likely to opt for damage control and then confidence-building measures -- the usual pattern in a frequently troubled relationship.

(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111128/india_nm/india607609

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Wyclef Jean's Charity, Yele Haiti, Accused Of Squandering Millions In Donations

Wyclef Jean's charity, Yele Haiti, is coming under scrutiny again for squandering millions of dollars in charitable donations.

The New York Post reported that the charity took in $16 million from donors in 2010, but only about a third went to fund emergency efforts. The paper also reported that $1 million went to a Florida company called Amisphere Farm Labor, Inc., that doesn't appear to actually exist. The paper said the address listed for Amisphere is an auto body shop in Miami. The paper also said that Amsterly Pierre, the man who is purportedly Amisphere's owner, bought three properties in Florida, including a waterfront condo in an upscale area.

?The Post conveniently fails to acknowledge that the decisions that Yele made were a response to one of the world?s most catastrophic natural disasters in modern history and required an immediate humanitarian response,? Jean said in a statement. ?We made decisions that enabled us to provide emergency assistance in the midst of chaos and we stand by those decisions.?

Jean also noted that he was no longer part of Yele's active leadership. ?I have acknowledged that Yele has made mistakes in the past, including being late in IRS filings, but that is old news. When I entered politics last summer, I transitioned from being a board member and chairman of Yele Haiti to a supporter. The new and good news is that Yele under new leadership, despite efforts to undermine its credibility and effectiveness, continues its mission to serve people in need.?

Last year, the ex-Fugees rapper mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Haiti's presidency. That electoral bid was dogged by allegations that Jean took money from Yele for his personal use, which he flatly denied. "Have we made mistakes before? Yes," Jean said in a press conference last year. "Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not. Yele's books are open and transparent."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/28/wyclef-charity-squandered-money_n_1116197.html

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Switched On: HTC goes back to the feature

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Motorola's Droid RAZR takes enough pages out of the classic textbook of smartphone differentiation to assemble its own chapter. It sets a new standard for thinness in LTE devices, uses leading-edge display technology, resists flexing, glass breakage and water damage, has a striking design and thoughtfully selected materials, stretches battery life, matches with a bevy of optimized accessories, and enables remote file and media access via Motocast software . Who's it for? Just about any Verizon customer willing to pony up.

Its rival HTC has also long played the one-upsmanship game. It has invested in a software layer designed to have populist appeal. Moreover, it has catered to US carriers' priorities by being first out of the gate to support T-Mobile's 3G network (with the first Android phone, the G1) and Sprint's and Verizon's 4G efforts, as well as one of two to initially support AT&T's LTE network.

Continue reading Switched On: HTC goes back to the feature

Switched On: HTC goes back to the feature originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_SQBNKdF-wI/

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