Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon look ready for action in four new movie posters released Thursday of the highly anticipated "Ghostbusters" reboot.

Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy star as Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates in the new Ghostbusters remake.

The first poster shows Wiig, who plays published author and Columbia University professor Erin Gilbert, sporting a classic Ghostbusters patch. Director Paul Feig describes Wiig's character to Entertainment Weekly as "particle physicist, academic firebrand, spectral warrior."

McCarthy is Abby Yates, Wiig's character co-author, who Feig calls a "paranormal researcher, supernatural scientist and entity trapper" to People magazine.

Patty Tolan is the rookie of the team, played by Leslie Jones, while Kate McKinnon plays nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann.

Kate McKinnon sports some googles and a proton pack in her poster as character Jillian Holtzmann, a nuclear engineer and partner to Yates.

Last but not least is Jones - who plays New York City subway worker and rookie of the team Patty Tolan - rocking a jeweled name necklace in her poster.

Expect cameos from original Ghostbusters Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray when the movie hits theaters in July of 2016.

Summary: The ladies of the anticipated "Ghostbusters" remake look ready for some action in new movie posters released Thursday.


You can find a lot of attractive vacation house options for $1 million—from a chateau in the Hamptons to a cabin in Wyoming. But which are the best investments?

Though U.S. home prices continue their double-digit rise compared with a year ago, the story varies from state to state, neighborhood to neighborhood. In addition to location, prices are playing an even greater role. Fewer homes under $100,000 are selling, while the higher-priced market is taking off.

That's why CNBC's "$1 Million Home Challenge" took a closer look at the million-dollar market—this time with a summertime twist, venturing into the vacation-home sector.

Reporters went across the country to document interiors and exteriors, as well as unique features each home offer. Then a panel of experts, headed by real estate maven Dolly Lenz, decided on which house gives buyers the best bang for the buck.

Click ahead to see $1 million vacation homes.

—By CNBC's Diana Olick. Follow her on Twitter @Diana_Olick or on Facebook at facebook.com/DianaOlickCNBC.

—By CNBC's Anna Andrianova. Follow her on Twitter @AndrianovaAnna

Summary: For $1 million, you can find plenty of vacation house options—from a chateau in the Hamptons to a timber cabin in the woods of Wyoming. But where are the best investments?


If it's not exactly ''Call Me Ishmael,'' it's a classic all the same:

''Summer 1968. The only man in America who was less interested than me in sleeping with Mia Farrow was her husband and my boss, Frank Sinatra.''

So begins ''Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra,'' by George Jacobs, Sinatra's valet from 1953 to 1968, and William Stadiem, a memoir devoted to deep dish on the life and times of the Chairman of the Board and those who loved him: Ava Gardner and her drinking; Marilyn Monroe and her personal hygiene, or lack thereof; Judy Garland and her desperate sexual advances -- not all of them spurned. Published by HarperEntertainment in June, the book is now in its sixth printing, and has gone from being one of this summer's guiltiest pleasures to one of this fall's.

It was in 1968 that Jacobs, now 76, unwittingly made what turned out to be the worst decision of his life. On his way to meeting Gardner one night (at his boss's instruction), he stopped into the Candy Store, a Beverly Hills disco. Farrow came in soon after and asked him to dance. They did. But timing is everything, as they say. Though Sinatra and Farrow had been estranged for some time, their divorce was about to be finalized. When the gossip columnist Rona Barrett reported that Sinatra's much younger wife was doing the watusi with her husband's black valet, Jacobs found himself fired and, within 24 hours, shut out of the Sinatra homes in both Bel Air and Palm Springs, Calif.

After 15 years on the inside of paradise, Jacobs was banished with a wrath that was practically biblical, not to mention vintage Sinatra; the singer had similarly excised from his life Peter Lawford, Lauren Bacall and Hank Sanicola, his original manager. The only difference, Jacobs says, is that he never thought Sinatra would do it to him.

He still seems shocked. On a late summer afternoon in Palm Springs, when the desert was drenched by intermittent downpours and the temperature hovered near a soggy 108 degrees, Jacobs braved his painful sciatica and glaucoma to prepare a Sinatra-style lunch. ''Everything I learned about cooking for him was from his mom and dad,'' Jacobs said, stirring the marinara sauce. Dressed in a white linen shirt that stayed remarkably clean, Jacobs moved slowly, clutching his back. He never used the glasses that hung on a black cord around his neck.

