By JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, April 9th 2000, 2:12AM

Eleven men were shot and killed by police last year, yet one fatal shooting - that of Amadou Diallo - has overshadowed the rest.

The death of the Guinean immigrant has come to represent all police shootings and has fueled a perception that the Police Department targets minorities.

Yet a Daily News review of the 11 police shootings in 1999 shows that the shooting of Diallo - an unarmed man not committing any crime - is a tragic anomaly.

Of the 11 men fatally shot by cops last year, all but three were armed. And in all but the Diallo case, the officers involved never faced criminal charges.

Other 1999 statistics also counter perceptions borne by the Diallo shooting:

The 11 fatal shootings in 1999, the lowest such number in decades, was posted by a force of 40,000 cops - the largest in the city's history.

There were 41 persons shot to death by police in 1990, when there were 14,000 fewer cops.

In 15 incidents last year, cops who were fired at did not shoot back.

The total number of bullets fired by police also fell, from 856 in 1998 to 621 last year.

Yet the numbers, while persuasive, are not the whole story, said Michael Meyers of the New York Civil Rights Coalition.

"Reducing the number of times people are killed or shot is not relevant to when there's an incident where civil rights are violated," Meyers said. "The district attorney doesn't say, 'You've had a good record, I'm going to overlook this one,' and neither should the community."

Two other unarmed men besides Diallo were killed by police last year. Both shootings were blamed on accidental weapon discharges. Both victims were allegedly committing crimes at the time.

But other than Diallo, the only fatal police shooting last year that sparked demonstrations was the death of Gideon Busch, a mentally disturbed man shot as he advanced on cops with a hammer in Borough Park.

Protests broke out again last month after police fatally shot unarmed security guard Patrick Dorismond - a black man who scuffled with an undercover cop who mistakenly thought the victim was selling drugs.

"I think with Mr. Diallo and Mr. Dorismond ... those are tragic cases," said Chief of Department Joseph Dunne. "I think the anomaly is being portrayed as the reality, and it's not."

Graphic: THE 11 FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS IN 1999

1 AMADOU DIALLO, 22, Feb. 4, 1999, 12:45 a.m., 1157 Wheeler Ave., the Bronx

WHAT HAPPENED: Four street crime unit cops saw Diallo standing in the vestibule of his building. As they approached, Diallo allegedly reached for his wallet, which the cops mistook for a gun. The cops unleashed 41 shots, hitting the unarmed African immigrant 19 times.

RESPONSE: Massive protests. The feds, the state attorney general and the City Council launched probes of the street crime unit. Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson indicted the cops on murder charges. Officers Edward McMellon, Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy and Kenneth Boss were acquitted in February.

2 MARK FORDE, 32, aka Michael Craig, March 15, 1999, 9:45 p.m., 728 Rogers Ave., Brooklyn (Lenox Supermarket)

WHAT HAPPENED: Cops responding to 911 of an armed robbery confronted Craig and two accomplices fleeing with a hostage. Craig opened fire on Sgt. David Seiv and Officers Kevin Byrnes, John Molloy, Joey Quigley, Kevin Gasser and Raymond Farrell. The cops returned 52 shots, killing the gunman.

RESPONSE: Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes deemed the shooting justified.

3 RODNEY MASON, 38, May 25, 1999, 9:50 a.m., 141-08 123rd Ave., Queens

WHAT HAPPENED: Mason, a psychiatric outpatient, stabbed Officer Stephen DeLuca during a violent struggle inside his mother's house. Sgt. Edward Heim fired one shot, mortally wounding Mason.

RESPONSE: Queens District Attorney Richard Brown found the hooting was justified. The NYPD Firearms Review Board deemed the shooting within guidelines.

4 RENATO MERCADO, 63, June 28, 1999, 9 p.m., 77 W. 104th St., Manhattan

WHAT HAPPENED: Mercado, who had a history of mental illness, refused to drop a 17-inch-long machete and was shot once in the chest by Officer Howard Sachs. Mercado was trying to break into an apartment.

RESPONSE: Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau presented evidence to a grand jury, which ruled the use of deadly force was justified.

5 JOE McGILL, 58, aka Robert Striker, aka Jesse James, Aug. 9, 1999, 12:53 p.m., Financial District, Manhattan

WHAT HAPPENED: McGill, a career criminal, robbed the HSBC Bank, 140 Broadway, at gunpoint. Cops arrived as he was fleeing. A shootout ensued and McGill collapsed, dead.

RESPONSE: The Manhattan district attorney presented evidence to a grand jury, which ruled the use of deadly force was justified. Police officials promised to review whether the firing of more than three dozen rounds by six cops was excessive.

6 ANGEL REYES, 47, Aug. 15, 1999, 5 p.m., E. 110th St. and Lexington Ave., Manhattan

WHAT HAPPENED: Reyes, wielding a 34-inch-long machete, chased an undercover narcotics cop during a buy-and-bust operation. Reyes was shot twice when he lunged at the cop.

RESPONSE: A grand jury ruled the use of deadly force was justified.

7 LARRY COBB, 30, Aug. 18, 1999, 3:48 a.m., E. 95th St., between First and Second Aves., Manhattan

WHAT HAPPENED: Cops investigating a vandalized car saw Cobb hiding under a nearby auto. He was fatally shot by Officer Douglas Grant during a struggle for the cop's gun, which accidentally discharged. Cobb was unarmed.

RESPONSE: A grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the officer.

8 GIDEON (GARY) BUSCH, 31, Aug. 30, 1999, 6:48 p.m., 1619 46th St., Brooklyn

WHAT HAPPENED: Cops confronted the mentally disturbed Busch, who was armed with a hammer. Despite being subjected to pepper spray, Busch charged Sgt. Terrence O'Brien, striking him. Busch lunged at the cops with the upraised hammer. He was shot 12 times.

RESPONSE: Police Commissioner Howard Safir said that Busch was beating O'Brien with a hammer when he was shot - a conclusion disputed by a Brooklyn grand jury. Hundreds of angry Hasidim protested the shooting. The grand jury ruled O'Brien and three other cops were justified in using deadly force.

9 RICHARD WATSON, 32, SEPT. 1, 1999, 11:35 a.m., Broadway and W. 137th St., Manhattan

WHAT HAPPENED: Watson was accidentally shot in the back by Officer Foster Gilkes as the cop attempted to pull the fleeing suspect out of a stopped livery cab. Watson, of Baltimore, was trying to escape after stiffing another cabbie out of a $23 fare.

RESPONSE: A grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing on Gilkes' part.

10 ANDRE AUSTIN, 26, Sept. 18, 1999, 1 a.m., 1358 New York Ave., Brooklyn

WHAT HAPPENED: Austin was shot dead in building's courtyard after he wounded an undercover detective in the right foot during a buy-and-bust operation. Nineteen shots were fired at Austin, who was carrying a half-ounce of crack.

THE RESPONSE: Mayor Giuliani called the wounded detective "a hero." The Brooklyn district attorney deemed the shooting justified.

11 DION McQUEEN, 17, Oct. 28, 1999, 11:50 p.m., Flatlands Ave. and E. 105th St., Brooklyn

WHAT HAPPENED: McQueen and two accomplices had just robbed a gas station at gunpoint when Officers Christopher Rowe and Christopher Bowen arrived. One suspect fired at the cops, who returned four shots. McQueen was hit in the neck.

RESPONSE: Brooklyn district attorney deemed the shooting was justified.

Summary: By JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Eleven men were shot and killed by police last year, yet one fatal shooting - that of Amadou Diallo - has overshadowed the rest. The death of the Guinean immigrant has come to represent all police shootings and has fueled a perception that the Police Department targets minorities. Yet a Daily News review of the 11 police shootings in 1999 shows that the shooting of Diallo - an unarmed man not


The victims were all young vulnerable black women who lived in South Los Angeles and struggled with drug addiction. Their naked or partially clothed bodies were all dumped in the filthy neighborhood alleyways, left to rot under garbage and debris. They were shot at close range with a .25-caliber pistol, or strangled, or both.

After three months of testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court, closing arguments have wrapped up in the trial of Lonnie Franklin Jr., the alleged "Grim Sleeper" serial killer who prosecutors say

. Franklin is charged with the murder of 10 women and the attempted murder of another woman.

Here are five things to know about Franklin:

During the trial, prosecutors painted Franklin, a former corporal in the United States Army, as a sexual predator who killed women who "weren't submissive enough." "These crimes were about power and control," prosecutor Beth Silverman

"It is clear the defendant got pleasure from killing these young women because that's how they all ended up," Silverman said. "He definitely wanted to degrade these women by dumping their bodies like trash. He got off on that too and that is why he did it over and over. It gave him gratification. "

Franklin's longtime friend Ray Davis testified that Franklinâs conquests were a common topic of conversation between them. Franklin took photos of various women and joked that he had names for all the girls in the photos depending on what their breasts looked like, Davis told the jury. He also said that even though Franklin didn't smoke marijuana, he kept a supply on hand for his various girlfriends.

Franklin is accused of the murder of 10 women and the attempted murder of another during a 23-year- murder spree that began in 1984 with the alleged murder of 21-year-old Sharon Dismuke.

His last alleged victim was 25-year-old Janecia Peters on January 1, 2007. His youngest alleged victim was 15-year-old runaway Princess Berthomieux, who was found strangled in an alley in Inglewood in 2002.

The Grim Sleeper alleged murders stumped detectives for more than two decades. It wasn't until the LAPD started its cold case unit that they realized that the killer of seven women in the 80s was allegedly linked through DNA and ballistics evidence to murders in 2002, 2003 and 2007.

However, the alleged killer's DNA profile was not in CODIS, the national database for DNA. Franklin was finally caught in July of 2010 through familial DNA testing after his 28-year-old son, Christopher, was arrested for carrying a weapon in the summer of 2009 and had to give up a DNA swab.

Once it was determined that Christopher was related to the alleged killer, detectives followed the elder Franklin to a pizza place in Buena Park. As Franklin finished his meal, a detective who posed as a busboy collected a fork, two plastic cups, a plate and a pizza slice left by Franklin. A few days later, DNA taken from the pizza slice came back as a match to DNA found on alleged Grim Sleeper victims.

