Thomas Tull resigns from Legendary Entertainment as Wanda installs interim CEO

January 18, 2017

Thomas Tull has resigned as chairman and chief executive of Legendary Entertainment , nearly a year to the date after China’s Dalian Wanda Group acquired the Burbank-based film and TV production company in a high-profile deal worth $3.5 billion
Wanda has installed Jack Gao as interim CEO of Legendary while it searches for a full-time replacement for Tull, who founded Legendary in 2000 and built it into a formidable Hollywood production company behind such blockbusters as “The Dark Knight” trilogy, the 2014 remake of “Godzilla” and the upcoming “Kong: Skull Island.”
Wanda’s acquisition of Legendary was the largest purchase of a Hollywood production company by a Chinese firm. It confirmed the increasing importance of Chinese money in the financing of big-budget American movies as well as the ascendance of Wang Jianlin, Wanda’s chairman, as a major Hollywood player.
Wanda also owns the AMC movie theater chain, which became the largest cinema operator in the country after acquiring Carmike Cinemas last year. It also paid $1 billion for Dick Clark Productions and last fall announced a partnership with Sony Pictures , giving it some creative control over upcoming Sony films.
In a release Tuesday, Wanda said that it would continue to support Mary Parent, who heads production at Legendary, and her team “with the resources needed to develop and produce its existing and future film slate.”
Other upcoming Legendary projects include “Pacific Rim Uprising,” a new adaptation of Frank Hebert’s “Dune” and the drama “Bad Blood,” starring Jennifer Lawrence.
In August, Wanda said it was delaying integrating Legendary into its existing operations and that the company should operate independently for a period and show that it can produce stable returns.
Tull, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at more than $1 billion, said in the release that after a year of transition, “I know that the company is stable with great leadership, so at this point I am able to leave and pursue the new interests and endeavors I have been planning.”
Wanda said Tull plans to spend time on his Tull Investment Group, which invests in life science, media and technology firms. He will retain the title of founding chairman and remain a stakeholder in Legendary.
Gao joined Wanda in 2015 and has served as chief executive of international investments and business developments for the Wanda Cultural Industry Group. Prior to joining the company, he held executive positions at News Corp. and Microsoft.
Casey Affleck talks about the way Kenneth Lonergan uses everyday language to convey deep emotion in “Manchester by the Sea. ”
For her role as Jackie Kennedy, Natalie Portman says, “It’s not a fashion story,” but the clothes do tell a story.
Joel Edgerton talks about staying truthful to the real-life story of “Loving. ”
Director Nicolas Winding Refn and composer Cliff Martinez discuss their “Neon Demon” collaboration.
“Manchester By the Sea” director Kenneth Lonergan discusses writing a quiet character and working with actor Casey Affleck to bring him to life.
“Manchester By the Sea” director Kenneth Lonergan discusses writing a quiet character and working with actor Casey Affleck to bring him to life.

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© Source: http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-ct-tull-wanda-20170117-story.html
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Matthew McConaughey on doing what you don't love

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January 18, 2017

Actor Matthew McConaughey has some advice for those who, to borrow his dad’s phrase, haven’t “gotten their ‘lick’ yet. ”
McConaughey in his new movie, “Gold,” plays a geologist-cum-millionaire who he says reminds him of his own Texas oilman father.
“My dad had some [of this character] in him — every day waking up, throwing his legs off the bed, going, ‘Today’s gonna be the day!’ — his line was, ‘I’m gonna hit a lick! Oh, if I could just hit a lick,'” McConaughey told CNBC’s ” Closing Bell. ”
(A “lick,” he said, “means make a really big sale. “)
“There’s millions of Americans out there like that,” said McConaughey.
So what advice does the movie star and married father of three — the man who pulled off his own comeback dubbed the “McConaissance” to win an Oscar, whose just keep livin Foundation is now running a string of after-school youth programs — have for those who haven’t gotten their lick yet?
“Well, there’s a bit of a fib that we like to believe in sometimes, where they say ‘Well, if you just do what you love!’ … We don’t always get to do what we love,” McConaughey said. “Can we figure out how to love what we do? ”
A similar saying has been attributed to the German literary giant Goethe:
“Cease endlessly striving for what you want to do and learn to love what must be done. ”
“There was a wise young kid who had that T-shirt on, on a Brazilian farm three hours away from electricity,” McConaughey said.
“So, if you can learn to like what you do. ”
It’s another way of saying to embrace or take responsibility for what you have to do in life. In fact, it leads right into the “self-reliance” that McConaughey also emphasized.
“We’re talking about what the government can do for us … I don’t know. I’m not trying to make it political. I’m going back to self-preservation, and the only one that can change any of us is ourselves,” he said.
“Take some inventory in the mirror, daily,” he said.
That brings up another work, of which McConaughey is a fan: Dale Wimbrow’s 1934 poem, “The Guy in the Glass. ”
“But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum / If you can’t look him straight in the eye. ”
“I’m not talking taking sides,” he said. “We’ve all got to look in the mirror. We’ve all got work to do. ”
“We gotta go to work. Let’s work. Everybody,” said McConaughey.