''I made this so many times I could make it in my sleep,'' he said. ''His dad, Marty, was an even better cook than his mother.'' After tasting the Dolly Sinatra marinara sauce, you can take his word for it. The base of the sauce is three serving spoons full of olive oil, which produces heartburn, Hoboken style, almost instantaneously. Jacobs shrugged. ''You can put some water in the tomato can, thin it out a little,'' he said, pouring himself a straight vodka. He ran a hand through his white hair. ''My back is killing me, man,'' he said to no one in particular.

Stadiem, a writer based in Santa Monica, Calif., was introduced to Jacobs by a mutual friend, the lawyer Henry Bushkin, made famous by his former client Johnny Carson, who called him Bombastic Bushkin on the air.

''What the hell did I do with the cover?'' Jacobs asked, searching the small kitchen for something to speed the pasta's cooking. The Chicken Vesuvius was ready, and Stadiem was starving, but Jacobs didn't like being rushed. ''I want it al dente,'' he said, ''but not too hard.''

Jacobs was born in New Orleans and learned to cook from his mother. ''She was half Jewish, half Creole,''' he said. ''And my father had a Jewish grandfather. My mother cooked for rich families, and she taught me to cook. Then I was in the Navy and went to the Cooks and Bakers School in Bayonne, N.J.''

Having given up on finding a cover, he stirred the pasta. ''Since I cooked for Sinatra, it's been 35 years,'' he said, suddenly looking a little self-conscious. ''Relax, sweetheart, look around.'' The walls of the apartment were covered with pictures of Sinatra and his parents, Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, the Rat Pack. And one very peculiar head shot near the dining room table: ''To George, Wishing you the very best, Mia.''

He keeps a picture of the woman who danced him into unemployment? He nodded. ''I had no idea it was a sin what I did,'' he said, ''but it became an embarrassment to Mr. S. that on the night of his divorce I was dancing with his ex-wife. Hell, she was like one of my children. I got shoes older than her.''

Through her manager, Judy Hofflund, Farrow said: ''I have only the best feelings about George Jacobs. He is a wonderful man. George was dismissed after Frank and I broke up, and his dismissal had nothing to do with me.''

Stadiem agreed. ''Frank flew into one of his rages, and that was it,'' he said. ''It certainly wasn't her fault.''

With the pasta finally cooked, Jacobs settled at the square dining-room table he had bought at Goodwill. It was neatly set, with a green salad, grated cheese and a bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian dressing. There was also a bowl of one of Sinatra's favorite dishes: canned spinach tossed with olive oil, topped with chopped raw onions. ''He likes it cold like that,'' Jacobs said. As people tend to do with their better days behind them, he loses track of his tenses. ''The oil helped his throat,'' he went on. ''He liked thin steaks, thin sandwiches. He ate very small portions. An egg for breakfast, lightly turned over with soft bacon.''


It’s a well-established fact: Companies need engaged employees. They are motivated to innovate, increase productivity, and satisfy customers. The sad truth, however, is that there are just not enough of them. Gallup surveys report that less than a third of American employees are engaged at work, and the percentage is even lower in other countries.

Why aren’t more workers engaged? Companies spend billions on management and leadership training that invariably includes motivation theories and advice about how to get people to care more about their jobs. The answer is simple: Most of the solutions out there are misleading or just plain wrong.

Most managerial theories of motivation fit into two buckets: hard and soft. Hard theories advise using carrots and sticks: money, promotion, threats. Soft theories include bosses who show empathy and giving workers more freedom.

Under hard motivation, if employees meet performance standards, they keep their jobs; if they do better, they are paid more and may be promoted. But money can also distort drive and even demotivate. Someone hoping for a bonus may try to please the boss by withholding negative information or constructive criticism. Workers competing for a limited pot of money are not likely to collaborate. And employees at companies where money is directly tied to production often find ways to game the system. Hard motivation that plays on greed and fear can get compliance but not engagement.

Would employees be more motivated by the application of a soft theory like a caring boss? What about giving them more autonomy and power in making decisions about how they work, when they work and who they work with?

Clearly, people prefer a caring manager, and many of them quit because of an autocratic or uncaring boss. But recent studies show that an empathetic manager doesn’t inspire employees to work any harder; they may be happier, but that doesn’t mean they’re more engaged. And autonomy can be quite motivating for self-starters, but not all employees are equipped to go off by themselves to innovate; nor does autonomy always encourage people to collaborate.