During the three-day search of Franklinâs property, investigators allegedly found womens necklaces, rings, earrings, and watches and, more than

of women – many of them naked or engaged in sex acts. They also allegedly found pornography, including homemade pornography made by Franklin.

In one of Franklin's bedrooms, criminalist Rafael Garcia discovered a F.I.E Titan .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun, otherwise known as a "pocket pistol." It was later allegedly determined to be the gun used to kill Janecia Peters.

In a backyard garage, an LAPD firearms examiner found a Polaroid photograph of Grim Sleeper survivor

Also found was a photo of victim Janecia Peters. In the same envelope, they also found the school identification card of 18-year-old Ayellah Marshall and the Nevada driverâs license of Rolenia Morris, 29. Both women had been reported missing in February and September 2005, respectively. Their bodies were never found. Both women were last seen in the vicinity of Franklinâs home at 81st and Western Avenues.

Summary: Franklin is on trial for the alleged murders of 10 women and the attempted murder of another


The situation is unfolding in the Paris suburb of Magnanville. (@sozDraken)

Police are negotiating with a man who allegedly stabbed a police officer to death and then took his wife and son hostage in the Paris suburbs, according to local media.

The man, who is inside the policeman's house in Magnanville, northwest of the French capital, reportedly stabbed the officer repeatedly outside the property as he returned home around 9pm.

Police sources told Agence France Presse that the man is believed to have the officer's wife and son with him, however this has not been officially confirmed.

French interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told AFP "an evaluation" was ongoing "to confirm if the individual has hostages with him". Elite RAID police were at the scene, and set up a security perimeter.

Le Parisien reports the attacker is the neighbor of the victim.

This is a breaking news article. More information will be added as it comes to hand.

Summary: A man has taken the wife and son of a policeman hostage in the Paris suburbs after stabbing the officer to death, police sources said late Monday.


Benjamin Franklin once said there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Although it’s hard to argue against that, the U.S. tax code, instead of being certain, is excessively complex; both taxpayers and policymakers are routinely frustrated by its arcane rules and loopholes that seem to contradict fairness and logic.

As President Obama makes his annual State of the Union Address next week, corporate America will be looking for answers to simplify and standardize the way taxes are computed. One way to do this is to replace the current progressive tax scale with a flat 20% tax rate for individuals who make more than $200,000 a year; and lower the 39.1% corporate tax rate to 12.5%, while simultaneously closing loopholes that make the system so unfair.

In theory, most individuals are supposed to pay 40% in taxes. In practice, however, the wealthy pay closer to 22% for various reasons: many have a predominance of investment income, which is taxed at 20%; some may enjoy tax breaks from mortgage interest payments; some may donate to charities or have rental income that’s excluded; and most are able to deduct state and local taxes from their federal taxable income. The list goes on. Even those with $200,000 to $500,000 in annual income enjoy an effective tax rate of only 23%.

Given what the wealthy really pay in taxes, proposing a 20% flat rate isn’t that far off. And while a lower tax rate might reduce receipts from some payers, it would also put more money in the pockets of millions of consumers, which could boost the economy and raise tax revenues as a byproduct. With 70% of the U.S. economy dependent on consumption, a lower tax rate could provide a meaningful boost to GDP.

Similarly, major corporations pay substantially lower taxes by moving earnings offshore through a variety of loopholes, such as tax deductions for employer health insurance payments, accelerated depreciation of equipment, 401k contributions, as well as industry-specific tax credits. While some of these loopholes are reasonable and even desirable, they collectively cost the U.S. an estimated $180 billion in lost tax revenues per year. More importantly, the net effect is that corporations pay only 10% to 15% in taxes, making the higher official rate of 39.1% meaningless.

America currently has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, and lowering it would benefit not only businesses, but also the overall U.S. economy. As we’ve seen, the current rate comes with several unintended consequences, ranging from iconic companies like Burger King moving their operations overseas to avoid paying domestic taxes to Byzantine maneuverings by companies, such as Apple AAPL and Google GOOG , in order to shield income from the IRS. A far less burdensome 12.5% tax rate could help keep these businesses stateside and make them less willing to engage in risky tax-dodging activities, ultimately leading to higher receipts for the U.S. Treasury.

In summary, lower rates, combined with the closing of selected loopholes, should not hurt revenues for the IRS from wealthy individuals and corporations, would eliminate the need for a massive bureaucracy to process complicated taxes, and save taxpayers the expense and trouble incurred to realize savings. A side benefit is that a fixed tax regime will provide better visibility on taxes for everyone, which is useful for financial planning purposes.

Finally, this would help promote fairness. The current code taxes income earned from investments at 20% and wages at a higher rate of 39.6%. While designed to encourage investment, the system inadvertently penalizes average Americans, many of whom rely solely on wages for their income. Taxing both passive and ordinary income at the same lower rate of 20% would level the playing field without hurting investors. It would also free up individuals to maximize their earnings from any source and be able to make investment decisions independently of tax considerations.

The lower cut-off of $200,000 in annual income under this plan takes into account the fact that below that threshold, most taxpayers actually pay 5%-15% in taxes and so it would be unfair to impose a 20% rate on them. The idea is that the 20% rate should only apply to those who already pay close to 20% or more in taxes (the higher income brackets) so that the U.S. can inject sanity and fairness into the system with penalizing any particular group.

Sanjay Sanghoee is a business commentator. He has worked at investment banks Lazard Freres and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, as well as at hedge fund Ramius Capital. He has an MBA from Columbia Business School. He does not own any shares of Burger King, Apple or Google.

Summary: A flat tax could benefit both taxpayers and the IRS without hurting any one income group, says business commentator Sanjay Sanghoee.


REHOBOTH — George Brown has successfully bred about a dozen mares a season for the past few years on his 48-acre horse farm near the Rhode Island border. But since a provision in last year’s casino legislation bumped up prize money for Massachusetts thoroughbreds, more aspiring racehorse owners have been calling on Brown and his four stallions. Today, two dozen foals frolic on his gently sloping Briar Hill Farm — and he expects that number to double again next year. The gaming act is generating momentum for the state’s long-declining thoroughbred horse racing industry, which has dwindled to one unprofitable track, Suffolk …

This is an article preview. The full story is available to BostonGlobe.com subscribers.

Summary: The gaming act signed last fall, authorizing the creation of a slot parlor and three casinos in Massachusetts, is breathing new life into the state’s horse racing industry, which has dwindled to one thoroughbred track. The law designates a portion of the revenues generated from gambling to increase purses and award bonuses to Massachusetts owners and breeders, a common practice in states that allow gambling. This cash infusion has sparked new interest in the state’s struggling horse racing industry, supporters say.


Kaheem Arbelo and Desiray Strickland

08/21/2015 AT 11:30 AM EDT

Four Job Corps students in Florida have allegedly confessed to murdering a fellow student with a machete and then burying the victim in a wooded area, according to police.

Three of the students, Kaheem Arbelo, 20, Jonathan Lucas, 18, and Christian Colon, 19, provided videotaped confessions after they were arrested last week by Miami-Dade police, according to the

A fourth student, Desiray Strickland, 18, was arrested Wednesday. A Miami-Dade police spokeswoman told PEOPLE that after the alleged murder, Strickland and Arbelo stayed behind in the woods to have sex before returning to campus.

According to an arrest report for Strickland, the students, who attended Homestead Job Corps, had plotted to kill 17-year-old Jose Amaya Guardedo two weeks prior to the murder. The students went as far as digging a grave and hiding a machete in the wooded area near the Homestead campus.

Christian Colon and Jonathan Lucas

According to Miami-Dade law enforcement, sources have described the students as bullies. Investigators believe that the murder may have been a result from a debt that the victim owed to Arbelo, according to the

In the police report, Miami-Dade Detective Juan Segovia wrote that the students lured Guardedo into the woods on the night of June 28 and "ambushed the victim." At that point, the students ordered the victim to lie in the grave.

"The victim made one last attempt to fight off the attackers," Detective Segovia wrote, "at which time, (Arbelo) struck the victim with the machete several more time unto the victim's face caved in."

After burying the victim, the students burned their blood-stained clothes, police said. "They also got rid of the machete and the shovel," Segovia wrote.

All four students are being held in Miami-Dade jails and are awaiting trial on charges of second-degree murder.

All of the young people, including Guardado, were students with Job Corps, a national live-in school and vocational training program run by the U.S. Department of Labor designed for at-risk students between the ages of 16 and 24.

Summary: After murder, two suspects allegedly had sex in woods


BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has recruited the head of Canada’s biggest public pension fund to become the top executive overseeing its stock-picking operations.

Mark Wiseman, 45, who has transformed the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) into one of the world’s most active dealmakers over the past four years, will step down next month and become head of BlackRock’s global active equity business in September. Wiseman will be replaced by Mark Machin, the head of CPPIB’s international operations.

Wiseman will become a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee, an exclusive club of fewer than two-dozen senior deputies to BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink and President Rob Kapito.

He will be one of a much smaller subset of those people with oversight over investing teams, taking over a group within the executive committee focused on investments, according to a statement.

He will also oversee some 350 portfolio managers and other staff responsible for $275 billion in investments. New York-based BlackRock blk managed $4.7 trillion on March 31.

Fink has been working with Wiseman on a group called Focusing Capital on the Long Term, which has advocated that institutions invest more of their money with companies whose executives show a dedication to long-term success, rather than appeasing markets every quarter.

Wiseman joins the company during an unsettled period for active money managers. Markets and a trend toward low-cost passive investing have conspired to make the business of managing and selling actively managed stock funds a zero-sum game. BlackRock’s relative investment performance slipped last quarter, according to its own metrics.

In a bid to boost its performance, BlackRock has scoured the industry for top managers and invested in technology, as well as what it calls a “scientific” active equity business that mines reams of data for insight on which stocks to pick.

During a reshuffling announced in January, Fink and Kapito combined the previously separate scientific and “fundamental” teams under four managers after the departures of their two prior leaders.

