Новости за 14.01.2017

20th Century Fox

For six years, screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick had one mission in life: to get "Deadpool" made. Before the film starring the eponymous foul-mouthed superhero broke box-office records in 2016 and became a 2017 award-season darling (including Golden Globes and a good chance at an Oscar), just getting a film made about the Merc with a Mouth was considered a million-to-one shot.

But thanks to the perseverance of Resse, Wernick, director Tim Miller, and of course Ryan Reynolds ... Читать дальше...

Global Panorama/Flickr

For quite a few investors, healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson is a portfolio staple.

Johnson & Johnson is comprised of more than 250 different subsidiaries and three primary operating segments -- healthcare products, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.

All of J&J's segments are healthfully profitable and provide an aggregate mix of pricing power, predictability, and growth which makes J&J a company that investors can buy and hold for extended periods of time without worry. Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Turkey has changed its law to offer citizenship to foreigners who buy property worth at least $1m in the country.The decree on the changes published in Turkey's Official Gazette on Thursday also grants citizenship to foreigners who make a fixed capital investment of at least $2m, keep at least $3m in a bank account for at least three years or create at least 100 jobs in the country.

Ugur Civelek, a Turkish economist and columnist, said the changes mainly sought to increase property sales... Читать дальше...

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

It looks like A-list celebrity performers may not be the only ones skipping President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

While several political figures, including George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton will be in attendance when Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, a number of lawmakers who oppose Trump are refusing to show up.

Some have signaled their boycott of the inaguration as a preview of how they will oppose Trump's incoming administration. Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Stringer

Signaling closer ties between the two nations, India and Vietnam are discussing the sale of the Akash missile system to the Southeast Asian nation. And China is officially not happy about it.

The fast-evolving relationship between Vietnam and India drew Beijing’s ire this week via the government mouthpiece Global Times, which described the Indian arms sale as “stirring up trouble”, and said China would “hardly sit with its arms crossed”.

In the past, China... Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Dmitri Lovetsky/Pool

Just a week before his inauguration as US president, Donald Trump is deeply embroiled in a bizarre story about (so far unverified) claims that the Russian government holds compromising information on his private life.

The claims were made in a series of reports written by Christopher Steele, an ex-MI6 officer turned private intelligence consultant, who was commissioned by groups opposed to Trump to dig up discrediting material.

Among other things... Читать дальше...

Dmitry Azarov/Kommersant Photo/Getty

Barack Obama isn’t handing Donald Trump any portfolio of foreign-policy successes as he passes the baton the next president.

Trump is about to step into a world that his peace-prize-winning predecessor has made measurably more unstable and dangerous than it was eight years ago.

He’ll inherit the Obama administration’s full-dress messes (Syria, Ukraine, critically dysfunctional relations with Russia) and some unresolved problems on the way to becoming messes (North Korea... Читать дальше...

Jonathan Drake/Reuters

Chinese analysts have called for calm and caution in the aftermath of the tough stands on China taken by US president-elect Donald Trump’s diplomacy and military picks this week.

At a US Senate confirmation hearing late on Thursday, defence secretary nominee James Mattis branded China, Russia and Islamist militants as the biggest challenges to the US-led world order since the second world war, and called for the US Congress to lift spending military spending caps. Читать дальше...

Teresa Crawford/AP Photo

In the waning days of its tenure, the Obama administration has set two of America’s most violent cities on an aggressive path to police reform.

What the Trump administration does in response will be the first test of how it views the issue. 

President Obama’s Justice Department has repeatedly pressured police departments into strict reform programs enforced by the courts.

Baltimore signed one of these consent decrees Thursday, and the Department... Читать дальше...

REUTERS/David Gray

As the biggest retail confab of the year kicks off in New York City, leaders from the world’s biggest brands are gathering to share their innovations, make connections and offer up solutions.

One focus of the convention, organized by the National Retail Federation, is no doubt the 21st century transition from mall and in-store focus to on-line marketing and purchasing.

Curiously, though, the other mega-trend of our era – population aging and its attendant longevity economy... Читать дальше...

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Much of the current excitement surrounding bank stocks stems from investors' belief that interest rates will continue to rise, sending bank profits higher as well.

There's truth to this, writes longtime bank analyst Dick Bove in a recent research note, but there's more to the story than just this.

Looking back to the 1970s

In a report published Monday, Bove looked to the 1970s to get a sense for what's going on in the bank industry today. He... Читать дальше...

Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for national security adviser, held five phone calls with Russia's ambassador to Washington on the day the United States retaliated for Moscow's interference in the U.S. presidential election, three sources familiar with the matter said.

The calls occurred between the time the Russian embassy was told about U.S. sanctions and the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he had decided against reprisals, said the sources. Читать дальше...