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© Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/17/matthew-mcconaughey-on-doing-what-you-dont-love.html
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Editorial: GOP chaos on Obamacare has an upside

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January 18, 2017

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Two days after President-elect Donald Trump promised health insurance “for everybody,” the Congressional Budget Office concluded Tuesday that a Republican plan to repeal parts of Obamacare would strip 18 million Americans of insurance in the very first year.
Trump is saying one thing, while Republicans in Congress are saying entirely something else, and the winner could be the Affordable Care Act. Trump has laid down a standard for replacing the ACA — even broader coverage at lower cost — that no Republican plan can meet, phased in or not. Nor should anybody believe Trump that he’s got a secret plan that would achieve both goals. Trump is a real estate developer, not a miracle worker, and nobody has ever made the numbers add up.
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A stand-off with the new administration could compel Congress to slow efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, much to the relief of 20 million of Americans who perhaps fear losing their coverage. But the best outcome would be if Trump and the Republican Party finally came to their senses, after eight years of loathing anything with President Obama’s name attached to it, and accepted that the smart move would be to improve Obamacare, not replace it.
Any ACA replacement that meets Trump’s standard of “insurance for everybody” that is “much less expensive and much better” inevitably will require even greater government regulation of the marketplace. And if, on the other hand, the GOP replaces the ACA with something less and millions of Americans again can’t get good and affordable insurance, the party will suffer the political consequences.
There is an element of farce to Trump promising the world even as his own Republican Party plots to deliver less. On a series of key issues, from creating jobs to defeating terrorism, Trump is not so much a Republican or a Democrat as he is a party planner, promising “beautiful” and “amazing” results without offering a workable way. The American people are his studio audience and he promises a gift under every seat.
Trump can’t even count on support from some of his own Cabinet picks. His choice for defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, advocates a much harder line on Russia. His nominee to run the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo, says our nation must honor the nuclear deal with Iran. His choice for secretary of health, Rep. Tom Price, is the author of an ACA replacement plan that would lower quality standards and not set universal coverage as a goal.
If the findings released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office don’t give Republicans in Congress reason to pause, we don’t know what will. The CBO not only concluded that 18 million Americans would lose their insurance in the first year if Obamacare were partially repealed, such as eliminating tax penalties for people who go without insurance; it also would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 32 million in 10 years. In that decade, insurance premiums would double.
Republicans say they are most offended, philosophically, by the “individual mandate” provision of the Affordable Care Act, which requires people to have health insurance coverage or pay a penalty. But any ACA replacement would have to include equally strong incentives for people to buy insurance so that it is affordable for “everyone,” as Trump requires. If younger and healthier people can easily opt out, the cost of insurance for everybody else — the older and sicker — becomes unaffordably high.
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump told The Washington Post in a weekend interview. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen.”
But Trump did not reveal how he would pull that off, saying he’s waiting for Price to be confirmed as secretary of health. Such is Trump’s way: Promise and delay.
Nobody in the studio audience should expect to find a gift from Trump under their chair.
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© Source: http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/editorial-gop-chaos-on-obamacare-has-an-upside/
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Harvard Krokodiloes share smooth sounds on Good Day Utah

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January 18, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY – From Cambridge to Cape Town to Carnegie Hall, the Harvard Krokodiloes have delighted audiences worldwide with their unique blend of a cappella harmony and humor.
The Krokodiloes, Harvard University’s oldest and finest a cappella singing group , are now performing for audiences all over the Greater Boston area, the United States and the world.
You can see them right here in Utah at Olympus High School at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Click here to get tickets.

