Teen Choice Awards 2012 Red Carpet: Kristen Stewart, Selena Gomez And Taylor Swift Shine [PHOTOS]

Photo: Facebook/Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart

The "tweenage" elite gathered on Sunday night in Los Angeles at the Gibson Amphitheater for the 14th annual Teen Choice Awards 2012, with stars like Kristen Stewart and Selena Gomez scoring big on and off the red carpet where they posed for photos before receiving giant surfboard awards at the ceremony.

Photo: Joel Woodard

Friday Books Blog Report: Chic Libraries, and Books That Change Your Life

Did you know that Libraries are chic?

During a visit to Birch Books in New York, Joel Woodard found a black book bag that said just that. He told the bookshop's owner what a great bag it was, and Birch Cooper told him they are part of a new conservation effort he is leading called Birch Books Conservation, the purpose of which is to research, record and protect books at historic sites in the United States, Woodard writes at Rustic Chic.

They'll probably find me one day under a stack of my beloved tomes, he says. Books on the arts, poetry, gardening, biographies flung hither and yon. But what a way to go - surrounded by old friends. (Now, picture checking out with a clutched iPad and a downloaded trashy summer read.  Doesn't have the same charm, does it?)

Speaking of books and lives, Alec Nevala-Lee posts today about the books he has read the most, starting with Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco:

This is one of those novels that I probably would have loved anyway, but which left an indelible mark on my life simply because of when I first encountered it - when I was 13 years old and hungering deeply for books that, like the conspiracy theory at the heart of Eco's novel, had 'something to do with everything.' Looking back, I can see its limitations more clearly, and as I've said before, I'm afraid it's been something of a dead end for me as a writer. Yet for better or worse, it's influenced just about everything I've done since, most notably The Icon Thief, and it remains a work of exquisite wit and ingenuity.

The reference at the end is to Nevala-Lee's debut novel, coming out next March.

Over at a country house in Mogliano, Italy, Kim Talks Books is doing lots of vacation reading, including Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart (which I recommend).

Since I arrived in Italy last Friday I have read a total of five books. Am I bored? Hell no! Kim writes. I have just been enjoying the luxury of relaxing in a fragrant garden in the summer sun and doing something I love -- reading.

We close with the best title of a post in the books blogosphere today: Books Are the Bomb.

So writes Barbara Winter at Buon Viaggio. She says Supergirls: The Autobiography of an Outrageous Business by Claudia Jessup and Genie Chipps lit the way for her during a time when she was unsure if I'd ever figure out what to do with my life.

Although I ultimately started a very different business from the one they'd created, I gleaned so many lessons from their story, Winter says. They started on a shoestring. So did I. They got lots of free publicity. Me too. They evolved into a very different business over time. That's what happened to me.

The alliterative phrase at the top of her post is a riff on what Tim Sanders wrote in his book, Love is the Killer App: Simply put, hardcover books are the bomb.

Winters concludes, What I know for sure is that books have made a continuous contribution to my growth and development as a person and as an entrepreneur.

Edward B. Colby is the Books editor of the International Business Times. He can be reached at e.colby@ibtimes.com.

Photo: Joel Woodard

World Bank tells G8: 2009 remains dangerous year

The Group of Eight nations should not presume a global economic recovery is near, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a letter to G8 host Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi obtained by Reuters on Monday.

The letter, dated July 1 and copied to all G8 leaders, said interventions by central banks and governments appeared to have broken the fall in the global economy by stabilizing financial markets and boosting demand.

Yet 2009 remains a dangerous year. Recent gains could be reversed easily, and the pace of recovery in 2010 is far from certain, Zoellick wrote.

I recognize that some developed countries are now considering a policy mix that assumes the recovery is at hand. But for the developing world, it is far too early to think of such measures.

The G8 heads of government are expected to issue a statement on the situation of the world economy during their meeting in the central Italian city of L'Aquila, where financial regulation needs will be discussed alongside perspectives on the Middle East, Iran, North Korea and Somali piracy.