A sign of how much of a priority the unit is for the company, the unit’s leaders since then – Chris Jones, Nigel Bolton, Raffaele Savi and Jeff Shen – reported directly to Kapito. Bolton, Savi and Shen will become co-chief investment officers of the unit, while Jones is leaving BlackRock, a spokesman said.

While BlackRock benefits from the low-cost trend through its index funds and a booming iShares exchange-traded funds franchise, those strategies can be less profitable.

Wiseman will also become chairman of BlackRock Alternative Investors, a smaller, but highly-lucrative group of BlackRock investments, including its hedge funds and infrastructure business.

Under Wiseman’s leadership, CPPIB has increased its exposure to those kinds of assets to counter volatile markets and low-yielding government bonds.

BlackRock’s alternatives business will still be run day-to-day by Mark McCombe, another senior managing director, and his colleague Matt Botein, but BlackRock said in a statement that Wiseman will help develop new investment strategies and clients.

Wiseman will join a list of potential long-term successors to Fink, 63, but said that had not been a factor in his decision to leave CPPIB. He added that his decision to leave CPPIB had been “incredibly difficult.”

Wiseman has raised the global profile of CPPIB, turning it into one of the first ports of call for investment bankers selling assets. He has overseen a broad range of investments abroad, including the $12 billion acquisition of GE Capital’s private equity lending portfolio. He is also a passionate advocate of long-term investment strategies.

Machin, Wiseman’s replacement, joined CPPIB in 2012 after spending two decades at Goldman Sachs, spear-heading their operations in Asia before departing the investment bank.

Machin said his appointment will not result in any change in strategy for the institution.

“I was one of the senior team who developed the strategy. It’s something I believe in, there will be no change at all,” he said.

Machin’s appointment comes at a time when the percentage of the CPP Fund invested outside of Canada has risen to approximately 81 percent, with geographic diversification being a key factor behind its growth.

Machin will continue to head CPPIB’s Asia and International businesses until a successor is identified, the fund said.

“There is no doubt that overseas investing is crucial for a plan like CPP, with a lot of exposure to the Canadian economy, and Mark’s deep experience in this area, no doubt, played a role,” said Donald Raymond, CPPIB’s former chief investment strategist, who worked with Machin before joining alternative investment company Alignvest.

Summary: New executive comes from Goldman by way of one of Canada's largest pension funds.


Investigators looking into sexual harassment accusations against the former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes are also examining whether other executives knew of alleged improper behavior by Mr. Ailes and failed to act on it, people briefed on the inquiry said on Wednesday.

The investigation, focused on accusations against Mr. Ailes, has not broadened into a comprehensive look at the workplace culture at Fox News, these people said. But investigators will pursue information presented in interviews about others at the company who might have effectively enabled Mr. Ailes’s reported behavior.

The inquiry is continuing, these people said, with more current and former Fox News employees scheduled for interviews. As of last week, nearly 20 women had reported inappropriate behavior by Mr. Ailes, according to one of the people. The accounts, though unverified, led the leadership of 21st Century Fox, Fox News’s parent, to determine that Mr. Ailes could not stay on, this person said.

The investigation by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison began on July 6, the day that Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Mr. Ailes. Mr. Ailes, who denied the allegations, stepped down 14 days ago.

A 21st Century Fox spokeswoman declined to comment, but on Tuesday said in a statement that the law firm “remains counsel to us and is dealing with any and all issues as they arise.”

Scrutiny of Mr. Ailes’s behavior and Fox’s operations increased on Friday with an article in New York magazine about the experiences of a former booker, Laurie Luhn, who said that Mr. Ailes had harassed her and subjected her to “psychological torture.” In the article, she tells of Mr. Ailes using company resources and staff members, including Bill Shine, Mr. Ailes’s deputy, to facilitate the relationship. Mr. Shine, who is now part of the interim management team at Fox News, has told associates that he did not know Mr. Ailes was having a relationship with Ms. Luhn.

The New York Times spoke to more than a dozen women for an article published last month, who told of being harassed by Mr. Ailes or other managers and suggested there was a broader culture of harassment and intimidation in the workplace.

Later on Wednesday, 21st Century Fox reported its quarterly earnings, and Lachlan Murdoch, the executive chairman, began a conference call with analysts by addressing the situation at Fox News.

“Throughout this process we have moved quickly and decisively to protect the business, to protect its employees and to protect the unique and important voice Fox News broadcasts,” he said.

Noting that his father, Rupert Murdoch, had taken over the daily management of Fox News, he added, “There is no one more dedicated or more able to transition Fox News to new leadership.” Lachlan Murdoch called the team left behind by Mr. Ailes “extraordinarily strong and equally devoted to its success.”

From there, 21st Century Fox executives, including James Murdoch, the chief executive and Lachlan Murdoch’s brother, focused attention on the company’s broader operations, including the Hulu streaming service and coming movie releases. Only one analyst asked for greater “color” about the situation at Fox News, which contributes roughly 20 percent of the company’s total annual profit.

Lachlan Murdoch replied that he expected Fox News to remain strong.

For its fiscal fourth quarter, 21st Century Fox had a profit of $567 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $87 million, or 4 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items in both quarters, including a recent tax benefit, the company had earnings of 45 cents in the most recent quarter, compared with 39 cents a year ago.

Revenue totaled $6.65 billion, a 7 percent increase from a year earlier. Analysts had expected 37 cents in per-share earnings and $6.68 billion in revenue.

Domestic advertising was a bright spot in the quarter. Ad revenue increased 13 percent at the company’s domestic cable networks, reflecting higher ratings and pricing at channels like Fox News and Fox Sports 1. Revenue from domestic affiliate fees increased 6 percent, with FX and Fox News leading the way.

But a 15 percent rise in total programming costs essentially washed away those increases. For the fourth quarter, 21st Century Fox’s cable television division had an operating income of $1.2 billion, flat from a year earlier. Fox News had higher expenses related to the presidential campaign; the company also had to pay more for sports rights.

The company’s movie studio also struggled with costs. During the quarter, 20th Century Fox spent heavily to market movies like “X-Men: Apocalypse,” “Independence Day: Resurgence” and “Ice Age: Collision Course.” Only one, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” was fully released in the quarter, and worldwide box-office results were poor, falling 29 percent behind the grosses generated by the previous “X-Men” effort.

Lachlan Murdoch noted that a studio regime change was put into motion in the quarter. “Ultimately, it’s about having a higher standard for storytelling and making better movies,” he said.

A version of this article appears in print on August 4, 2016, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Fox News Harassment Inquiry Is Said to Look at What Others Knew. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Summary: Investigators are examining whether other executives failed to report improper behavior by Roger Ailes, the network’s former chairman, people briefed on the inquiry said.


FORTUNE — The short answer for why Apple AAPL charges so much for its iPhones — e.g. $549 for the new iPhone 5C that most analysts expected would sell for somewhere between $300 and $400 — is that it can.

“Anybody would if they could,” writes Horace Dediu on his Asmyco blog. “That’s a poor question. So the right question should be: why does anybody pay this much?”

Dediu’s answer reveals much about underlying workings of the mobile phone business — and indeed, the whole Internet economy. His key points:

“The iPhone could thus be finally understood as a complex service business. It captures value through the phone bill but delivers value through a screen. A misdirection magic trick which many have tried to pull off. It’s essentially tapping into the $1.3 trillion communications market, skimming profits by delivering the ‘content’ which lights up the wires.

“It’s great except it does not work everywhere. Not yet at least. The complexity of services means that they are usually found in more advanced so-called service economies and rare in less developed so-called goods economies.”

Now that’s what I call smart analysis. Why don’t we get more of it from the guys who are paid to do it on Wall Street?

Link: S is for Service at Asymco.com, where much of the value comes from the quality the conversation in the comment stream.

Summary: The key, Horace Dediu says, is to think of the iPhone as a data services salesperson.


There are doubts that Watsa’s bid will succeed, according to Reuters — and those doubts sent the stock down further to $8.10 on Wednesday, below the $9 per share offer Watsa’s Fairfax made. If the deal does happen, it may seem like a peculiar buy to many analysts and investors. But for Watsa, the fact that everyone thinks he’s lost it means he’s probably on the right track.

The Indian-born founder and chief executive officer of Fairfax Financial, a Berkshire Hathaway-like company that owns a number of insurance and investment businesses, is a value investor, much like Warren Buffett.

Value investors seek to make big bucks in large part by buying out-of-favour companies. It certainly has paid off for Watsa. He purchased part of the Bank of Ireland in 2011 when most people were staying far away from Europe, and he recently bought into a real estate company in Greece. Watsa has reportedly already made a 50% return on his Bank of Ireland investment.

While not all of his investments have worked out — he took losses on Montreal-based forestry company AbitibiBowater (now known as Resolute Forest Products), Winnipeg-based media company Canwest and he currently owns 10% of BlackBerry’s shares — he’s had far more hits than misses.

There’s a good reason why Watsa and Buffett take a value approach to investing and it’s the same reason why you should consider it, too: the approach has proven to be more lucrative than other strategies.

Eric Kirzner, the John H Watson Chair in Value Investing at Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, recently looked at how much better value investing has done versus growth investing—a strategy that usually involves buying high-growth companies with rapidly expanding earnings.

He compared returns on the Russell 1000 value index and the Russell 1000 growth index since 1979 and found that value beat growth by 1.6% per year on a compound annual growth basis. That translates into value stocks doing 71% than growth companies over the last 34 years “There’s clearly a premium on value investing over growth,” he said.

The concept of value investing is easy to understand, but hard to put into practice said Dan Dupont, a value-focused portfolio manager with Fidelity Investments.

At its most basic, it’s about buying when a stock is priced low and then selling when it is priced high. But most people have trouble making bets on companies that are down in the dumps.

“It entails investing in businesses that are not to be discussed at cocktail parties,” said Dupont.

Todd Johnson, a portfolio manager with Winnipeg-based BCV Asset Management, which owns Fairfax Financial debt, adds that value investors “have to ignore a lot of conventional wisdom and delve into unpopular investments.”