There is no one best way to motivate and engage people at work. Managers and leaders need to create a culture that integrates elements of hard and soft theories into what I call smart motivation, including five Rs: reasons, responsibilities, recognition, relationships, and rewards. All of the Rs can strengthen engagement, but their relative importance can vary for different personality types.

Here is a brief description of the five Rs and how different personality types prioritize them.

Reasons. Employees are motivated when the purpose of their work is meaningful to them. Caring personalities are motivated to help people. Visionary entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, John Mackey, and Elon Musk are motivated to change the world. A recent study at the Brookings Institution indicates that millennials may be engaged when working for a company that supports solutions to social problems.

Responsibilities. Employees are motivated when they can exercise their skills and when they are in the right roles, doing what they enjoy doing. In The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump wrote that he liked making deals: “I don’t do it for the money … I do it to do it.” For many technical workers and professionals it’s solving problems; for craftsmen, it’s building high-quality products; for doctors and nurses, it’s treating patients. Autonomy is especially a factor for professionals and craftsmen. Interactive personalities are more likely to feel engaged in collaborative projects, while exacting personalities prefer more independent work time.

Recognition. Everyone wants to be noted for their contributions, improvements, and innovations. Toyota TM gains engaged assembly line workers by recognizing and rewarding ideas, no matter how small. At the automaker’s Ngoya factory I once visited, a supervisor told me that his workers offered an average of 50 ideas per person per year, of which 80% were adopted. On the converse, people become disengaged and resentful when their contributions are not recognized—and especially when bosses take the credit for them. Caring personalities, who place a high priority on interpersonal connections, want to be recognized for helping or supporting others, while visionary personalities, who value accomplishment, want to be recognized for surpassing goals.

Relationships. Great relationships with bosses and co-workers are a powerful motivator. Builders of great companies such as Thomas Watson of IBM IBM and Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard of Hewlett-Packard HPQ made “respect for the individual” a key value. Disrespect, on the other hand, triggers hostility. And relations that engage don’t only come from managers who mentor. They can happen with co-workers and customers too. While good relationships are important to people with all different personality types, their meaning varies. Caring and interactive types tend to focus on connections and conviviality, while visionary and exacting types want access to expertise, resources, and power.

Rewards. They strengthen motivation and engagement best when they reinforce desired behavior. In Toyota’s Ngoya factory, 20% of workers’ pay depended on whether they helped others and created harmony in the group. But money isn’t the only effective reward. When I lectured at Google a few years ago, I had lunch with a group of its millennial employees, and most I talked to did not expect to stay there. They planned to join startups or to work for NGOs that were taking on social issues. Those millennials were engaged by opportunities to learn new skills or create new knowledge—not only interesting job assignments, but also taking courses or being sent to conferences.

Which of the five Rs most motivates you? What do these Rs mean to you in your specific context? If you are leading a team, ask the members to rate the Rs, describe what they mean, and score how well they are being practiced in your organization. I’d be interested in the results.

Michael Maccoby is a globally recognized expert on leadership, who for 40 years has advised global leaders in businesses, governments, unions, universities, and non-profit organizations in 36 countries. He is president of the Maccoby Group in Washington, D.C., which offers consulting, coaching, research, and leadership workshops. The article above is adapted from his book, Strategic Intelligence: Conceptual Tools for Leading Change.

Summary: Good managers know how to engage their staff with the right mix of rewards and recognition.


Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an unprofitable lifestyle business founded by the do-it-yourself maven, is being sold for a near-clearance price.

Once valued at nearly $2 billion when it went public at the height of the dot-com boom, Martha Stewart Living MSO is selling for a much smaller $353 million in a cash-and-stock deal to Sequential Brands Group SQBG , which licenses and promotes a number of brands including items under pop star Jessica Simpson’s collection and Linens N Things.

Under the terms of the deal, which has been approved by the boards of directors at both companies, Martha Stewart will stay on as chief creative officer of the brand she founded and will also become a “significant stockholder” of the new company once Sequential and Martha Stewart Living and have combined. She will also be nominated to serve on Sequential’s board of directors.

It makes sense that Stewart will be a significant holder, as The Wall Street Journal last week reported she owned nearly 49% of the company’s Class A shares. That report also first indicated that a deal between the two parties could soon occur, though investors that bought on that news might be a bit disappointed. Shares jumped above $7 but the deal is for a smaller $6.15 apiece. The deal is 16% less than what some had hoped for on Friday.