In his letter, Zoellick stressed the July 8-10 summit should also focus on the plight of the poor in the developing world.

The World Bank estimates that the gross domestic product of developing countries except for China and India will decline by 1.6 percent this year.

A decline in the average GDP growth rate in developing countries by 1 percentage point can trap as many as 20 million more people in extreme poverty, Zoellick wrote, stressing drops in remittances, exports, investments and tourism revenues will continue to hurt poorer countries for some time.

Fragile countries in Africa are most at risk, hit by higher unemployment rates, especially among young people, increasing the risk of a relapse into conflict, he said. Unlike developed countries, most developing countries are not in a position to borrow and spend to reverse the downward spiral.

In the year to June 30, the World Bank committed $60 billion in aid to developing nations, much of it for infrastructure projects. Zoellick said wealthy nations should not hold back on further aid commitments in spite of the economic uncertainty.

These investments will also help the people of your countries by boosting global demand and encouraging the development of multiple poles of more balanced growth, Zoellick wrote the G8, which is made up of Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Russia and the United States.

A copy of the letter was also sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said earlier on Monday in Geneva the global financial downturn has pushed as many as 90 million more people into extreme poverty worldwide.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Photo: Joel Woodard

Technical Major Currencies Morning Report - 6 July 2009

EUR

The Euro versus Dollar pair continued to pressure the key support for the ascending channel after maintaining levels below 1.4000. Momentum indicators are nearing an oversold area which supports our outlook to the upside on the intraday basis after rebounding from 1.3940 to breach 1.4000 and target 1.4245 as far as 1.3880 remains intact.

The trading range for today is among the key support at 1.3655 and the key resistance at 1.4400

The general trend is to the downside as far as 1.4710 remains intact with targets at 1.2120

GBP

The Cable is currently declining gradually within a bullish technical pattern (wedge) as it nears the support which has shifted to 1.6220. Momentum indicators, specifically the stochastic, is supporting the upside movements to target the critical resistance at 1.6640 (the key support for the previously breached channel). As a result, we expect the pair is to incline on the intraday trends targeting the minor resistance at 1.6345 as far as 1.6200 remains intact.

The trading range for today is among the key support at 1.5900 and the key resistance at 1.6815

The general trend is to the upside as far as 1.4840 remains intact with targets at 1.7100

JPY

The USD/JPY pair was able to breach the support at 95.70 to trigger a new bearish wave targeting 93.00 where we expect trading to be volatile around the previously breached support in an attempt to retest the level before reversing back to the downside. We believe the pair is to face an obstacle at 94.85 and 94.40 as minor supports before heading towards the target as far as 97.65 remains intact.

The trading range for today is among the key support at 93.00 and the key resistance at 98.85

The general trend is to the downside as far as 102.60 remains intact with targets at 84.95 and 82.60

CHF

The Dollar versus Swissy pair traded within narrow ranges since last Friday maintaining levels below 1.0890 where we expect the pair is to decline towards the key support for the ascending channel at 1.0760. The short term trend remains unclear and will be confirmed after touching the mentioned support as it seems the pair will pressure the key support to breach it and target 1.0760.

The trading range fro today is among the key support at 1.0570 and the key resistance at 1.1165

The general trend is to the upside as far as 1.0570 remains intact with targets at 1.2245

CAD

The minor support at 1.1560 was able to halt further declines for the Dollar versus Loonie pair yet we expect the failed attempts are only to stall the expected decline on the intraday basis. Trading remains within narrow ranges as seen in the above image where a breach of the 1.1585 support level will quicken movements to breach the critical support at 1.1560 to target 1.1335 as far as 1.1770 remains intact.

The trading range for today is among the key support at 1.1335 and the key resistance at 1.1815

The general trend is to the downside as far as 1.1870 remains intact with targets at 1.0300

Photo: Reuters

NBA FINALS: Dirk vs Dwyane Is a Duel to Remember

The NBA Finals returns to Miami on Sunday night with the Dallas Mavericks owning a 3-2 series lead, and within one win from taking home the Larry O'Brien trophy.