Here’s how value investing works: buy a company when it’s dirt cheap from a valuation perspective — compared to its peers and its historical performance —and then sell when the stock reaches what you think it’s really worth.

That means delving into ratios such as price-to-earnings, price-to-book and enterprise value-to-EBITDA and seeing if they have fallen below their historical norms, said Kirzner. EBITDA, an important indicator of a company’s financial performance, refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

Typically, a company starts appealing to value investors when a particular sector is having trouble or a business has a few bad quarters and investors get spooked and sell.

These operations, though, aren’t necessarily bad businesses. Dupont likes companies that can continue to grow their underlying value per share — that could be earnings or revenues or a number of other metrics. Warren Buffett likes to see “owner’s earnings” grow, which is basically the cash flow that’s available to shareholders.

As long as the company is still solid, the idea is that in time — and it could be a long time — some event, action or theme will bring investors back into the fold, said Kirzner.

“You have to believe that these companies can be rescued,” he explained.

The danger with value investing, however, is the “value trap.” That’s when valuations continue to fall and that catalyst for better performance never comes, said Dupont. Be wary of companies where values are shrinking rapidly, he said.

Another problem that value investors face is what Dupont calls “intellectual dishonesty.” Investors are often too optimistic about a stock’s chances and hold on to the idea that a company can be turned around when it’s clear it can’t recover.

“You can be infinitely patient, but don’t get disillusioned and think a business can be turned around when the facts tell you it can’t,” he says. “Admit when you’re wrong and turn your attention somewhere else.”

Many people prefer the value approach because it can be a less risky way to play the market — and to curtail further losses. Since the company is already so cheap, you’re not losing much if it falls further.

There’s a “margin of safety,” said Dupont that allows investors to make mistakes. He describes this margin of safety as the price you pay versus what you think the company is worth. The bigger the gap between today’s price and the price it should be trading, the better, he said.

It’s not yet clear exactly what Watsa sees in BlackBerry, but with a cheap price-to-book valuation of 0.48 times — 1 times price-to-book is usually considered fair value — and near $9 stock price, he may think his margin of safety is high, Johnson said.

Watsa will likely shrink the company down and focus it on its more profitable corporate services, but with this stock that path to success isn’t clear, he added.

At the very least, Johnson said Watsa likely wants to salvage the investment he’s already made in the company and that’s easier to do in private. “He wants to try and resuscitate the business out of the public eye,” he said, adding that this might be tough to do.

Whether it works or not, taking chances on unloved companies such as BlackBerry can make a value investor a lot of money.

“You have to be patient and you also have to be willing to sell if you’re wrong,” Dupont said.

Summary: What Prem Watsaâs counter-intuitive bet on BlackBerry can teach us about value investing.


09/01/2015 AT 01:20 PM EDT

is finally here – and is already

for its star and reigning Best Actor Oscar winner

"I think Lili's thoughts. I dream her dreams,"

says in the trailer as he portrays 1900s transgender pioneer Lili Elbe.

The Tom Hooper-directed film chronicles the groundbreaking journey and life of Elbe – one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery – and her supportive wife, Gerda Wegener (played by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander).

, 33, is seen like never before in the

as he dons a curly red wig and shares a kiss with a man.

that he spent three years learning from members of the trans community to prepare for the role.

"I felt like, I'm being given this extraordinary experience of being able to play this woman," he told

magazine. But with that comes responsibility of not only educating myself but hopefully using that to educate"

"Gosh, it's delicate. And complicated," he also said of the film based on the award-winning novel of the same name by David Ebersoff.

hits select theaters on Nov. 27.

Summary: Eddie Redmayne stars as Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery


Do individual investors get a square deal when they trade stocks? There has been a lot of discussion about the question, in particular about where and how brokers route their customers’ orders. As someone who spent his professional life trying to empower people to make informed investment decisions, I understand the concern. But it’s misplaced.

Consider the vast improvements in stock markets. Individual, or retail, orders get filled 10 times faster than a decade ago. Commission rates have fallen by nearly 70% since 1997....

Summary: Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade, writes that the criticism of how stock brokers route their customers’ trades reflects a misunderstanding of how stock exchanges and market maker firms compete by paying for order flow.


05/26/2016 AT 12:55 AM EDT

and bad days as a couple.

And there was a bit of hesitation on Heard's side about settling down with Depp.

"Before Amber met Johnny she was just a regular super cool hipster chick living with roommates who dated girls," a source tells PEOPLE. "At their

she kind of got cold feet... she was just like what is this scene and what am I doing here? She kind of couldn't believe it was her life now."

The 30-year-old actress and the 52-year-old actor met playing love interests in 2011's

. The couple revealed their

However nearly a year after their whirlwind romance, the couple slowed down their wedding plans.

"There is no rush to marry at the moment," a longtime friend of Depp

in December 2014. "Johnny is crazy in love with Amber, but there is turmoil in the relationship."

Though they loved each another, a 22-year age gap was a factor in their relationship challenges. "[Heard] is not really ready to settle down," added Depp's friend.

On Feb. 3, 2015, the couple said their "I do's" in a ceremony at their Los Angeles home, just days before a bigger wedding at Depp's private island in the Bahamas. "When Johnny Depp wants you, you don't really say no. Why would you?" a separate source shared. Most recently in April, Heard celebrated her 30th birthday without the Alice Through the Looking Glass star. Surrounded by a small group of girlfriends, the actress had a "great time" at The Parker Hotel in Palm Springs.

Summary: "Amber kind of couldn't believe it was her life now," a source tells PEOPLE


On November 9, 1989, the East German government allowed its citizens to freely travel to West Berlin and West Germany, marking the beginning of the end of the Berlin Wall and the related policy that banned the movement of people from the communist East to the capitalist West.

The anniversary offers a chance to look back on what German reunification has brought Europe’s most powerful economy and its people. One of the most salient facts about Germany today is how much hasn’t changed in terms of regional disparities in economic development. According to the German Federal Labor Office, unemployment in the former East German state sits at above 9%, while it hovers at 5.6% in the former West German territories, and the discrepancy would be worse were it not for government programs that bring jobs to the region.

If you look at statistics such as per capita income or worker productivity, they also point to the large disparity in economic development between east and west. The Washington Post explained many of these discrepancies as the “legacy of communism,” writing:

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, formerly communist eastern German companies and factories suddenly had to compete with their much more efficient western counterparts. Capitalism came too fast. Many eastern German companies went bankrupt and some regions never recovered from the shock. Until today, income levels are much lower in the east than in the west.

Another recent story in Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international news service, examined the differences between the eastern and western economies, bemoaning the fact that, since reunification, West Germany has transferred more than $2 trillion in economic aid in an attempt to help the East catch up. The East has made some progress, somewhat catching up to the West in terms of per capita income. But deep divisions persist. The question is, are these differences really the result of the legacy of communism or failures in public policy?

There’s no doubt that western-style capitalism proved to be a better system for creating wealth and raising living standards than Soviet-style communism. But the futility of communism has been overblown. It actually was quite successful at helping a war-torn Russia catch up with the west in the early days of the Soviet Union. If you compare, for instance, the development of Mexico and the Soviet Union from 1913 until the year the Berlin Wall fell, “the Soviet Union’s growth over the period of communism put Mexico’s to shame,” according to Charles Kenney, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. He points out that Soviet income per capita was 46% greater than Mexico’s in 1989, compared to just 1% larger in 1913.

It’s impossible to know how East Germany would have developed absent the influence of communism (or how Western Europe would have generally recovered from World War II if the U.S. didn’t invest so much there in an effort to contain the spread of communism), but the idea that a history of communism taints an economy’s ability to modernize isn’t quite supported by the facts.

The deep discrepancies in economic development between Germany’s different regions isn’t unique. According to the OECD, “Regional differences in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita within countries are often substantial and larger than among OECD countries.” In the United States, for instance, there are regional differences in economic development that match or exceed Germany’s, depending on which data you look at. To take one extreme example, Mississippi’s per capita income is just 54% of Connecticut’s. The former East German states have a per capita income that is 84% of the West German states, according to KfW, the German development bank.

Of course, the discrepancy would be less severe if you, for instance, took the per capita income of the Northeastern United States and compared them with Southeastern or Midwestern states, but the point is that even the U.S. has regional economic differences that are comparable to Germany’s.

Even economists don’t really have a full understanding of the economic development process, and no politician has hit on the secret formula for fomenting growth in their country or region. What economists do know is that when economic development takes hold in an area, people tend to flock to that area to take part in it. That’s obviously what’s going on in Germany, as the population of the east has shrunk from 16 million in 1989 to 12.5 million now, while the West German population has grown to 64.6 million from roughly 60 million.

The problem, then, for Germany is not economic, but political. Because the unification of Germany happened so recently after so many years of division, some citizens bristle at the side effects of living in a nation with such diversity in economic output. Activists from the more economically vibrant areas protest the fact that their tax dollars are being used to subsidize government programs and living standards in the less fortunate parts. But this dynamic plays out in the U.S., without the regionalist undertones found in Germany. Take, for instance, South Carolina, which gets back in government spending $8 dollars for every $1 dollar its citizens pay in taxes, whereas many states like New York and California get back less than a $1 for every one they send to the federal government.

As long as talented and motivated young people in Germany are allowed to freely leave the East for better opportunities in the West, regional differences in economic development will persist.

Summary: When regional economic disparities take hold, they tend to stick.


If you have caught the Actors Guild act at all, you have probably seen medieval dramas uptown in the appropriately set Cloisters, where the troupe has been a resident company each spring since the mid-1970's. Well, time marches on, and so on occasion can the Actors Guild, which tonight takes a dramatic leap forward into the 17th century with a change of pace and a change of setting.

The new pace is set by ''Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed,'' a Moliere comedy that laughs at status and pretension, and the new place is the Michel Fortin Gallery, 351 West Broadway, near Broome Street, where the play will be done at 8 and 10:30 P.M. Thursday through Saturday this week and next. Dof fing the more sobersided costumery of the Middle Age s, the actors will fit the Moli ere period but will be done in modern signature fabrics, dropping the names of premier fashion houses in every direction.

