Wim Wenders Question to Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog

                             
                                            Three german film directors in one documentary

Music: Spencer Davis Group "Gimme some Loving"

                         
                                            Steve Windwood keyboards and lead Vocals

Music: Blind Faith "Do What You Like" Live at Hyde Park

Music: How did all ended on British "Blind Faith" Band

Isle Wight Festival 1970 Jethro Tull "Nothing is Easy"

                                           Another unforgettable british band Jethro Tull

Music: Cuban Buenavista Social Club. Eliades Ochoa "El Carretero"

                                             Eliades Ochoa, "El Carretero"
                                       

Music: Buenavista Social Club Ibrahim Ferrer "Candela"

                                        Extraordinary cuban singer and musician Ibrahim Ferrer

Music: Buenavista Social Club Live. Old Glories of Cuban Music

Metaps Platform Apps Surpass 1 Billion Downloads

Tokyo-headquartered app monetization service Metaps announced that the total downloads of apps on the Android monetization platform “metaps” has surpassed 1 billion.

Metaps is an Android monetization platform that supports developers by providing them with the necessary tools and know-how to successfully attract and engage users. The metaps platform consists of the Freemium Ad Network DirectTAP, Exchanger and metaps offerwall products, providing a complete suite of monetization solutions to Android developers.

The rapid growth of metaps platform can be attributed to the company’s expansion to in Asian markets, according to Metaps CEO Katsuaki Sato. Metap has entered into partnerships with LINE and KAKAO. The recent opening of their Shanghai office has also improved implementation of Metaps developer solutions in Greater China.

Last year, Metaps closed $11 million series B round of funding led by Fidelity Growth Partners Japan and now has offices in Japan, US, Singapore, China, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Source: TechNode

Italian Prime Minister Letta to Resign Friday; Renzi Seen Taking Over

          The Wall Street Journal reports, "Prime Minister Enrico Letta said he will tender his resignation to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano Friday, following a call from Matteo Renzi, the head of Italy's largest party, for a new government to take power.

Mr. Letta's resignation brings an end to a government that is barely 10 months old and has teetered on the brink of collapse virtually from its birth. It will clear the way for Mr. Napolitano to ask Mr. Renzi to try to form a new government.

Mr. Renzi, the 39-year-old mayor of Florence and a rising star of Italian politics, pulled his support for the government earlier Thursday after months of criticizing the premier for failing to act aggressively enough to combat Italy's protracted economic downturn. In December, Mr. Renzi became head of the center-left Democratic Party, Italy's largest political group, and provided the main support for the Letta government. Mr. Letta also belongs to the party.

In a speech to party leaders earlier Thursday, Mr. Renzi said the country needs to move into "a new phase with a new government."

"We are in a position to turn a new page," he said. "The party thanks the premier for the important work he has done as the head of the government."

Mr. Letta issued a statement saying that "following the decision by the leadership of the Democratic Party, I have informed the President of my intention to tender my resignation as prime minister tomorrow." Mr. Napolitano's office had no immediate comment on Mr. Letta's statement.

Mr. Napolitano is expected to accept Mr. Letta's resignation, after which he would hold consultations with the major parties, possibly starting as soon as this weekend".

Jimi Hendrix Machine Gun Live at Fillmore East

Jimi Hendrix Isle of Wight Live

                                                Jimi Hendrix  Playing Blues

WSJ; China Leads Global Property Bond Sales

               The Wall Street Journal reports"Debt-thirsty Chinese property developers are flocking to the bond market, selling more debt than their North American counterparts combined.

Real-estate companies from the world’s No. 2 economy have issued $7.9 billion worth of bonds so far this year, according to Dealogic data, taking the top spot for a second straight year with 38% of global real-estate bond issuance.

Although the amount is a tad less than the record $8.0 billion sold a year earlier, it exceeds the $7.6 billion sold by U.S. and Canadian property firms so far this year. The U.S. is in the second spot with $5.7 billion, or 27% of total sales".

Companies ranging from major home builder Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. to midsize developer China South City Holdings Ltd.,are taking advantage of yield-hungry investors and a low interest-rate environment to raise cash to acquire land or fund construction costs. Some Chinese developers are borrowing to pay down more expensive debt.