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© Source: http://fox13now.com/2017/01/17/harvard-krokodiloes-share-smooth-sounds-on-good-day-utah/
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Growth Opportunities for Adhesives in the South Korean Automotive Industry by Product Type, by Vehicle Type, and by Application Type 2016-2021: Trends, Forecast, and Opportunity Analysis, August 2016

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January 18, 2017

17:26 ET
Preview: GLOBAL ONLINE PAYMENT METHODS: FIRST HALF 2016
17:23 ET
Preview: Anti-Infectives Market Analysis & Trends – Product (Antibacterials, Antifungals and Antivirals) – Forecast to 2025

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Creditors fear Hanjin sale of Long Beach terminal stake will leave them empty-handed

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January 18, 2017

By
Rachel Uranga , Long Beach Press Telegram
Posted:
01/17/17, 5:59 PM PST | Updated: 2 hrs ago
A U. S. bankruptcy judge in New Jersey is expected to decide Wednesday whether to approve the sale of Hanjin Shipping’s stake in a Long Beach terminal over objections from creditors who fear they will get shortchanged.
The South Korean company’s financial collapse on Aug. 31 threw international supply chains into chaos. As part of a worldwide effort to unload its assets , the seventh largest shipping company agreed to sell its 54 percent stake in Total Terminals International LLC for $78 million to Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping, the second largest shipping company. The agreement would release the company of $52 million in debt.
But the deal, already approved in a South Korean court and signed off in Long Beach in December, hit a bump in recent weeks after insurers and companies that lease cargo containers to shippers attempted to block the sale.
At the heart of the concern is fear that assets from the South Korean company’s sale of its stake will leave the United States and creditors empty handed.
The terminal company operates Pier T at the Port of Long Beach and Terminal 46 at the Port of Seattle. But it’s teetering on the brink of insolvency, according to court documents. Slowdown at the Long Beach terminal last year hit the port especially hard as cargo volumes plummeted after Hanjin’s fall.
Long Beach depends heavily on revenue from the lease to operate. About a quarter of the container cargo that passed through Long Beach last was handled at Pier T. But officials said they are not too worried.
“The agreements that we have made assume the sale is going to go forward,” said Long Beach Deputy City Attorney Charles Gale. “If it doesn’t go forward, it’s not clear what would happen.”
At the time of the sale, port officials welcomed the new owners, hopeful that it would open up the port for business once again.
But attorneys for the cargo container company, New Jersey-based Seacube Containers Ltd., argued in court documents that Hanjin didn’t conduct a fair auction to sell the terminal, and as a result failed to get a competitive price for the prime piece of real estate.
“It is clear the proposed sales price was not the highest and best offer received,” lawyers for Seacube stated in documents filed this month.
One unsuccessful bidder would have spent up to $147 million for the lease that runs though 2027, lawyers said.
But the biggest worry is that the sale proceeds will go to Korea, where they worry U. S. creditors won’t get the same protection.
With Total Terminals in deep financial distress, Hanjin and the terminal operators call the speedy sale of their assets necessary.
“A prompt sale to the purchasers will eliminate the imminent risk that TTI will run out of cash,” lawyers for Wells Fargo, a lender to TTI, said in documents.
Reach the author at ruranga@scng.com
or follow Rachel on Twitter: @racheluranga .

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Qualcomm faces FTC lawsuit over patent licensing