“This merger is positioned to further the growth and expansion of the unique Martha home and lifestyle brand,” Martha Stewart said. “With our media business operations now successfully transitioned to Meredith, we now have the opportunity to tap into Sequential’s expertise and resources to expand our merchandising business both domestically and abroad.”

The company has faced some tough challenges in recent years, remaining mired with annual losses and sliding sales. Total sales slipped to $142 million last year from $231 million in 2010. The company has reported an annual loss for every year during that five-year stretch. That’s partly because of declines in circulation and advertising revenue declines for the company’s magazines, a trend that is hurting the broader industry as well.

Summary: Do-it-yourself maven will maintain creative control.


“This is not the crazy stuff,” says Sebastian Willems, as the researcher leads me past a glass case full of futuristic models of sleek silver spaceplanes at the German space agency’s (DLR) wind tunnel facility in Cologne. Nor is the crazy stuff to be found in the magnificently retro control gallery with its giant console of gauges, switches and knobs.

We enter a windowless room through a giant blast door, where the walls are charred and the air is rich with the disconcerting smell of explosives. This is where they test the aerodynamics of rocket engines.

But this isn’t the crazy stuff either.

No, Willems’ “crazy” experiment involves using one of the centre’s wind tunnels to simulate what happens when satellites re-enter the atmosphere.

Could sections of dead satellites survive re-entry to hit something or, worse, someone?

“There are a lot of satellites in orbit and they will come down sooner or later,” he says. “They’ll probably break up and the question for us is: what is the chance of an impact?”

In other words, could sections of dead satellites survive re-entry to hit something or, worse, someone?

The wind tunnel being deployed for Willems’ experiment resembles a giant deconstructed vacuum cleaner attached to a pressure cooker, arranged across a concrete floor. The gleaming machine is covered in a mass of pipes and wires. Capable of producing air currents of up to 11 times the speed of sound, the wind tunnel is used for testing the aerodynamics of supersonic and hypersonic aircraft designs.

At its heart is a two-metre-high spherical metal chamber where the test objects are held in special clamps. Instead of using these restraints, however, Willem is releasing objects through the airflow – set at around 3,000km/h (1,860 mph) (more than twice the speed of sound) to simulate atmospheric re-entry.

“The idea is to let objects fall through the flow of air,” says Willems. “We want to look at them in free flight as they drop through the flow.

“We only have a test time of 0.2 seconds,” he says, “but in this time we can take a lot of pictures and measurements.” Data from the experiments will be fed into computer models to improve predictions of how satellites descend to Earth.

Watch how DLR predicted how its Rosat satellite would break up

The 500,000 or so lumps of space debris surrounding our planet range from tiny fragments of metal to entire bus-sized satellites, such as the European Space Agency’s Envisat spacecraft that fell unexpectedly silent in April 2012.

“As a general trend it’s fair to say the number of objects we’re tracking in orbit is going up,” says Hugh Lewis, senior lecturer in aerospace engineering at the University of Southampton in southern England.

It’s going to be a persistent problem for a long time to come – Hugh Lewis, University of Southampton

As the amount of debris in orbit grows, the chances of a piece of space junk hitting other satellites or a crewed spacecraft increases. In fact the International Space Station has to be regularly moved to new orbits to avoid possible collisions.

“We’ve seen objects re-enter the atmosphere since the beginning of the space age,” says Lewis. “Typically one big object re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere every three-to-four days – it’s going to be a persistent problem for a long time to come.”

Although entire satellites cannot survive the fiery return to Earth, many of their larger components do. “You can see things such as propellant tanks,” says Lewis. “These lozenge-shaped objects can be around the size of a small car.”

Willems is not dropping any small cars through the DLR wind tunnel but he does want to examine how larger objects behave as they come apart, to determine which bits survive to reach the ground.

“The airflow around one component will interact with the air flow around other parts,” he says, “which means they might survive differently than if they re-entered on their own.”

So with all this material falling from the skies on a regular basis, why aren’t chunks of space junk littering our landscape, falling through our roofs or hitting us on the head?

The odds of being struck by a chunk of old satellite are tiny

In most cases, the answer is because mission controllers plan how their dying satellites return to Earth – using remaining fuel to push them out of orbit on controlled trajectories to burn up over remote areas of ocean. However, it is the unplanned re-entries of dead spacecraft that are of greater concern.

One of the most recent unplanned re-entries was Nasa’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in 2011. Even taking into account that 70% of the Earth is covered in ocean and large areas of the world are still sparsely populated, Lewis says there was still a 1 in 2,500 chance that UARS could have caused a casualty somewhere on the planet.