The director-founder of the company, Stephen de Pietri, is a window designer for Henri Bendel and former assistant to Diana Vreeland. Retailers and designers have come through with items such as a Bonwit Teller ball gown, a Louis Vuitton sedan chair and a Gucci ensemble. All this against a backdrop of gold shower curtains and antique tapestries suitable to the Moliere-era salon style, with musical interludes yet. In fact, the atmosphere is considered so important that the company is requesting the audience to wrap itself in its finest raiment, in keeping with the pretensions pricked by the piece.

The gallery can hold an audience of 75 to 100 people. Admission: $7. Information and reservations: 799-3895. BULLY

In its several incarnations around town, Madison Square Garden, now at 33d Street and Seventh Avenue, has always roped in a rodeo during the year. Tonight, the outfit modestly titled Stetson World's Toughest Rodeo, said to be the largest professional rodeo east of the Mississippi, pardner, moves in for five shows through Sunday.

It brings with it a cast of cowpunchers, 300 men and women, who will compete for award money by wrestling steers, riding bulls, roping calves, riding broncs and other feats of muscular coordination. Along with this are acts that pay homage to the Old West and to John Wayne, whose favorite cowboy movie horse will make the scene. You will see a stagecoach holdup, a high-jumping Collie dog and clowns.

Shows at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow; at 2 and 7:30 Saturday and at 2 P.M. Sunday. Admission: $12, $10, $8, $6. At some performances, $2 off for under-12's. Box office: 564-4400. RECALL

Blanche Sweet, who was making movies long before most of us were knee-high to a box-office window, will be the first speaker at the first James R. Quirk Memorial Film Symposium at 8 o'clock tonight in the main auditorium of Greenwich House, 27 Barrow Street, near Sheridan Square.

Miss Sweet - now 85, with no but's called for - will address herself to D.W. Griffith and his times, in which she ranked as a star. She was the original Tess in ''Tess of the D'Urbervilles,'' in 1924, and was the first on-screen Anna Christie in the silent of the same name, in 1923. Lillian Gish will present the 17th James R. Quirk Award to Miss Sweet for her efforts on behalf of film scholarship. After the talk, Miss Sweet will field questions, then the evening will turn into a social.

The symposium will continue with other speakers on Oct. 29, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, all Thursdays, and all at 8 P.M. The events are organized by Lawrence J. Quirk, editor of Quirk's Reviews, a film monthly, in memory of his uncle, a critic and editor of Photoplay magazine, who died in 1932. Admission: $4 a session, or $15 for all four. Information: 691-8474. JAZZ

Eric's is a restaurant-bar at 88th Street and Second Avenue (534-8500), and on a busy night it buzzes with the genial hum of prattle that characterizes the after-dark refreshment enclaves of the East Side. But Eric's also has a back room, a room not notably long on decor but one where idle chatter gives way to appreciative silence or accompaniment of toe-tapping to whatever jazz, rhythm and blues or other musical ensemble is in the house at the moment.

You will hear knowns, lesser-knowns and even less-than-knowns in performance here during the week. Tonight the Carla White (vocals) and Manny Duran (trumpet) Jazz Quintet moves into the back room for two sets, at 9 and 11 P.M. The quintet's remainder consists of piano, bass and drums.

There is a $3 cover charge; beer about $1.50, harder drinks about $2.75; You can get a main dish for $4.25.

For Sports Today, see page B16. Richard F. Shepard

Summary: OUT OF TIME   If you have caught the Actors Guild act at all, you have probably seen medieval dramas uptown in the appropriately set Cloisters, where the troupe has been a resident company each spring since the mid-1970's. Well, time marches on, and so on occasion can the Actors Guild, which tonight takes a dramatic leap forward into the 17th century with a change of pace and a change of setting.   The new pace is set by ''Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed,'' a Moliere comedy that laughs at status and pretension, and the new place is the Michel Fortin Gallery, 351 West Broadway, near Broome Street, where the play will be done at 8 and 10:30 P.M. Thursday through Saturday this week and next. Dof fing the more sobersided costumery of the Middle Age s, the actors will fit the Moli ere period but will be done in modern signature fabrics, dropping the names of premier fashion houses in every direction.


Perhaps the biggest trend that points to a second wave for solar just beginning is the way that projects are financed.

For decades, a homeowner faced an upfront cost of $20,000 or more and a payback period of a decade for commensurate savings on energy bills. SolarCity, SunRun and other companies like them have changed that model to be more like buying a car. You can still pay for the whole thing at once, but now you can lease the system and pay as you go instead, locking in a fixed rate for your energy over time that is far lower than normal utility rates.

Some SolarCity customers are adding battery backup systems that keeps a home or business operating during blackouts and will one day allow them to drop off the grid altogether. In places that have what is called "time variant pricing"—customers pay more for electricity during the peak demand times of day and less at night when demand is lower—batteries can store cheap grid energy at night and dispatch it back to the utility during the day at a profit, while keeping the lights and air conditioner running on the solar power coming from the rooftop.

Read MoreWhy conservative Tea Party members are going green

Which brings me to another driver for solar—rising electricity rates. The drought in the western U.S. means fewer kilowatts generated by our once mighty hydroelectric dams and reservoirs. To make up the difference, utilities build fossil-fueled "peaker" plants that are more expensive to operate because they're used only when demand is highest (imagine if you owned a car but had to buy another one to drive only when the weather was hot). This trend isn't limited to North America. The drought in Brazil is impacting its hydropower, too, and coupled with new net metering laws (allowing the sale of excess solar energy to the local utility), its nascent solar industry is poised for rapid California-style growth.

Wind, biomass, geothermal and waste-to-energy plants are also enjoying an upswing in demand, especially as utilities work to comply with state laws that require a growing percentage of power to come from such renewables. But solar is the only clean energy source that just about anyone can install and manage for themselves, at a cost that now competes with—even out-competes—conventional energy generation sources.

—By Terry Tamminen, contributor to CNBC.com

Terry Tamminen is a former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, president of Seventh Generation Advisors, an operating partner at Pegasus Capital Advisors and author of "Cracking the Carbon Code: The Key to Sustainable Profits in the New Economy."

Summary: Solar power is proving it can compete without government help. And that means the main criticism of solar—cost competitiveness—is history.


11/04/2015 AT 07:00 AM EST

The bicyclist who was killed by a gunman in Colorado Springs this past weekend was an Army veteran who survived three deployments in Iraq, his ex-wife said.

in broad daylight on Saturday as he was riding his bicycle. Witnesses said that he begged for his life before being killed.

Tina Myers described her former husband as a kind and caring man who was a great father to their two sons, ages 13 and 11, according to the

. She added that the boys are struggling with their father's death.

Myers' grandfather, Samuel Myers, lamented his grandson's senseless death. "He spent three tours of duty in Iraq and came out of that all right, and then came home only to be shot by someone he didn't even know," he said.

The alleged gunman, later identified by police as Noah Jacob Harpham, died in a shootout with authorities after allegedly killing two other women, Jennifer Michelle Vasquez, 42, and Christina Rose Baccus-Gallela, 34.

All the victims appeared to have been shot at random, but police are still investigating the incident.

Summary: Andrew Alan Myers, 35, was gunned down in broad daylight on Saturday


Advocates for more coal mining in Australia warn if coal resources aren't exploited, India and other foreign buyers will turn to Indonesia and South Africa, eliminating economic benefits to Australia and doing nothing to cut emissions.

"If these countries cannot source our coal, they will simply seek it elsewhere, and that coal may not be as high quality, producing a worse outcome for global carbon emissions while denying Australia jobs," said Michael Roche, chief executive of mining lobby Queensland Resources Council.

Read MoreScientists show rising concern about deep-sea mining

Adani has argued that its Australian mine is necessary if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to keep his promise to bring electricity to hundreds of millions of people living off the grid, replacing a reliance on wood and dung for heat and cooking.

The International Energy Agency predicts India will add 342 gigawatt of coal-fired generation capacity by 2040, equivalent to 300-500 large coal-fired power stations which will each need around 1.5 million tons of coal a year.

There are few signs that top miners are backing away.

Andrew Mackenzie, chief executive of BHP Billiton, has designated coal as one of its "four pillars of growth".

Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg is on the record looking to acquire more collieries, solidifying the company's global ranking as the biggest shipper of thermal coal.

Summary: Standard Chartered became the second bank to walk away from a huge Australian coal project, but the country's production rate is still rising.


Jun 9, 2016 9:15 PM EDT Politics

By Emily Schultheis / CBS News

Elizabeth Warren is finally #WithHer.

The Massachusetts senator and liberal icon, who remained neutral throughout the Democratic primaries, formally threw her support behind Hillary Clinton in several interviews Thursday night.

"I'm ready," Warren told the Boston Globe. "I'm ready to jump in this fight and make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States and be sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House."

Warren's move is yet another sign the Democratic establishment -- including the progressive wing, which has long been skeptical of Clinton -- is falling in line now that it's clear Clinton has the delegates necessary to be the party's presumptive nominee.

"I'm supporting Hillary Clinton because she's a fighter, a fighter with guts," Warren told the Globe, adding that Sanders has run an "incredible campaign."

She was one of the final holdouts for Clinton among Senate Democrats. The only other Democratic senator who has not endorsed a candidate in the race is Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. (Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but made it clear he thought Sanders should only remain in the race as long as there was a viable path forward for him.)

Warren said she held off on endorsing because the exchange of ideas during the Democratic primary was "important" for voters to see.

"I thought that the primary was really important and it was an opportunity for Democrats to get out there and show this is what it means to be a Democrat," she told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. "We got out there and pushed those issues forward and we made sure the American people saw the kind of thinking we have, the kind of energy we have."

Warren, whose rhetoric on income inequality and economic populism is in the same vein as that of Sanders, is frequently mentioned as a potential running mate for Clinton, though it's unclear whether she is being formally vetted for the position.

Asked what Sanders should do now that Clinton has secured the delegates necessary for the nomination, Warren didn't offer specific advice but said it's time to unify.

"I think that it's clear now that we need to start thinking about all of us together, and we need to think about the difference between us and the Republicans," she said. "That's for me what the heart of this is about."