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January 18, 2017

A U. S. regulator has sued Qualcomm over the way it licenses cellular patents to smartphone makers — joining South Korea and potentially other governments in seeking to upend the San Diego’s company’s patent royalty practices.
The Federal Trade Commission filed the civil lawsuit Tuesday in U. S. District Court in Northern California. The company also faces investigations in Europe, Japan and Taiwan.
The FTC lawsuit comes a month after the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Qualcomm $865 million over patent royalties. The company vowed to fight in South Korea’s courts, calling the regulators’ action inconsistent with the facts and a misapplication of fundamental tenets of competition law.
The FTC alleges Qualcomm used its dominant market share in wireless chips to get excessive royalties on key, standard essential patents, which are supposed to be made available at reasonable rates under law.
The agency also says Qualcomm gave Apple rebates in exchange for being the exclusive supplier of cellular modems in iPhones from 2011 through 2015 — hurting competitors.
The FTC isn’t seeking specific damages but asked the court to take steps to prevent Qualcomm’s alleged anti-competitive practices from happening again.
The agency’s governing board voted 2-1 to bring the lawsuit. Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen objected on the grounds that court action is based on a flawed legal theory, will undermine U. S. intellectual property rights worldwide and comes on the eve of a new presidential administration.
Qualcomm echoed those concerns, calling the FTC’s lawsuit “midnight litigation” brought as Chairwoman Edith Ramirez leaves the agency and President-Elect Donald Trump takes over the White House.
“Qualcomm was still receiving requests for information from the agency that would be necessary to an informed view of the facts when it became apparent that the FTC was driving to file a complaint before the transition to the new Administration,” said Qualcomm General Counsel Don Rosenberg in a written statement. “We have grave concerns about the two Commissioners’ decision to bring this case despite a lack of evidence supporting the allegations and theories in the complaint.”
Qualcomm makes money not only designing mobile semiconductors, but also by licensing its vast portfolio of wireless patents on key cellular technology.
While sales of wireless semiconductors generated nearly two-thirds of Qualcomm’s $23.5 billion in revenue last year, patent licensing accounted for the bulk of its $5.7 billion in profit.
The company’s patent licensing business has been controversial, with smartphone makers complaining that the company charges too much for its intellectual property.
Qualcomm contends that its cellular technology is vital to making smartphones truly mobile. Without it, devices could not tap into the wireless Internet from virtually anywhere.
Qualcomm charges patent royalties that average about 3 percent based on the wholesale price of the smartphone. The company typically licenses its entire wireless patent portfolio, which includes thousands of diverse inventions.
Regulators worldwide ratcheted up scrutiny of Qualcomm in the wake of China’s 13-month long anti-monopoly probe, which resulted in a $975 million fine in February 2015.
The FTC began investigating Qualcomm’s patent business in late 2014. In its complaint Tuesday, the agency singled out Qualcomm’s “no license, no chips” policy, which requires smartphone makers that buy the company’s wireless semiconductors to also license its patents.
The FTC contends that the tactic forces cell phone manufacturers to pay higher royalties regardless of whether they buy chips from Qualcomm or rivals such Intel or MediaTek.
“This is an anti-competitive tax on the use of rivals’ processors,” said the FTC in a statement.
Because of its dominant market position, the risk of losing access to Qualcomm’s cellular modems is too great for smartphone makers to not take a license, according to the complaint. Qualcomm licenses patents to device makers but refuses to license to rival chip firms, according to the FTC.
In addition, the complaint says Qualcomm gave Apple rebates to make sure it was the exclusive supplier of cellular modems in iPhones from 2011 through 2015.
“Qualcomm recognized that any competitor that won Apple’s business would become stronger, and used exclusivity to prevent Apple from working with and improving the effectiveness of Qualcomm’s competitors,” said the FTC.
During that period, Qualcomm had a significant technology advantage over rivals in performance of 4G LTE wireless data modems. Last year, Apple began using Intel for LTE chips in some iPhones as it caught up with Qualcomm.
Qualcomm’s shares ended trading Tuesday down 4 percent at $64.19 on the Nasdaq.
A federal judge in San Francisco has approved a $15-billion court settlement against Volkswagen for its emissions-cheating scandal.
Walgreens plans to let customers pick up and drop off packages shipped through FedEx at a number of pharmacies, the companies said Jan. 11. (Jan. 11, 2017)
Leah Caldwell’s lawsuit alleges Chipotle Photoshopped her image and added bottles of alcohol in the photograph.
From iffy downtown San Diego redevelopment project to smashing to success to iffy project, Horton Plaza’s reputation has swung like a pendulum.
Candy and pet-care giant Mars Inc. has agreed to buy animal hospital chain VCA Inc. for $7.7 billion in cash, the companies said Jan. 9. (Jan. 9, 2017)
Candy and pet-care giant Mars Inc. has agreed to buy animal hospital chain VCA Inc. for $7.7 billion in cash, the companies said Jan. 9. (Jan. 9, 2017)

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Japan to launch missile defense satellite