“Chinese developers are trying to capture the window of opportunity to lock in low interest rates before rates begin to rise over the longer term,” said Jacphanie Cheung, credit analyst at Deutsche Bank AG.

Last year, U.S. real-estate companies remained the largest debtors worldwide, accounting for 30% new bonds in the sector, followed by China, which accounted for 26%, according to Dealogic data.

GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks flat despite soft U.S. data; dollar down

World stock markets were little changed on Thursday after U.S. data suggested slower growth in the first quarter and as corporate earnings forecasts disappointed, while the dollar fell to a two-week low against the euro.

In Europe, shares dipped as investors focused on political uncertainty in Italy, where Prime Minister Enrico Letta defied pressure to make way for the centre-left leader Matteo Renzi. [ID:nL5N0LI1I6]

U.S. bond prices rose after data showed U.S. retail sales fell unexpectedly in January and the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week. [ID:nL5N0LI3L6]

Wall Street stocks turned slightly higher after trading down at the open, pressured by a disappointing outlook from Cisco Systems. Cisco shares fell 4.3 percent to $21.86.

"Essentially, it's a story of renewed concern that the recovery in the U.S. may be headed for a speed bump which may be more than weather-related," said Millan Mulraine, deputy head of research and strategy at TD Securities in New York.

In Italy, the stand-off threatens to pull apart a coalition government patched together after last year's deadlocked elections. That would further hamper efforts to turn around the country's sputtering economy.

Italian stocks <.FTMIB> were last down 0.2 percent after dropping as much as 1.2 percent earlier. European stocks snapped a week-long winning streak, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.2 percent. [.EU]

Shares of Swiss food group Nestle fell 1.6 percent after it said it may undershoot its long-term growth targets again this year.

The broad MSCI All-Country World Index  was flat, cutting earlier losses, while MSCI's index of emerging market stocks was down 0.9 percent  after rising on Wednesday.

Among still-jittery emerging markets, Ukraine's ongoing woes saw the hryvnia currency and its sovereign bonds tumble. In Nigeria, Africa's second-biggest economy, fresh government sackings left the naira near a two-year low.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 6.49 points or 0.04 percent, to 15,970.43, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 2.15 points or 0.12 percent, to 1,821.41 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 16.688 points or 0.4 percent, to 4,217.976. [.N]


BOND PRICES UP, DOLLAR DOWN

Treasury debt prices rose after two days of losses. Benchmark 10-year Treasuries were up 6/32 in price to yield 2.74 percent. [US/]

The dollar index <.DXY> was down 0.4 percent at 80.494. It fell 0.53 percent against both the yen and euro, to 101.99 yen and $1.3660 respectively. 

Oil prices were lower as well, though Brent's losses were limited by a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which said developed world inventories fell by 137 million barrels at the end of last year, for the steepest quarterly decline since 1999. [O/R]

Brent crude was down 39 cents at $108.40 a barrel while U.S. crude oil was down 10 cents at $100.27.

Source:  Reuters

WSJ: BNP Paribas Hit by $1.1 Billion Legal Provision

            The Wall  Street Journal reports, ''BNP Paribas SA, on Thursday became the latest bank to disclose the extent of its litigation problems in the U.S., saying it has set aside $1.1 billion against potential penalties related to transactions in countries under sanctions''.

The French lender said that it had found during an internal probe conducted over the past few years "a significant volume of transactions" between 2002 and 2009 that could be "considered impermissible under U.S. laws and regulations including, in particular, those of the Office of Foreign Assets Control."

"The bank has presented the findings of this review to U.S. authorities and commenced subsequent discussions with them," it added.

BNP didn't give details about its internal probe, notably which countries were involved.

People familiar with the matter said the French bank reviewed transactions involving entities that were doing business in U.S.-sanctioned countries, such as Iran, Cuba, Sudan and Libya during the 2002 to 2009 period. In most cases, BNP provided dollar-denominated financing to companies, both French and non-French.

BNP is a major provider of export financing for the oil and mining industry.

The transactions didn't necessarily get routed through BNP units in the U.S. Yet, the U.S. is asserting jurisdiction simply by claiming that its currency was involved, the people familiar with the matter said.

The surprise provision pushed fourth-quarter net profit down 76% to €127 million ($172.8 million) from €519 million a year earlier, well short of analyst forecasts putting the figure at €959 million.