Regardless of the outcome, these Finals will go down as one of the most exciting in recent memory. Three of the five games have been decided by three points or less, there's been talk on both sides, and drama surrounding LeBron James's fourth-quarter disappearing acts.

Most importantly, there are two future Hall-of-Famers who have elevated their play to incredible heights and are engaged in one of the best one-on-one showdowns the Finals has ever seen: Dwyane Wade dueling with Dirk Nowitzki.

They've battled illness and injury, overcome the shortcomings of under-performing teammates, and played some of the best basketball of their careers when it matters most.

Until his hip injury in Game Five, Wade looked unstoppable. He has been getting to the rim at will and shredding Dallas's otherwise stout defense with his speed and uncanny ability to change directions going full speed. With James looking like a passive bystander and Chris Bosh's unpredictable play, Wade has stepped up as the real leader of the Heat and the only dependable member of Miami's vaunted Big Three.

Through five games, Wade is averaging close to 30 points per game in the Finals and despite already having a ring, looks like the hungriest member of the Heat. He has taken his game to a whole new level in the Finals and has carried the Heat through the ups-and-downs of his All-Star teammates.

Dirk Nowitzki has delivered two game-winning shots in Games Two and Four, and narrowly missed sending Game Three into overtime. For all the criticism he has taken throughout his career for being too soft to win a championship, Nowitzki is putting on one of the all-time great Finals performances.

In Game Two, Nowitzki scored Dallas's last nine points to trigger a comeback from 15 points behind, and won the game on a left-handed layup with three seconds left. He was using the same left hand that had a splint on it to protect the tendon in the middle finger he tore at the end of Game One.

In Game Four, Nowitzki was so sick he could barely speak. After struggling for three quarters, he found his touch in the fourth, delivering 10 of his 21 points in the final act, including the game-winning layup against Udonis Haslem with less than 15 seconds to play.

Nowitzki has always been the focal point of the Mavericks. As the greatest player in franchise history, there has never been any question as to who takes the final shot. Nowitzki has performed even beyond the high standard set throughout his career and this incredible Finals performance firmly cements his legacy as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

On the other side, Wade must have thought that having two All-Stars join his team would take some of the pressure off him. It turns out that in the Finals the Heat have been almost entirely Wade's team.

Unless one or both of his superstar teammates can over-achieve on this stage, the Heat's chances of a title rest squarely on the shouders of their captain.

Whichever team wins the title won't detract from the inspired performances of two great players.

Photo: REUTERS

Arizona's Wallow Fire Claims First Injuries, Threatens 5,000 Homes

Firefighters and crews worked to minimize the damage from massive Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona on Friday, as charred areas grew to more than 600 square miles and claimed its first injuries and homes destroyed, while endangering thousands more.

Crews were worked Thursday to create fire lines with bulldozers ahead of a planned burnouts near Highway 260 going west from Eagar to Highway 373 junction., then southeast to Greer Lake.

There were three minor injuries related to the fire and 22 homes were destroyed on Thursday. More than 3,000 responders are attending to the fire.

Weather conditions have improved from earlier in the week when a 'red flag warning' was in place due to high winds and low humidity. By Sunday, however, critical fire conditions were expected to be possible, according to the National Weather Service. Very dry conditions will continue with wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour.

The fire which has been raging for nearly two weeks put the evacuated towns of Eagar and Springerville in harm's way on Thursday. The towns were evacuated Wednesday afternoon. More sparsely populated areas near the state's eastern border had already been cleared out previously.

Area Command Team 3 reported that the number of threatened structures grew from 588 on Wednesday to 5,242 by late Thursday.

Meanwhile, authorities were expecting further harm, telling other residents nearby to prepare to leave. Just across the state border, pre-evacuation orders were in place for New Mexico's unincorporated Luna village.

There were 5 damaged homes in the towns of Alpine and Nutrioso, authorities said. Residents would be informed and receive a certified letter confirming the damage.