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January 18, 2017

Japan is planning to launch a missile defense satellite next Tuesday to upgrade the country’s surveillance network that can detect and track North Korea missile launches.
The satellite will be launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, NHK reported on Tuesday.
The satellite Japan’s self-defense forces will be launching is mainly for ballistic missile defense. It is likely the satellite is a countermeasure to North Korea’s developing missile capability, according to the report.
The step is also being taken as Japan’s SDF is shouldering more responsibilities, in line with security legislation ratified in 2015.
In December, Japan’s military was allowed for the first time to use firearms and other weapons in peacekeeping missions in South Sudan.
Japanese law now allows its military to serve in overseas missions whenever it or a close ally is attacked.
After it is launched, the new satellite could exchange large amounts of data at high speeds among military units, including launch information and videos from overseas bases, according to the report.
X-band satellite communication, capable of transmitting and receiving large amounts of data reliably, will be used among military units deployed across different areas, because X-band communication is not easily affected by weather or terrain.
The new satellite is named Kirameki No. 2. Another satellite was originally scheduled to launch on July 1, 2016, but was damaged while in transit and the launch was canceled, according to NHK.

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Samsung's Scandal, South Korea's Shame

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January 18, 2017

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Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world.
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+44 20 7330 7500
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+65 6212 1000

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18 января Крещенский сочельник

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January 18, 2017

Крещенский сочельник — это вечер-приготовление перед большим православным праздником, который называется Богоявление Господне или Крещение. Этот праздник православной церкви принадлежит к числу двунадесятых. В этот день вспоминается крещение Иисуса Христа Иоанном Предтечей (Крестителем) в реке Иордан.
Греческое слово, переданное на славянские языки словом как “крещение”, более точно следует переводить словом “погружение”. Иоанново Крещение было, по сути, очистительным омовением. Христианское же крещение понимается как взятие на себя креста.
Крещение Иоанна Крестителя имело смысл духовно очищающего действия. Поэтому, когда Иисус Христос пришел креститься, Иоанн стал удерживать Его, говоря: “Мне надобно креститься от Тебя”. Праздник Крещения также называется праздником Богоявления, так как в этот день Бог явил Себя явственно миру в трех лицах Своего Божества: Бог Сын — Иисус Христос принимал крещение в Иордане, Дух Святой нисошел на Него в виде голубя, Бог Отец засвидетельствовал Иисуса Христа гласом с неба. Слово “навечерие” означает преддверие церковного торжества, а второе название — сочельник (или сочевник) связано с традицией в этот день варить сочиво – пшеничный взвар с медом и изюмом.
Ввиду важности совершившегося в наступающий день события в жизни Иисуса Христа, Церковь установила пост. В этот день, как и в Рождественский сочельник, не вкушают пищу до выноса свечи после Литургии утром и первого причащения крещенской воды. Всенощное бдение праздника Крещения состоит из великого повечерия, литии, утрени и первого часа.
В день праздника и в день Крещенского сочельника совершается Великое водоосвящение. Во дворах храмов тянутся длинные очереди за святой водой. Если человек по каким-либо серьезным причинам не может пойти на службу или живет в тысяче километров от ближайшей церкви, он может прибегнуть к целительной силе простой воды, взятой из обычного водоема в крещенскую ночь, хотя святой такую воду считать нельзя.
На праздник Крещения Господня вода в храмах освящается по особому чину — великим Иорданским освящением и называется крещенской. Вкушается крещенская вода натощак, по ложечке, по чуть-чуть. Встал человек, перекрестился, испросил благословения у Господа на начавшийся день, умылся, помолился и принял великую агиасму (“агиасма”, греч. – “святыня”).
Если предписан прием лекарства натощак, то сначала принимают святую воду, а за ней и лекарство. А уж потом завтрак и прочие дела. Подвижники христианского благочестия называют освященную воду лучшим лекарством от всех духовных и телесных недугов. Часто духовники “прописывают” своим приболевшим чадам крещенскую водичку — каждый час по ложечке, с верой, конечно. Ею и умывать больного можно, и постель кропить.
Правда, женщинам в критические дни принимать крещенскую воду не благословляется. Но это если женщина в остальном здорова. А если она больна, то даже сие обстоятельство роли не играет. Крещенская вода да будет ей в помощь! Считается, что святая вода не портится, поэтому ставить в холодильник ее не надо. Православные хранят ее в Красном углу, рядом с иконами. Кроме того, капля святыни море освящает. Можно взять обыкновенную, неосвященную воду и добавить туда капельку крещенской, она вся и освятится.
Категорически возбраняется, забирая святую воду или принимая ее, ссориться, ругаться, допускать неблагочестивые поступки или мысли. От этого святая вода теряет святость, а зачастую попросту разливается. Также есть благочестивая традиция кропить в этот день крещенской водой своё жилище с пением тропаря Богоявления.