BNP Paribas is one of several banks that have disclosed talks with regulators about potential sanctions breaches.

It is unclear how much BNP Paribas may need to pay to settle the alleged charges against them.

"There have been no discussions with U.S. authorities about the amount of any fines or penalties," said the bank in a statement. It could therefore be "different, possibly very different, from the amount of the provision," and its timing is "uncertain" it added.

While BNP previously said it was conducting an internal probe into possible U.S. sanctions breaches, the size of the provision took investors by surprise, sending shares down sharply.

"We knew there was a risk, but we didn't expect it to be that big," said Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Jean-Pierre Lambert.

As with many other global lenders, muted economic growth and rising legal costs due to greater oversight by regulators have squeezed BNP Paribas's profit.

WSJ: Falling Property Values Hint at Trouble on the Farm

     The Wall Street Journal reports,"Plummeting Prices for Corn Are Threatening a Yearslong Boom for U.S. Growers''.

          " From 2009 to mid-2013, average prices for agricultural land in the U.S. rose by half, while in Iowa, Nebraska and some other Midwest farm states, prices more than doubled, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data from last August. That helped fuel economic prosperity across the Farm Belt while stoking fears about a possible bubble.

Now there is mounting evidence the boom is fizzling out. Farmland prices in Iowa fell 3% over the second half of last year, and those in Nebraska fell 1%, according to estimates from the Farm Credit Services of America, an Omaha, Neb., lender that calculates weighted averages based on land quality. Reports from U.S. Federal Reserve Banks across the Midwest late last year showed prices flattening or slipping from the previous quarter. A monthly survey of Midwestern lenders by Omaha-based Creighton University in January found the outlook for farmland and ranchland prices was the weakest in more than four years".

Despite the falling property values, agricultural analysts say a repeat of past farm-belt collapses is unlikely. Farmer income is expected to remain strong and debt levels are low, according to USDA figures.

But prices have plunged for corn, a key U.S. crop. After rising to all-time highs in 2012—driven by growing demand and tight supply because of a historic drought—prices for the biggest U.S. crop dropped 40% last year, thanks to a record harvest of 14 billion bushels. The Federal Reserve warned in January that corn prices, then around $4.28 a bushel, won't cover farmers' anticipated cost of raising the crop this year. Prices have since climbed to about $4.40 a bushel, compared with about $8.31 in August 2012.

Soybeans, the nation's No. 2 crop, have also lost value. Meanwhile, with the Fed scaling back its stimulus efforts, buyers of U.S. farmland face the prospect of higher interest rates after years of cheap borrowing.

The shifts have forced farmers to recalculate the value of productive land. Greg Plunk, a third-generation Illinois farmer who added 80 acres to his farm over the past two years, said he would be more careful with further purchases.

The farmland boom began roughly a decade ago. Prices slumped briefly in 2009, amid the recession, then rebounded, thanks in part to historically low interest rates. Overall, values of some fertile Midwestern land nearly tripled over the past decade.

The recent turn has been abrupt. "There was lots of land around here selling for close to $10,000 an acre, but it's tapered off quickly," said Kevin Kremer, 56, an Indiana farmer who recently won a tract of land for roughly $8,800 an acre at an auction in Burnettsville, Ind.

So far, the sputtering growth is prompting more caution than panic. But economists are watching closely. "The question is, if there's a fall, how fast the fall happens," said Nathan Kauffman, Omaha branch executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, who tracks farmland prices.

The economic picture in the Farm Belt is expected to worsen. The USDA forecast Tuesday that U.S. farm incomes will dive 27% this year from 2013, to $95.8 billion, which would be the lowest level since 2010. Last year's total was the highest since 1973 on an inflation-adjusted basis, but the continued slump in grain prices is expected to this year outweigh the benefits of having more corn and soybeans to sell. Still, even with the expected decline, the USDA reckons incomes will remain $8 billion above the previous 10-year average.

Adding comfort, today's agricultural sector looks markedly different than it did during the last farmland bust, in the early 1980s. Then, a roughly 50% drop in land values and rising interest rates led to high levels of debt when viewed as a percentage of farmers' assets. That forced many farmers out of business and spurred failures among dozens of agricultural lenders. Farmers' debt-to-asset ratio is currently estimated at 10.3%, less than half what it was in 1985, according to the USDA.