Arizona National Guard troops have been assisting fire crews with three fuel tanker trucks , 20 palletized load system trucks to help with an logistical and transporation requests.

The office of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said no requests for security support have been made at this time.

However two 40-person platoons of military police are ready to respond within 24 hours and coordinate with tne Apache County Sheriff's office.

Second Major Fire

Meanwhile, about 60 miles south the smaller Horseshow Two fire continued to burn. It has charred just over 200 square miles (128,652 acres), according to the Rocky Basin Type-2 Incident Management Team.

More than 1,000 responders are working to mitigate damage, as the fire is 40 percent contained. Twenty-three structures have been destroyed and the cost so far to fight it has reached $33.5 million.

Photo: Reuters

$1k Iron Man Entry fee is a “Ripoff”

A thousand-dollar entry fee has turned off potential Iron Man athletes from competing in the 2012 New York City race, but registration is still expected to fill up quickly.

World Triathlon Corp. officials told Bloomberg that they did not expect the unusually high entry fee - which makes the August 2012 Iron Man in New York City the most expensive Triathlon ever - to be a deterrent. The officials reasoned that 2,000 of the 3,000 competitors in the 2010 New York City Triathlon worked in the financial services industry, a relatively high-paying field, and pointed out that Iron Man competitors have an average annual salary of $161,000 overall.

But not everyone in their target demographic is willing to cough up four figures for a race that usually costs around $575 - especially not for the privilege of competing in a grueling course under oppressive August city heat.

Fraser Owen-Smith, a senior financial services professional who has twice completed the New York City Triathlon, told IBTimes that he had strongly considered competing in the 2012 New York Iron Man, but ultimately decided against it, opting instead to compete in Iron Man Mexico later this year.

His reasons for not doing it?

Price, it's in mid-August so it will be brutally hot, Price, badly designed course, Price. Total ripoff. 

The same goes for seven other people who I have spoken to about it, he added. (All seven work in the same industry).

Still, Owen-Smith believes World Triathlon Corp. can get away with charging it, because people will pay it.  I bet entry will sell out in less than an hour.

In 2008, Providence Equity Partners, a Rhode-Island based private equity firm that invests in media and entertainment companies, acquired World Triathalon Corp. for an undisclosed sum.

Officials said they have spent several million dollars on permits, medical personal, law enforcement and other expenses for the 140.6 mile race that will wind through New York City as well as suburban New York and New Jersey on August 11, 2012.

A portion of the 1K entry fee will be donated to the Robin Hood Foundation, a New York-based charity dedicated to reducing poverty. The goal of the partnership is to raise $250,000.

 

Photo: Reuters

Devoid Of Surprises, E3 Lacks True Winners And Losers

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) of 2011 is no more and now the only left to do is analyze the video game industry's biggest week.   

The problem? According to video game industry analysts, this year's lack of surprises made it hard to really discern which companies won E3 and which lost.

Scott Steinberg, veteran video game analyst at http://www.toptechexpert.com, described this year's E3 as the most mellow in history. He said the lack of surprises on both the software and hardware front made for little buzz coming out of the show. Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities, agreed with Steinberg when assessing this year's E3.

There wasn't a lot of new at E3 from a software perspective, mostly already announced games.  The only new stuff was the hardware, and even that wasn't that new.  We knew all about the PSVita, but not the name, leaving the only unknown interesting stuff coming from Nintendo, Pachter said.

Pachter said for this reason he sees Nintendo as a big winner coming out of the event. He says the Wii U was fresh and different, and the software lineup from the 3DS was pretty well hidden. Steinberg, however, isn't as keen on Nintendo being a winner.

Nintendo is probably not a big winner given the multitude of questions and concerns that came from the Wii U, Steinberg said. He did admit opinions were mixed on Nintendo, and those who got to sample Wii U said it was great. Still, he said the investor's reaction showed many weren't sold on the Wii U.

Steinberg said Sony was a winner, especially with how they handled the PSN hacking situation. He also was impressed with the Playstation Vita. However, he said even Sony didn't truly innovate and create buzz.