"Hillary Clinton won, and she won because she's a fighter--she's tough," she added. "And I think this is what we need."

Summary: One of the last major Democratic holdouts, Warren's backing is another sign the party is ready to coalesce behind Clinton


There’s no lack of evidence proving how important exercise is for the body. But does that get you get out of the house and into the gym?

Not if you’re like most Americans, 80% of whom don’t get the recommended amount of aerobic and muscle-building exercise.

“We know that people are not rational,” says Dr. Mitesh Patel, assistant professor of medicine and health care management at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “They know exercise is good for them, yet they don’t exercise enough.” But one of the great quirks of human behavior is that we’re irrational in a predictable way, Patel says; people are motivated by losses more than gains and prefer getting rewarded now rather than later.

You can translate that into a surprisingly effective way to get people to move more, according to Patel’s new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In the trial, Patel and his team assigned 281 overweight and obese people the same goal—to walk 7,000 steps a day. People were tracked for 13 weeks through their smartphones, and only their incentives were different. When they met their goal, some people were merely told that they had done so, while others were entered into a cash lottery. A third group was given $1.40 each day they met the goal. The last group was given $42 at the start of the study and had $1.40 removed for every day they didn’t take enough steps.

People in the first three incentives (get nothing, get entered into a lottery or get about a buck a day) met the goal about 30-35% of the time. But people who stood to lose money met the goal 45% of the time. “We saw dramatically different results when the same amount of money was framed as a loss as opposed to having it framed as a gain,” says Patel.

Past research backs up the idea that financial loss is a powerful incentive for weight loss. Findings like these—that leaving cash on the table could be enough to nudge people to their feet—are potentially useful to companies, which increasingly use corporate wellness programs to encourage their employees to get healthier. “There’s often a presumption that just tracking activity by itself will help you change your behavior,” Patel says. “But in most cases, for the people who really need to benefit the most—those who are overweight or obese—these programs really need to be combined with an effective engagement strategy.”

Summary: People who had to give up money if they didn't exercise enough met their goal 50% more of the time than people who were paid to exercise


I held a Council at 10.45 to declare war with Germany. It is a terrible catastrophe but it is not our fault. An enormous crowd collected outside the Palace; we went on to the balcony both before and after dinner. When they heard that war had been declared, the excitement increased and May and I with David [the Prince of Wales], went on to the balcony; the cheering was terrific. Please God it may soon be over and that he will protect dear Bertie’s life [George VI, serving with the Royal Navy]. Bed at 12.00’ George V, diary, August 4 1914

23.10 The King and Queen appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wave to the cheering crowds.

23.02 Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, sends a telegram to the Fleet: ‘COMMENCE HOSTILITIES AGAINST GERMANY’

23.00 As Big Ben strikes 11 in London, no reply has been received to the British ultimatum.

BRITAIN IS AT WAR WITH GERMANY

22.50 Young Harold Nicolson is told by Lichnowsky's footman that the ambassador has gone to bed. Nicolson is insistent he must see him and the butler allows him up to his bedroom.

The original envelope is half-open on a table; Lichnowsky, who is in bed, does not appear to have read it. Nicolson explains that an incorrect document was sent and that he is the bearer of the correct version, a declaration of war for which Lichnowsky must sign.

Give my best regards to your father. I shall not in all probability see him before my departure’

Lichnowsky to Nicolson, before he returned to his bed

22.45 King George V and the Privy Council meet at Buckingham Palace to authorise a declaration of war.

22.25 The Admiralty's mistake now having been made clear, the documents sent to Lichnowsky must be retrieved. Young Harold Nicolson, son of Sir Arthur Nicolson, permanent under-secretary of state at the Foreign Office (and later the husband of Vita Sackville-West and a notable diplomat and diarist in his own right), is sent to Lichnowsky's residence.

22.15 Now a telegram arrives from ambassador Goschen in Berlin saying that the Germany premier has telephoned to say he will not be responding to the ultimatum. The wireless message intercepted by the Admiralty had been intended simply to warn German shipping that war was likely to be declared. Bethmann-Hollweg’s response means, after all, that war will be declared when the British deadline elapses, at midnight European time, 11pm in London.

22.00 Rumours are flying and the next day's Daily Telegraph is prey to some of them:

21.45 A messenger brings news from the Admiralty, where a German wireless message has been intercepted suggesting that Germany has declared war. A young Foreign Office staffer, Lancelot Oliphant, is hastily dispatched to the residence of Prince Lichnowsky, the German ambassador, carrying his passports and an acknowledgement of the declaration of war.

21.30 Almost simultaneously, the British embassy in Berlin and the German embassy in London are attacked. In Berlin, the embassy has its windows broken by a mob that has gathered outside and is throwing stones. Mounted police clear them away. In London, there is 'groaning and hissing', as well as stone-throwing.

21.05 A telegram sent from Berlin to the German embassy in London has been intercepted. It relays the news that Goschen, the British ambassador, has asked for his passports.

PM Asquith is in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street with a small group of senior ministers, including his foreign secretary Grey and Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty. They are passed the telegram. Does this mean that Germany is settling for war?

20.40 It is a warm evening and Margot Asquith, sitting in 10 Downing Street with her husband, has the windows open wide. Drifting across St James's Park come the sounds of thousands of people who have gathered outside Buckingham Palace.

‘”So is it all up?” “Yes, it is all up” - he had tears in his eyes’ Margot Asquith’s exchange with her husband in 10 Downing Street, from her diary

20.10 German troops have been advancing towards Liège throughout the day. By nightfall, General von Emmich’s forces have reached the Meuse at Visé. Accounts of the fighting reach The Daily Telegraph offices in fits and starts.

The Telegraph reports on German advance into Belgium: 'the first blood is now being spilt'.

The Germans could not get over the perfidy of it. It was unbelievable that the English, having degenerated to the stage where suffragettes heckled the Prime Minister and defied the police, were going to fight.’ Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August

19.35 (CET) The Chancellor’s rant at Britain's man in Berlin lasts 20 minutes. He was ‘so excited, so evidently overcome by the news of our action, and so little disposed to hear reason that I refrained from adding fuel to the flame by further argument’, says Goschen. Emotions are running high on both sides; Goschen has to compose himself in an ante-room before others see him.

As I was leaving, he [Bethmann-Hollweg] said that the blow of Great Britain joining Germany’s enemies was all the greater [because] almost up to the last moment he and his Government had been working with us and supporting our efforts to maintain peace between Austria and Russia.

I said that this was part of the tragedy which saw the two nations fall apart just at the moment when the relations between them had been more friendly and cordial than they had been for years. Unfortunately, notwithstanding our efforts to maintain peace between Russia and Austria, the war had spread and had brought us face to face with a situation which, if we held to our engagements, we could not possibly avoid, and which unfortunately entailed our separation from our late fellow workers. He would readily understand that no one regretted this more than I. Sir Edward Goschen, British ambassador in Berlin

Bethmann-Hollweg recalls the same conversation:

The day before my conversation with the British Ambassador, Sir Edward Grey had delivered his well-known speech in Parliament, wherein, while he did not state expressly that England would take part in the war, he left the matter in little doubt. One needs only to read this speech through carefully to learn the reason of England’s intervention in the war. Amid all his beautiful phrases about England’s honour and England’s obligations we find it over and over again expressed that England’s interests - its own interests - called for participation in war, for it was not in England’s interests that a victorious, and therefore stronger, Germany should emerge from the war. Bethmann-Hollweg recalls his conversation with Goschen

19.10 Goschen’s dealings with von Jagow done, he asks to see Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, and is taken to the chancellery building next door to the foreign ministry.

Bethmann-Hollweg vents his rage at Goschen. Why, he asks, is Britain going to war against a ‘kindred nation’? It is like ‘striking a man from behind while he is fighting for his life against two assailants ... and all for just a word – neutrality – just for a scrap of paper’.

19.00 (CET) Sir Edward Goschen, British ambassador in Berlin, visits Gottlieb von Jagow, German foreign minister, and repeats his earlier request, that Germany ‘refrain from violating Belgian neutrality’.

'Herr von Jagow replied that to his great regret he could give no other answer than that which he had given me earlier in the day, namely, that the safety of the Empire rendered it absolutely necessary that the Imperial troops should advance through Belgium ... I asked him whether, in view of the terrible consequences which would necessarily ensue, it were not possible even at the last moment that their answer should be reconsidered. He replied that if the time given were even 24 hours or more, his answer must be the same. I said that in that case I should have to demand my passports.’

German foreign minister Gottlieb von Jagow

18.50 Some Belgian troops take the opportunity to obscure road-signs in a bid to put the invading Germans off the scent

18.35 Uniformed men, including these fusiliers, are a visible presence at London's stations as Britain mobilises its army and reservists

18.15 Paul Cambon, the French ambassador in London, has been to see Sir Edward Grey, the foreign secretary. He now knows Britain will support France and asks Grey “How will you fight the war? Will you send your Expeditionary Force?”

France's man in London, Paul Cambon

Grey replies: “No ... We shall blockade the German ports. We have not yet considered sending a military force to the Continent”.

Cambon says public opinion will force Britain to intervene on the Continent and to be effective intervention must be immediate.

17.50 The King has sent a telegram to Australia, Canada and the other dominions thanking them for their support in the past few days. If Britain goes to war, they will be coming too.

17.25 Volunteers and reservists are already swarming to the Central London Recruiting Depot after Asquith's announcement

17.10 Crowds gather to hear the King's proclamation calling up the reserves outside the Royal Exchange in the City.

16.55 Telegrams warning embassies and consulates around the world that Britain is about to go to war have been ready for several years. Now, Foreign Office clerks begin filling the space reserved for the enemy's name with the word ‘Germany’.

16.45 Margot Asquith had sat 'breathless' while her husband told MPs of the ultimatum to Germany.

I can truthfully say that this has been the greatest moment of my life, and the greatest moment in British politics since Waterloo. I was glad the Speaker’s gallery was dark, and that no one could hear my heart beat, or see the thousand hammers in my brain.' Margot Asquith, diary entry

16.25 Before the House adjourns, a payment of £105 million for national services out of the Consolidated Fund is approved.