“We start to get concerned when the risk to population is 1 in 10,000,” he says. “That’s not the chance of you being hit – which is obviously extremely remote – but the chance of someone being hit.”

With more satellites, there will be more re-entries – Hugh Lewis

Given that more than a million people die in road crashes each year, the odds of being struck by a chunk of old satellite are tiny. It still matters, however, as the nation that launches the spacecraft is legally and financially responsible under UN agreements for any damage. Space agencies are therefore keen to keep the risks of objects falling from the sky to a minimum. The experiments at DLR will be used to help better understand and track space debris, so even unplanned re-entries can be more accurately monitored.

With launches getting cheaper and satellites smaller, in the coming decades more and more spacecraft will be launched. “The benefits we can get from utilising space are increasing but the space debris situation is getting worse,” says Lewis. “With more satellites, there will be more re-entries.”

So although you are extremely unlikely to be hit by a plummeting spacecraft, the number of objects falling from the sky will rise. Nothing launched into orbit is gone forever.

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Summary: As the amount of orbiting space junk increases, what happens when it drops from the sky? German scientists are trying to find out.


Leave the pine trees in the forest – or dangling from the rearview mirror in your last taxicab ride.

When it comes to car air fresheners, this survey discovered that respondents favored a “musky men’s cologne-like” smell. With “New Car” and “Vanilla” trailing in second and third place, the clear winner turned out to be “Black Ice.”

The survey was conducted by Pep Boys, the nationwide automotive service and retail chain.

Available choices of car aromas ranged from flower blossoms and fresh linens, to new car smell and Hawaiian breezes. The latter option sounds more like something we’d like to sip under a palm tree, rather than slap onto a dashboard.

All in all, there were “hundreds of contending scents” to choose from.

If you want to sample them for yourself - or perhaps dab one behind each ear - Pep Boys will be more than happy to sell you a 3-pack of “Black Ice” air fresheners for an average retail price of about three dollars per pack.

It’s certainly cheaper than buying a new car, and less messy than stuffing freshly baked cupcakes into the air vents.

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Summary: The sweet smell of (car air freshener) victory!


What’s more, as soon as these new lenders start to gain any sort of scale, regulators start to become interested. Three years ago, payday lender Wonga (remember them?) was the darling of the UK’s fintech scene, considering a £1.5bn IPO and growing profits hand over fist. As soon as the Financial Conduct Authority got its claws into the company, introducing new regulations and price caps for payday lenders, growth stalled and profits slumped. Last year, Wonga made a £37m loss.

Regulation is the major reason that Apple, Google and Facebook are so unlikely to become banks, beyond occasionally dipping their toes in payments and money transfers.

Since the financial crisis, banks – strictly, companies with banking licences that allow them to take deposits – have had to raise billions in capital, hire thousands of compliance officers and restrict bonuses. Not only that, they have repeatedly been handed multi-billion pound fines for misconduct that occurred years ago.

One former telecoms executive, who has since moved into banking, recently told me he had thought his prior industry was heavy on rules, but got a nasty shock on moving to financial services.

Is this really a world that the regulation-averse tech giants of Silicon Valley, with their freewheeling “move fast and break things” culture, want to get into? It seems unlikely. The prospect of Apple or Google mixing their highly-profitable core businesses – mobile phones and internet advertising – for the murky, volatile and capital-intensive world of banking, is remote.

Banking is now so tough that some companies with banks tacked on are in the process of getting rid of them. General Electric is selling its finance armGE Capital, which recently came under Federal Reserve oversight, while Tesco is considering floating its banking arm.

That is not to say technology isn’t changing banking – the internet is driving the biggest upheaval to the industry in its history, with branches closing and smartphones providing 24/7 services.

But most of this innovation is coming from the banks themselves. Lenders have developed technology to provide mortgage advice via video calls, pay in cheques via smartphones and log in to internet banking with fingerprint recognition.

The importance of the internet to banking has also dramatically lowered barriers to entry, with lenders no longer needing a major branch network to reach millions of people. It just doesn’t mean that Apple will be selling you an iMortgage any time soon.

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Summary: Later this month, you’ll start to notice people buying their coffee or newspaper with their iPhone.


While cats may have an usually well-deserved reputation for indifference, especially towards magic and baseball, some cats really know how to love (or at least know how to figure out who is holding the cat nip).