The Vita looks amazing, it's aggressively priced, has great features with online connectivity and wireless high speed access and user generated content. It has ticked all the boxes, Steinberg said before adding, However, those are all expected.

Microsoft could be construed as a winner after announcing Kinect Labs as well as YouTube and voice search for Xbox Live. However, Steinberg said there was not a lot of buzz or people who were seemingly impressed with the services announcements coming out of Microsoft.

It has the potential to be massive, but perhaps to many it was a footnote, he said.

One definitive loser may have been social gaming. While games like Farmville have taken Facebook by storm, they had little presence at this year's E3. If anything, the show proved console gaming was not dead yet.

On the software side, games like Battlefield 3, Bioshock Infinite, the new Tomb Raider and Elder's Scroll V generated a lot of buzz. However just like with hardware, there were few surprises.

As Pachter summed up, I think that most people like surprises, and there were few.  In the end, they weren't too many obvious losers, but not many winners either.

Follow Gabriel Perna on Twitter at @GabrielSPerna

Photo: Reuters

Brazil new oil law won't affect Petrobras-report

The Brazilian government's plans to change the nation's oil law will not turn state-controlled oil company Petrobras into an outsourcing producer of crude nor hinder its ability to bid for exploration permits, a local newspaper said on Monday.

Petrobras CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli told Valor that the implementation of production-sharing agreements in the so-called sub-salt deep-water oil reserves will favor the company. Plans to build five refineries through 2020 will continue even if the changes limit Petrobras' access to sub-salt oil, Gabrielli told Valor.

Asked whether the sharing agreements system will lead to increased corruption, he said the concern was not corruption but returns on exploratory risk, without elaborating further. Gabrielli told Valor allowing Petrobras alone to explore for oil in some sub-salt blocs does not violate the nation's political constitution, as claimed by some rivals that have been left out of the sub-salt.

Gabrielli did not give a timetable or detailed assessment of possible changes to the oil law, saying they are still being analyzed by government officials.

(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Photo: Reuters

Oil falls to around $64 a barrel

Oil fell to around $64 a barrel on Monday and touched a five-week low, pressured by doubts over the prospects for a global economic recovery.

The U.S. jobless rate reached a 26-year high and Euro zone unemployment is at the highest in a decade, reports showed last week. Oil fell even after militants attacked oil installations in major African exporter Nigeria.

It's a definite break to the downside, probably sparked by the poor economic data and stalling stock markets, said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Bache Commodities in London.

It's completely broken through its support at around $68.00-$68.50 and technically and probably fundamentally, heading lower now, he added, referring to Brent crude.

U.S. crude fell $2.74 from Thursday's close to $63.99 a barrel by 1007 GMT (6:07 a.m. EDT). It traded as low as $63.85, the lowest intraday price since May 28. Brent crude fell $1.71 from Friday's close to $63.90.

NYMEX floor trading was closed on Friday because of the U.S. Independence Day holiday and, although oil traded electronically, the exchange did not issue an official closing price.

Adding to pressure on oil, European stocks <.EU> got off to a weaker start on Monday following on from losses in Asia. U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street.

Investors will focus later this week on a meeting of the G8 industrial nations. The summit was expected to highlight signs that economies were stabilizing, but emphasize that it was too early yet to withdraw policy stimulus.

Societe Generale said the correction in oil prices, which surged 42 percent in the last quarter, was long anticipated. It predicted that oil prices would continue falling and average around $60 a barrel in July.

Non-fundamental price support, based on economic optimism, risk appetite, and increasing medium to long-term inflation expectations, has faded for now, Michael Wittner of SG said in a research note.

Attacks on oil installations in Nigeria, traditionally Africa's top oil producer, could limit losses.

Chevron , Royal Dutch Shell and Italian energy firm Agip have cut oil output by around 273,000 barrels per day in the last six weeks following the latest campaign of militant violence.

(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by Anthony Barker)