16.20 Asquith has finished his speech. He hands the Speaker a message signed by the King, and it is read to the House. It is a proclamation announcing that all army reserves are being called out 'on permanent service'.

16.05 The Prime Minister now tells MPs about Grey's communications with Belgium and Germany earlier in the day, which have culminated in the handing over of an ultimatum, expiring at midnight tonight.

15.50 Asquith is telling the House about the Belgian King's request for assistance and the ultimatum received from the Germans.

15.45 Asquith begins his statement to the Commons, which is 'as still as the grave', according to The Daily Telegraph report. 'The only sounds heard were the calm, level voice of Mr Asquith and the rustle of the papers from which he read'. He is watched by his wife Margot, who is sitting in the Speaker's Gallery.

Meanwhile, crowds are beginning to gather outside the House of Commons waiting for news of the declaration.

15.30 (CET) As he closes, the Chancellor repeats his assurance that if Britain remains neutral, Germany will not attack the northern coast of France nor French commercial shipping.

After his speech, the Reichstag votes for a war credit of 5 billion marks.

15.20 (CET) The German Chancellor goes on to remind his audience that the situation escalated when Russia mobilised her forces directed against Austria, while Austria had only mobilised part of hers against Serbia.

Germany had continued to attempt to mediate but Russia then mobilised all of her forces and France began making preparations to do the same.

‘Were we now to wait further in patience until the nations on either side of us chose the moment for their attack? It would have been a crime to expose Germany to such peril,' says Bethmann-Hollweg.

15.15 (CET) Bethmann-Hollweg continues his speech to the Reichstag: ‘The day has now come when we must draw [our sword], against our wish, and in spite of our sincere endeavours. Russia has set fire to the building. We are at war with Russia and France – a war that has been forced upon us.’

15.10 (CET) In Paris, Viviani is followed by Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin, the Minister of Justice, who reads a speech by President Raymond Poincaré, saying that France has been subject to ‘a violent and premeditated attack'.

‘[France] will be heroically defended by all her sons. Nothing will break their sacred union before the enemy. Today they are joined together as brothers in a common indignation against the aggressor and in a common patriotic faith.’

15.00 (CET) Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg has not received the British ultimatum from Britain's man in Berlin when he rises to address the Reichstag. He begins with a step-by-step account of how he believes Germany has been forced into war against her will:

‘For 44 years, since the time we fought for and won the German empire and our position in the world, we have lived in peace and protected the peace of Europe. During this time of peace, we have become strong and powerful, arousing the envy of others.’

German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg

14.55 Grey meets the US ambassador in London, Walter Hines Page, who hears a ‘touch of finality in his voice’. Britain’s ultimatum has still not been presented but Grey believes that if Belgium is not defended then Holland will be next, then Denmark, because the ‘war party’ in Germany now has the upper hand. ‘I feel like a man who has wasted his life,’ Grey tells the ambassador.

14.50 (CET) In Paris, Viviani is speaking to a joint session of the Senate and Chamber. To cheers, he announces that Italy is remaining neutral, thus relieving pressure on France’s southern frontier.

14.45 Grey's statement the previous day had laid the ground for Asquith. MPs could be in no doubt that Britain's place in the world was at stake, whatever she decided to do.

Whatever the outcome of the war, Britain’s position as a Great Power would be diminished and so would her ability to defend her interests. If the conflict ended in a victory of the Central powers, there would be a reordering of the continent of Europe, and with the French fleet and colonies under German control, Germany would emerge as a formidable challenger to British interests.

If, by contrast, the war ended in a Franco-Russian triumph, these erstwhile colonial competitors were not likely to show much respect to British interests in the Mediterranean and in the East. The inherent logic of Britain’s position meant that she had to enter the war and do so against Germany and Austria-Hungary. T.G. Otte, July Crisis, The World’s Descent into War, Summer 1914

14.30 MPs are gathering in the House of Commons. David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, is to make a statement about the maintenance of trade and insurance against war risks, then it will be Asquith’s turn to take to the box.

14.00 Sir Edward Grey tells Goschen, Britain’s ambassador in Berlin, to repeat the request to Germany that Belgium’s neutrality be respected. A reply is required by midnight Central European time, 11pm in London.

Should no assurance be received, Goschen is to ask for his passports and tell Germany: ‘His Majesty’s Government feels bound to take all steps in their power to uphold the neutrality of Belgium and the observance of a Treaty to which Germany is as much a party as ourselves’.

What was a request in the morning has now become an ultimatum.

13.50 The Daily Telegraph’s correspondent in Brussels reports that emotions are running high in Belgium. Men of all ages are ‘literally fighting to enlist and get rifles. There is wild patriotic enthusiasm and no sign of fear.' The King is said to be setting off for the front.

13.40 (CET) Von Jagow in Berlin receives a telegram from German ambassador Lichnowsky in London. Lichnowsky explains that he had misunderstood the tenor of Grey’s rousing speech to the House of Commons the day before. He now believes that Germany can no longer rely on Britain remaining neutral.

13.15 Matters must come to a head this afternoon. In Paris, French premier René Viviani is preparing to address a joint session of the Senate and Chamber. In Berlin, chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg will speak to the Reichstag. And in London, MPs are eagerly anticipating the day’s sitting in the Commons, where Herbert Asquith, the Prime Minister, will make a statement.

12.45pm In Paris, mobilisation is in full swing. Reservists are swarming around the Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est and the streets are full of regular soldiers, in their distinctive red trousers and 19th century pattern greatcoats over blue tunics.

French soldiers gather on the streets of Paris

12.20pm Foreign secretary Grey has received the German foreign minister von Jagow's assurance that Germany will not annex Belgian territory, which was sent to ambassador Lichnowsky in London at 10am. Grey now sends a second telegram to Britain's man in Brussels, altering the wording of his offer of 10.45am - the words ‘an alliance’ are replaced by ’common cause’.

12pm (CET) King Albert of Belgium calls on France and Britain to help his country.

11.45am Food prices are rising in London. At Covent Garden market, potatoes were £3-£4 a ton last week but are £4-£5 this week. Dutch onions have risen from 5s-6s a hundredweight bag to 9s-10s. The Government assures the country that supplies of meat and wheat are sufficient for several months but fish supplies will inevitably tumble if there is a naval war - Billingsgate market normally takes 300 to 500 tons of fish daily.

11am In Britain, the Stock Exchange is closed as the country rapidly moves to a war footing. But a full programme of first-class cricket matches continues.

Yorkshire are getting the upper hand over Lancashire in the Roses match at Old Trafford. At Lord's, the second day of a two-day match between Lord's Schools (public schools that played at the ground) and the Rest is beginning. At least five of the young men playing would be dead by the end of the war.

Back in London, Jack Hobbs has scored 226 for Surrey at the Oval, with Nottinghamshire about to begin their reply.

Jack Hobbs: a double century at the Oval

10.45 Grey sends a message to Sir Francis Villiers, Britain's minister in Brussels. Belgium must remain stout in defence of its neutrality. Britain will support her and is prepared to join France and Russia in an alliance to resist German force.

10.25 The previous day, four members of the Cabinet had warned of their resignations over the possibility of war. Now, on hearing of the German invasion of Belgium, John Simon, the Attorney-General, and Earl Beauchamp, Commissioner of Works (later said to be the inspiration for Lord Marchmain in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited) announce they will attend the morning Cabinet meeting.

10.00 (CET) Von Jagow, the German foreign minister, sends a telegram to Prince Lichnowsky, German ambassador in London, who is agonising over the prospect of going to war against his British friends. Lichnowsky is authorised to assure Britain that Germany will not annex Belgian territory. The reason for entering Belgium, it is claimed, is that Germany has reliable information that France is planning to attack Germany through Belgium.

Germany's ambassador to Britain, Prince Lichnowsky

09.30 Sir Edward Grey sends a message to Sir Edward Goschen, Britain's ambassador in Berlin, where he has served for six years. Britain asks Germany for ‘an assurance that the demand made upon Belgium will not be proceeded with, and that her neutrality will be respected by Germany’.

Britain is 'bound to protest against this violation of a treaty [the Treaty of London of 1839] to which Germany is a party in common with themselves, and must request an assurance that the demand made upon Belgium will not be proceeded with, and that her neutrality will be respected by Germany'. At this stage it is a request rather than an ultimatum.

09.20 (CET) Gottlieb von Jagow, Germany's foreign minister, sends a telegram to von Below at the German legation in Brussels. He is still offering peace if Belgium allows German troops to pass through Liège and if the Belgians do not destroy their railway lines and bridges.

09.10 (CET) Belgian King Albert I rides on horseback to the parliament in Brussels, accompanied by his family in a horse-drawn carriage. Cheering crowds line the route. The monarch asks the deputies if they are resolved to defend Belgium: Are they ‘unalterably decided to maintain intact the sacred gift of our forefathers?’ 'Yes!' is the answer roared back at him.

09.00 (CET) Antoine Adolphe Fonck, aged 21, a lancer in the 2nd Lancers, becomes the first Belgian to fall in combat. He dies close to Battice as the Germans advance from the border towards Liège.

08.45 Front page of Brussels newspaper Le Soir reports the violation of Belgium's neutrality on the morning of August 4 1914.

Gallery: the start of WWI in colour

08.20 (CET) General Otto von Emmich leads the assault on Liège via Gemmerich with six infantry brigades and three cavalry divisions.

08.00 (CET) It is confirmed in Brussels that German troops have entered Belgian territory. Germans have crossed the Belgian frontier at Gemmerich, 30 miles from the fortress of Liège.

07.30 The morning papers are enthusiastic about Grey’s speech the day before.

‘Britain will not allow Germany’s fleet to batter France’s undefended coast ... The thoughts of all Britishers went out to sea yesterday, for with the statement of Sir Edward Grey in Parliament, the safety and sanctity of the Empire may easily again depend upon the Navy which has given us such heroic a history,’ says the Daily Mirror

The Daily Mail declares that ‘Proceedings in the House of Commons yesterday were worthy of a tremendous occasion. They will fill the nation with fresh courage and confidence.