Take for example, Finn, a giant grey furball of a cat, who is really really excited for his beloved owner to return home. Not only does Finn know that the soldier is about to walk through the door that he is meowing at vociferously, but he’s clearly dying for his chance to deliver up some much needed cuddles. This cat is determined to be a one-soldier, one-cat USO tour for love of owner and country, no cat nip required.

MORE: Discerning Cat Walks 12 Miles Back to Old Home Because He Didn’t Like His New One

MORE: There’s a Kickstarter to Help People Experience Life as a Cat

Summary: Awwwwww


A more fundamental factor is at work, too: People believe inflation will stay low. And inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling. Suppose a company expects to pay 3 percent more for salary and materials next year. It will then raise its own prices 3 percent. The company's expectations would help produce 3 percent inflation.

Ask people if they're enjoying low inflation, and you may encounter puzzlement. Many of us don't feel it. One reason: Apart from the government's broad inflation gauges, many items have gotten much costlier over the past five or 10 years.

Though gasoline prices, for example, have risen just 1 percent in two years—a big reason overall inflation is low—gas is still nearly 14 percent costlier than before the recession. Drivers face that reality every day.

Consider Allison Casey, 63, of Essex, Conn. She was relieved to find a job in August after 18 months of unemployment. But Casey now drives 25 miles each way to work at a specialty food store. She used to drive just a mile to her job as a chef at a country club.

Recently, she paid $3.56 a gallon. Six years ago, "I was probably paying $1.65 or $2 for a gallon of gas."

Other services have grown more expensive. Health care costs have long risen faster than overall inflation. And college tuition has soared 76 percent in 10 years. Yet stable or falling prices for many other items have offset those trends.

(Read more: Bad weather: Economy's 'get out of jail free' card)

Low inflation does help when pay increases are weak. Consumers can stretch their dollars, yen and euros. In hard-hit European economies, such as Greece and Portugal, prices have actually fallen in the past year.

Ace Hardware CEO John Venhuizen says his company paid less to manufacturers for products it sells in 2013 than in 2012. That's helped offset other rising costs, such as health care.

"We are delighted," Venhuizen says. "There's far less price pressure than I would have anticipated five years ago."

Yet low prices pose a downside for some businesses. Big chains such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Bed, Bath & Beyond fought a brutal price war during the past holiday shopping season. The discounts got Americans to spend more. But 33 retail chains cut their profit estimates for the final months of 2013, according to RetailMetrics.

By contrast, if retailers could raise prices, say, 3 percent or 4 percent, the extra revenue would allow them to pay employees more. And they wouldn't have to rely strictly on cost cuts to deliver profits.

Other businesses might also spend more. U.S. companies are sitting on nearly $2 trillion in cash, according to the Fed. Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, notes that low inflation leads many businesses to hoard cash. Higher inflation, by contrast, would erode the cash's value. So businesses would be more inclined to spend—to hire or buy equipment.

Higher inflation would also make it easier for Americans to manage their debts. Laurence Ball, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins, notes that many car buyers have loans with rates of 2 percent or less. If inflation were 3 percent or more, pay would likely rise. The car loans would become cheaper to pay off.

In Europe, higher inflation could help resolve that region's economic crisis. Greece and other poorer members of the eurozone let wages and prices rise too high, and their goods became comparatively expensive. Now, they must reduce wages and prices, especially compared with stronger economies like Germany. If inflation were higher in the richer countries, it would help ease prices and pay in the poorer countries and encourage hiring.

In the United States, many economists have long feared that the Fed's efforts to stimulate growth would ignite inflation. Since 2008, the Fed has bought more than $3 trillion in bonds to try to keep loan rates low to encourage spending.

Yet to the surprise of many, all the money the Fed has pumped out hasn't caused prices to jump.

"It's a bit of a riddle," says Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Other economists note that most of the money the Fed has created is being held by large commercial banks as reserves. And consumers and businesses aren't clamoring for loans. Banks have tightened their lending standards. So the new money created by the Fed hasn't circulated through the economy, where it might have accelerated inflation.

Most economists foresee inflation remaining low for at least two more years. Fed policymakers have forecast that inflation will be just 1.7 percent to 2 percent in 2016.

They'd be happy to be wrong. An uptick in inflation "is a sign that growth is happening," says Alberto Cavallo, an economics professor at MIT.

Summary: It might be unfathomable to people who bear scars from inflation in the 1970s, but what the global economy could use is a dose of higher prices.