But a sharp fall in property prices could affect a farmer's balance sheet, said Mr. Kauffman, the economist. "If land values do drop, that could have some important implications for solvency."

Music: Oh Que Sera - Omara Portuondo & Chico Buarque

                                   Brazilian Singer and song writer Chico Buarque with cuban singer
                                   Omara Portuando

Music: Aguas de Março (Aguas de Marzo, Waters of March) Live Bossa Nova

                                     
                                            Tom Jobim And Miucha Live Aguas de Março

Music: TOM JOBIM & ELIS REGINA - AGUAS DE MARÇO

                                         
                                         

Music Pablo Milanes & Silvio Rodriguez "Yolanda"

                                      The popular love song of cuban musician Pablo Milanes

WSJ: U.S. Stock Futures Extend Losses

                       The Wall Street Journal reports, "U.S. stock futures fell, as disappointing economic data and losses in overseas markets weighed on shares".

About 40 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 98 points, or 0.6%, to 15845. On Wednesday, the Dow fell 31 points, or 0.2%, to snap a four-session win streak.

S&P 500 index futures gave up 12 points, or 0.6%, to 1805 and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 22 points, or 0.6%, to 3603. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

The declines followed losses in overseas stock benchmarks, and European shares declined as rising political tensions in Italy gave investors reason for caution.

Stock futures in the U.S. extended losses after a pair of economic reports were weaker than expected. Retail sales fell by 0.4% on the month, more than the 0.1% decline expected, and December's figures were revised lower. Excluding auto sales, retail sales were flat in January, while they were expected to rise 0.1%. There were 339,000 claims for jobless benefits in the latest week, more than the 331,000 expected.

Cisco Systems  slumped 3.2% in premarket trading after the network-equipment maker reported a drop in fiscal second-quarter revenue, led by weakness in its core switching and routing businesses, and said emerging markets remain challenged. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 12%.

Adam Sarhan, chief executive of New York-Based investment firm Sarhan Capital, said that Cisco's disappointment is a continuation of lackluster investor response to earnings.reports over the past few weeks.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged higher to 2.737%.

Gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,294.10 a troy ounce, after rising for a sixth-straight session Wednesday, while crude oil futures lost 0.7% to $99.65 a barrel to pull back from Wednesday's fourth-month high. The dollar lost ground against the yen and the euro.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 shed 0.9%, headed for its first loss in seven sessions.

Italy's FTSE MIB led declines, falling 1.5%, amid a renewed bout of political wrangling between Prime Minister Enrico Letta and Matteo Renzi, the newly elected leader of Mr. Letta's Democratic Party, leaving the country's left-right coalition government at risk of collapse. Italian bond yields have risen from the multiyear lows they hit on Wednesday.

Germany's DAX 30 index gave up 0.5%, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.6% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.9%.

Asian markets were broadly lower. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average shed 1.8% as a strengthening in the yen weighed on exporter stocks. China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.6%, pulling back from a 2014 high on Wednesday.

U.S. initial jobless claims rise 8,000 to 339,000

 Initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 339,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected claims to fall slightly to 330,000. The four-week moving average was 334,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 333,750.

Source: Marketwatch

U.S. retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January

 U.S. retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Excluding the large automobile sector, sales were flat. Retail sales account for about one-third of consumer spending, the main engine of economic growth. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast retail sales would fall 0.1% overall but be unchanged excluding autos. December retail sales were revised downward to show a 0.1% decrease instead of a 0.2% gain, while a 0.7% gain in sales minus automobiles was trimmed to a 0.3% increase.

Source:  Marketwatch

World shares stepped back from three-week highs on Thursday

 World shares stepped back from three-week highs on Thursday, ending a five-day run of gains fuelled by assurances from major central banks their supportive policies would continue.

In Europe, the fading momentum was compounded by political uncertainty in Italy, where Prime Minister Enrico Letta defied pressure to make way for the centre-left leader Matteo Renzi. 

The stand-off threatens to pull apart a coalition government patched together after last year's deadlocked elections. That would further hamper efforts to turn around the country's sputtering economy.