The Manchester Guardian takes a different line, still hoping for British neutrality: ‘Europe in arms watches Great Britain. Italy has asserted her freedom to keep the peace, will England follow the good example?’

Foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey

The leader column in The Daily Telegraph shows no such hesitation:

‘Today we say with calm conviction, and with as full a consciousness as one can have of what this conflict must involve, that anything would be better for this country – anything! – than to slink away like a frightened cur from the menace of the Prussian jackboot, and risk the imposition upon Europe, of which we are a part, of the absolute dominance of a Power which can act as Germany has acted in this crisis.’

07.00 In London, The Daily Telegraph carries several pages about the crisis and a full transcript of Sir Edward Grey’s speech. But elsewhere the impression is given of a normal day in London.

The Commons and the Lords will sit as normal; a number of companies are meeting; and the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies is to convene at Kingsway Hall, Holborn, 8pm.

The theatres, concert halls and cinemas are open as normal. Kismet had originally opened at the Garrick in 1911, to great acclaim. After a run on Broadway and in Australia, it is now back at the Globe.

06.00 (CET) Germany informs the Belgian government that its troops will be entering Belgian territory. Walter von Below-Saleske, of the German Legation, makes his last visit to the Foreign Office in Brussels. Because Belgium has rejected its ‘well intentioned proposals’, he says, Germany must now attend to its own security, ‘if necessary by force of arms’.

At dawn on Tuesday August 4 1914, Austria-Hungary was at war with Serbia, and Germany had declared war on Russia and France.

Belgium had been given an ultimatum by the Germans, who demanded they be allowed to enter Belgian territory to defend themselves against France; Belgium had rejected this.

Britain was a signatory to the 1839 Treaty of London, guaranteeing to protect Belgian neutrality. The previous day, Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, had told the House of Commons that the country could not ‘run away’ from its ‘obligations of honour and interest’.

The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, Christopher Clark (Penguin)

The War that Ended Peace, Margaret MacMillan (Profile Books)

The Month that Changed the World: July 1914, Gordon Martel (OUP)

July 1914: Countdown to War, Sean McMeekin (Icon Books)

July Crisis: The World's Descent into War, July 1914, T.G. Otte (Cambridge)

The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman (Penguin)

Margot Asquith's Great War Diary, 1914-1916 (OUP)

Summary: Britain went to war on August 4 1914. We document the dramatic events leading   up to the declaration of war as they happened, hour-by-hour


FORTUNE – When Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January, no one was surprised. The 131-year-old company once controlled 90% of the U.S. film market in the 1970s, only to be displaced by the rise of digital cameras. It took decades for Kodak to fall.

Now a similar kind of long, slow decline may be afflicting printer industry. And Hewlett-Packard HPQ , long the market’s giant with a market share above 40%, may be approaching its own Kodak moment.

Printers have long been a cash cow for HP, but they are losing popularity as people share pictures in the cloud, looking at them on tablets and smartphones. The decline has been increasingly evident. HP’s printer and imaging division has seen its revenue decline by 12% since its 2008 fiscal year. The group comprises a smaller portion of revenue – 20% last year, compared with 31% for PCs and 28% for IT services – but it’s historically had fatter profit margins.

MORE: Inside SAP’s radical makeover

But even those profit margins aren’t what they used to be. The printing division’s operating margin was 15% of its revenue in fiscal 2011, still much better than the PC division’s 6% margin. But it’s down from the 18% operating margin that printers saw only two years ago.

And if that’s not bad enough, the decline in HP’s printer business seems to be accelerating. In its most recent quarter, the company said printer revenue declined 7% from the same quarter a year earlier. Operating margin for the division dropped to 12%. Why the sudden decline? During the holiday season, fewer shoppers bought printers – consumer printer revenue slid 15% on year.

HP’s new CEO Meg Whitman, who calls the printing division “the lifeblood of HP,” responded to the decline by folding it into the PC division, which saw a 15% drop in revenue last quarter. That will solve one problem: concealing the extent of the decline in HP’s printer margins by blending it with lower-margin PCs. More practically, it could give HP greater leverage in negotiating prices with component suppliers.

MORE: Another HP org change

HP made a similar move under Carly Fiorina years ago, but her successor Mark Hurd split up the two divisions again. Whitman is trying to do more than simply rearrange deck chairs, but investors want bolder action.

Small surprise, then, that Wall Street was hardly impressed by the move. Needham & Co. felt any gains would be “subtle” and slow to materialize. Morningstar found it sensible if “far from game-changing.” Goldman Sachs found it “modestly negative” because the two divisions had few strategic gains.

Most worrisome to some, was the retirement of Vyomesh Joshi, who led HP’s printers during three successful decades but was retiring at the moment secular changes are hitting. Then there was this historical tidbit an Evercore Partners report titled “Making Changes that Don’t Really Change Anything”: In 2005, then-CEO Carly Fiorina combined PC and printer businesses too, only to see the work undone by her successor, Mark Hurd, six months later.

MORE: HP: Same issues, different year

The slowdown in printer sales is hitting HP at a tough time. Whitman is trying to do more than rearrange HP’s deck chairs, she’s trying to make bold moves to eliminate the company’s weaknesses and focus on its strengths. In an earnings call last month, Whitman noted that HP had been slow to respond to fundamental change in its core markets – from PCs to printers to services. Last week, she said that “everything is on the table” in the reand did little to dispel reports that significant layoffs are coming.

HP has been through six CEOs (including two interim chiefs) in the past seven years. Last week marked Whitman’s six month anniversary on the job – half the tenure of her predecessor, Léo Apotheker. Reviving HP is a tough task that would take years under the best of circumstances. Doing it while the cash cow is ailing is going to make the task that much harder.

Summary: The printer industry is experiencing a long, slow decline — and HP is doubling down. That may be a mistake.


A 17-year-old Queensland school leaver has suffered a fractured pelvis after falling from a balcony while trying to retrieve some cigarettes on the Gold Coast this morning.

Kaito Hewitson is believed to have leant over the balcony at the Trilogy apartment complex in Surfers Paradise when he fell two floors about 3.30am.

Kaito told his friends to “take a photo” as he lay on the ground with a fractured pelvis. He was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital where he remains in a stable condition, but police say he is fortunate the incident was not far more serious.

"He is very lucky," Senior Sergent Laurie Shevlin said.

"I can only assume that if it happened at a much higher elevation - even about the fifth or sixth floor - we could be looking at an entirely different outcome."

Friend Callum Barrett described the accident scene as “bloody” and “pretty scary”.

"My mate just ran inside and said that Kai had fallen out of the balcony and I ran out and looked down and he was just screaming," Callum told 9NEWS.

"I told the security guard and then the security guard took us down and there was blood everywhere. It was pretty scary."

No charges have been laid over the incident, and police are continuing to investigate whether alcohol was a factor.

Meanwhile, another two schoolies and a pair of 16-year-old boys were also caught balcony hopping about 5am this morning.

The four were seen moving between balconies on the 22nd floor of a Surfers Paradise hotel.

“We saw them on the balcony and they were really drunk, really drunk,” a witness said.

The group were given $243 infringement notices for high risk activities and evicted from the hotel.

The incidents have re-ignited the debate whether balconies should be shut off by hotel administration for schoolies.

Senior Sergeant Shevlin said the decision was not a matter for police to consider, but reminded schoolies to be mindful of their safety.

"Don't get involved in these high-risk activities that could potentially be fatal,” Sergeant Shelvin said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also said the government would not interfere in matters regarding the closure of balconies.

"I'm not going to get into the business of policing individual hotels," she said.

"But I do ask all of our young people who are enjoying Schoolies please behave responsibly."

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016

Summary: Emergency services were called to the Trilogy apartments on Cyprus Avenue in Surfers Paradise after receiving reports someone had fallen several floors.


Judge Henry Boroff didn’t do Apple any favors when he invited the company to specify which portions of Daniel Squiller’s 21 pages of testimony were so damaging to Apple that they should be blacked out.

Squiller is the COO of GT Advanced Technologies GTATQ , the New Hampshire-based company that sought bankruptcy protection last month after its deal to provide sapphire for the lenses and screens of Apple devices went south. The so-called Squiller declaration was filed under seal, according to GT’s lawyers, because it contained details covered by a $50-million Apple non-disclosure agreement.

Last week, Apple and GT released a redacted version of Squiller’s affidavit without the statements Apple claimed were “untrue, defamatory and irrelevant.” See Apple and GTAT: What went wrong.

On Friday, the judge let it all hang out. Not only did he release an unexpurgated version of the so-called Squiller declaration, but he made public Apple’s list of the parts it didn’t want the public to see.

Appendix A-1, which catalogs nine statements Apple found to be “scandalous” and “defamatory” — along with the company’s response — is basically a reporter’s a road map to juicy parts.

“These statements are intended to vilify Apple and portray Apple as a coercive bully,” Apple said in its filing. “Apple’s image and reputation will be harmed if the defamatory statements alleging that Apple sought to dominate and control, strong-arm or take advantage of its suppliers are disclosed.”

Judge Boroff disagreed. “I simply do not think,” he told the company, “that they are sufficiently egregious that they are unusually prejudicial to Apple.”

Link: Statement by Apple in support of sealing.

Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple AAPL coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.

Summary: In a court filing Friday, the GT bankruptcy judge put the rest of Apple's dirty laundry in the public domain.


got down and dirty while cameras rolled and now a sex tape is being shopped to various porn companies featuring the MTV star ... TMZ has learned.

According to sources who have seen the tape, Farrah and a male partner (possibly her ex-boyfriend) go at it for about 30 minutes ... full-on sex ... in various positions. We're told it was recently shot.

Our sources say the person selling the tape has already shown it to some of the biggest XXX companies and is looking to make a deal.

It's another notch in Farrah's belt ... she was recently snapped boozing it up in

. And last month she was arrested on suspicion of DUI, when cops say she blew nearly twice the legal limit.

. Wonder what her excuse for this will be?

Summary: "Teen Mom" Farrah Abraham got down and dirty while cameras rolled and now a sex tape is being shopped to various porn companies featuring the…