Thomson Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico must be ready to respond immediately with its own tax measures if the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump imposes a border tax, the economy minister said on Friday, warning such protectionism may trigger a global recession.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has promised a "major border tax" on companies that shift jobs outside the United States, and such a measure could hobble Mexico's exports to its top trading partner. Читать дальше...

Flickr / Garry Knight

 It’s a fact: while Americans have countless tools with which to connect with one another, we are also watching fragmentation, polarization, and de-diversification happen en masse.

The American public is self-segregating, tearing at the social fabric of the country.

Many in the tech world imagined that the internet would connect people in unprecedented ways, allow for divisions to be bridged and wounds to heal – a Kumbaya dream of sorts.

Today,... Читать дальше...

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, opponents of new firearms restrictions have an attorney general nominee ready to implement their frequent call to “enforce the laws on the books.”

During his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Sessions pledged that, if his nomination is approved, he would take on the rising number of homicides in some American cities by deploying the weight of the federal courts against illegal firearms use.

As proof of his commitment, he cited his own resume. Читать дальше...

Lucasfilm is officially shooting down rumors that they will use a digital body double of the late actress Carrie Fisher in future "Star Wars" movies, after her death at age 60 in December 2016.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

As a scholar of U.S. history, I have studied the many cases in which presidential nominees, particularly judges, have failed to gain Senate confirmation.

However, according to the Senate Historical Office, there were four cases since 1970 in which a Senate controlled by the president’s party did not confirm the president’s nominees.

In each case, the failed nominee had either ethical, financial or legal lapses in their records.

Here’s a list of their roadblocks... Читать дальше...

Getty Images

Lyft may be preparing to take its ride-hailing service global, its first expansion beyond its US home turf and an important step in its competition with Uber, according to a new report from CNBC. 

Citing a source familiar with the plans, CNBC reported that Lyft has international ambitions, as evidenced by its updates to its international partnerships today. 

The ride-hailing company has been in an international alliance with fellow Uber-rivals Ola, Didi, and Grab... Читать дальше...

David McNew/Getty

Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is stepping down from his position to focus on another role: Chairman of Snap Inc. 

Lynton has been a trusted adviser to Snap's Evan Spiegel and on the board of Snapchat's parent company since 2013. He's now been recognized officially as chairman of the board at Snap, according to The New York Times.

In a memo to staffers, published in the Hollywood Reporter, Lynton said he was leaving Sony to focus on his growing responsibilities... Читать дальше...

Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock

Lawmakers in two states this week introduced legislation that would eliminate tenure for public college and university professors.

A bill in Missouri would end tenure for all new faculty hires starting in 2018 and require more student access to information about the job market for majors. Legislation in Iowa would end tenure even for those who already have it.

The bills, along with the recent gutting of tenure in Wisconsin and other events, have some worrying about a trend. Читать дальше...

Matthew DeBord/BI

Yes, first and foremost, auto shows are about cars.

At the 2017 Detroit auto show — officially known as the North American International Auto Show — I saw plenty of those. Concept cars. New cars. Old cars. Plus SUVs and pickups.

But that wasn't all I saw.

Have a closer look — the Detroit auto show runs through Jan. 22 at Cobo Hall in downtown Motown:

The mighty Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit, the show's home.

This... Читать дальше...

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Netflix closed at an all-time high of $133.70 on Friday, up 3.5% on the day.

The rise shows investor confidence is high heading into Netflix's quarterly earnings report on January 18.

Variety points out that some Wall Street analysts have issue optimistic forecasts, which could be boosting the stock. Deutsche Bank's Bryan Kraft upped Netflix from “Sell” to “Hold” in a note distributed on Thursday. Kraft thinks Netflix will present strong international growth results... Читать дальше...

In 2015, scientists at Scripps Oceanography stunned the oceanography community by announcing a new species of sea dragon, colloquially known as the ruby sea dragon.

Kakao Talk

WhatsApp, a massive messaging platform owned by Facebook, is well known as one of the more secure messengers on the market. 

WhatsApp redesigned its backend earlier this year so that every message sent using the service will be protected in a way that even WhatsApp would not be able to read it if it wanted to, called end-to-end encryption.

But a Guardian report published on Friday cast doubt on WhatsApp's security, saying that a "vulnerability" or "backdoor" existed... Читать дальше...

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Democrats loudly voiced their displeasure with FBI Director James Comey during a closed-door briefing to discuss Russian hacking on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Several lawmakers told The Hill that some in attendance, including former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, confronted Comey about how he handled the scandal surrounding Russian actors hacking Democratic Party institutions, including the DNC.

Wasserman-Schultz... Читать дальше...