Italian stocks <.FTMIB> led the losses among the region's bourses <.FTEU3>, dropping as much as 1.2 percent. The country's government bonds were the worst performers on the debt market.

"Right now, you are not sure which (political) scenario will be in play and some of the scenarios could lead to inaction," said UniCredit strategist Luca Cazzulani in Milan.

A batch of disappointing updates from blue-chip companies in Europe also weighed on the region's stock markets but it was the rumblings in Italy that remained the central focus. [.EU]

There was no signs of trouble in a 7.5 billion-euro auction of Italian 3- to 30-year bonds . But the relief was short-lived - stocks and bonds in Milan remained rooted to the bottom of the European table.

Letta, a low-key moderate appointed to lead the cross-party coalition formed after last year's deadlocked elections, is fighting for his political future amid growing criticism from Renzi over the slow pace of economic reform.

A meeting of the 140-strong leadership committee of the Democratic Party at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) will decide whether he has the backing of his party or will be forced out less than a year after taking office.


EMERGING CONCERNS

Among still-jittery emerging markets, Ukraine's ongoing woes saw the hryvnia and its sovereign bonds tumble. In Nigeria, Africa's second-biggest economy, fresh government sackings left the naira near a two-year low.

U.S. Treasury yields , the benchmark for global borrowing costs, added to the general pressure. They hovered near a two-week high at 2.75 percent, well above the 2.57 percent where they were trading just over a week ago. [US/]

Asian trading was also bumpy after Wall Street stumbled overnight. U.S. stocks are expected to fall roughly 0.5 percent when trading resumes later on Thursday. 

Markets are still sitting on solid gains. Shares had rallied amid relief that Federal Reserve policy would continue unchanged and hints the European Central Bank may provide more support in the euro zone.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan  lost 0.7 percent after jumping 4.5 percent in the previous five sessions. Japan's Nikkei <.N225> fell 1.8 percent, but that too was after a 4.6 percent surge this week.


Source: Reuters

Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion

Comcast Corp said on Thursday it would buy Time Warner Cable Inc for $45.2 billion in an all-stock deal that combines the two largest U.S. cable operators.

The friendly takeover comes as a surprise after months of public pursuit of Time Warner Cable by smaller rival Charter Communications Inc , and immediately raised questions as to whether it would pass the scrutiny of anti-trust regulators.

Comcast will pay $158.82 per share, which is roughly what Time Warner Cable demanded from Charter.

The combined company would divest 3 million subscribers, about a quarter of Time Warner's 12 million customers. Together with Comcast's 22 million video subscribers, the roughly 30 million total would represent just under 30 percent of the U.S. pay television video market.

The new cable giant would tower over its closest video competitor, DirecTV, which has about 20 million video customers.

If successful, the deal will be the second time in little more than a year that Comcast has helped reshape the U.S. media landscape after its $17 billion acquisition of NBC Universal was completed in 2013.

The proposed combination, which would give roughly 23 percent of the merged company to Time Warner Cable shareholders, is subject to approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. The two companies expect to close the deal, which has no break-up fee, by the end of the year.

The new partners are concentrated in different cities. Comcast would fill in its New Jersey and Connecticut portfolio with Time Warner Cable's New York City customers, for instance, and add major markets such as Los Angeles and Dallas.

"Comcast and Time Warner Cable don't compete and Comcast can easily divest a few million subscribers," said BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield.

While the attempt to merge the two largest U.S. cable operators would face close scrutiny, a divestiture of subscribers should help its case with regulators, he added.

It was not yet clear which markets Comcast would sell.

The companies expect to create $1.5 billion in operating savings, with 50 percent of those savings expected in the first year.

Representatives for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice could not be reached for comment.

The proposed deal will be accretive to Comcast, which plans to expand its stock buyback program to $10 billion at the close of the transaction.

Smaller cable operator Charter went hostile this week by nominating a slate of directors to replace the entire board of Time Warner Cable. Charter offered $132.50 per share in a cash and stock deal last month that was rejected as too low.
Talks between Comcast and Time Warner Cable started about a year ago, but negotiations gathered pace in recent weeks, people familiar with the matter said. Time Warner Cable had told Comcast it considered Comcast to be its preferred buyer once Charter had approached them, the sources said.

Source: Reuters