Here’s what we’re working on today:

President Obama will address the nation tonight at 8pm ET and announce his plan to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The speech will run about 10 minutes and the president is expected to announce that all the surge forces will be out by the end of 2012. The thinking from the White House is that we’re drawing down from a position of strength – that if the goal was to disrupt al-Qaeda, the mission has been successful. But he’s caught between his generals, who want to stick it out, and a growing number of war critics both left and right who are pushing for an end to the war – at a time when we can barely afford it. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57489.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/us/politics/22costs.html?hp

Meanwhile a new Pew poll shows a 56 percent of Americans want U.S. troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible – that’s a new record. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57452.html#ixzz1Q0OY5dNT

Huntsman and Pawlenty illustrate the division in the Republican party over the Afghan war. Pawlenty says we shouldn’t get wobbly and Huntsman says it’s time to come home. http://abcn.ws/jbKPZ1, http://politi.co/mUEm

Al Gore is going after Pres. Obama on the topic that’s dearest to him – climate change. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57514.html

While foreign policy dominates the news today, President Obama has more to worry about domestically. A new Bloomberg poll shows Americans are increasingly frustrated with his handling of the economy. And the number of voters who say they’ll definitely vote for him in 2012 is dropping. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57507.html#ixzz1Q0OmhKhZ

Speaking of 2012, Just one day in the race and Huntsman has become the hunted. He’s betting on electability in the general election, but he has a long road ahead just to win his party’s nomination. The conservative Club for Growth opened up a new line attack against the former Utah governor, criticizing his record of spending as governor of Utah.

And finally, Michele Bachmann will make her official presidential announcement on Monday from the town where she was born: Waterloo, Iowa. Talk about an auspicious beginning!

Summary: Here's what we're working on today: President Obama will address the nation tonight at 8pm ET and announce his plan to begin withdrawing troops from


Once you get past its somewhat misleading title, Mark Burnett's new "Shark Tank" is a well-paced hour that offers entertainment without humiliation.

Like the best of Burnett's many "unscripted" programs, "Shark Tank" understands focus. It has no messy loose ends, no frills.

The "Shark Tank" is a panel of five rich businesspeople, including New York real estate queen and Daily News columnist Barbara Corcoran.

They sit behind a long desk, and listen to presentations from people who have what they're sure is a great idea, but lack the money to develop it, market it or expand it.

Each of these presenters comes in with a specific proposal, usually offering some percentage of the company in return for cash up front.

No charity event, this. The sharks are making unsentimental assessments of business potential, deciding whether they think this idea could make money for everyone.

In the go-go '90s, they would have been called "venture capitalists." For the purposes of this show, only technology whiz Robert Herjavec uses that phrase.

Interestingly, even though panelist Kevin Harrington made his multimillions through infomercials, neither he nor any of the others suggests the direct-marketing route.

In that sense, "Shark Tank" subtly suggests that raising money from corporate investors is a more respectable as well as more traditional path, with no taint of hucksterism.

In any case, "Shark Tank" works because the panelists are personable and focused and the format lets them develop personalities.

Finance guy Kevin O'Leary disregards everything but numbers. Follow the money, he says. Anything else is a distraction.

Corcoran, Herjavec and fashion designer Daymond John get a little more personal, saying they like an applicant because he or she reminds them of their own younger selves.

The applicants, too, are a TV-friendly bunch, screened for a range of approaches and potential.

On the other hand, two hopefuls are pitching products that have zero chance of success, so the show also recognizes the entertainment value in periodically serving up clay pigeons.

More intriguing is a man from New Jersey who makes sweet potato pies and already has a successful business he wants to expand.

The sharks turn his situation into a lively and fascinating discussion on the merits of expansion and target marketing. The nuances they raise are informative in general and critical to this particular applicant.

His pies look pretty good, too. Pick one up at Mr. Tod's Pie Factory, Somerset, N.J.

Summary: The "Shark Tank" is a panel of five rich businesspeople. They sit behind a long desk, and listen to presentations from people who have what they're sure is a great idea, but lack the money to develop it, market it or expand it.


In the latest analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association of a massive amount of government-collected health data from 1969 to 2013, there’s good news. The death rate among Americans, at any given age, from all causes decreased by 43% from 1969 to 2013. In fact, of the six leading causes of death, five showed declines during that period, with only mortality from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increasing.

The good news hides some potentially less welcome trends.

The death rates from three major causes—heart disease, stroke and diabetes—are starting to flatten after continuous declines. The researchers speculate the death rates didn’t continue their steady decline because the obesity epidemic started to emerge around that time. As Americans became heavier, their risk of these diseases increased, blunting some of the improvements that new drugs, better education and lifestyle changes have made in the morality from these conditions.

The other less rosy news comes from a closer look at the breakdown of mortality trends by race. A TIME analysis of the Centers for Disease Control’s mortality database, used in the JAMA study, provided age-adjusted death rates by race and ethnicity. The graph below shows data back to 1999, when CDC updated disease classifications. While death rates declined among African Americans, they were still higher than those for whites in 5 out of 6 leading causes of death.

Analyzing death rates in this way, say the study authors, is critical to better understanding where our health system is improving the health of Americans, and, perhaps more importantly, where it is not. The fact that declines in mortality for some diseases is beginning to slow down highlights the need to address obesity and its effect on our health more aggressively, while gaps among different racial and ethnic groups stresses the importance of improving access, quality and education about health care to all groups.

Summary: The latest government data show some encouraging declines in death rates from major diseases, but the good news comes with some caveats


PHILADELPHIA -- Police have charged 15-year-old Tyfine Hamilton with murdering a man walking his dog in West Philadelphia last week, reports CBS Philadelphia.

Hamilton turned himself in on March 20, eight days after 51-year-old James Stuhlman was gunned down. He is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, robbery, violation of the uniform firearms act and related offenses.

Police say Hamilton and two other teens, who were charged on March 19, were all playing basketball before they decided to rob someone. Police say 51-year-old James Stuhlman, took his dog out for a walk near his Overbrook home when he was confronted by the teens and fatally shot in the chest.

Hamilton and another 15-year-old, Brandon Smith, are charged as adults. A 14-year-old suspect faces robbery and conspiracy charges.

Summary: Police say the boys planned to rob someone, but ended up killing James Stuhlman, who was walking his dog


LONDON — Four former Barclays employees were sentenced Thursday to prison terms — the longest of which was 6 ½ years — after three of the traders were convicted last week of plotting to manipulate the benchmark interest rate known as Libor.

The convictions came in the third trial to focus on a scandal involving Libor, the London interbank offered rate.

A half-decade investigation into activity by traders around the interest rate led to billions of dollars in fines and shook the reputations of some of the world’s biggest banks, including Deutsche Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS, as well as Barclays.

Two former Barclays traders, Jay Vijay Merchant and Alex Pabon, as well as Jonathan J. Mathew, a former rate submitter at the bank, were convicted on a charge of conspiracy to defraud last week, and their convictions were announced Monday.

Merchant, who supervised Pabon, received the longest sentence of 6 ½ years in prison. Mathew was sentenced to four years in prison, while Pabon received a sentence of two years and nine months.

At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Anthony J. Leonard said the men were highly culpable in the matter and said their behavior showed “an absence of integrity that ought to categorize banking.”

Peter Johnson, a former Barclays trader and Mathew’s boss, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge in October 2014 and was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison, alongside the other men.

To set Libor and other rates, banks submit the rates at which they would be prepared to lend money to one another, on an unsecured basis, in various currencies and at varying maturities. Libor is used to price more than $300 trillion in securities.

Barclays was the first bank to settle the matter and paid $450 million in penalties. The ensuing scandal cost Robert E. Diamond Jr., then the bank’s chief executive, his job.

In the latest case, the Serious Fraud Office of Britain claimed that derivative traders at Barclays in New York and London, including Merchant and Pabon, conspired with rate submitters in London to try to manipulate the benchmark interest rate.

The conspiracy was intended to increase the profits that traders made from interest rate swaps and other derivative contracts with counterparties, which could include other banks, governments, and pension funds, prosecutors said.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on charges against two other former Barclays traders. The Serious Fraud Office said Wednesday that it would seek a retrial against those men.

British prosecutors have had mixed results in their efforts to pursue criminal charges in the Libor matter.

Tom Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was convicted of criminal charges in August and is serving 11 years in prison.

But in January, a jury acquitted six former brokers of criminal charges that they had helped Hayes manipulate Libor.

Summary: Four former employees were sentenced Thursday to prison terms, the longest of which was 6 1/2 years.


Down-and-out actress Erin Moran is about to find happier days by dumping her hubby and landing in the arms of a lady lover, according published reports today.

The “Happy Days” actress and husband Steve Fleischmann were boozing it up at a Corydon, Ind., bowling alley earlier this month when she began making out with a woman — and telling anyone who’d listen that she’s sick of her marriage, pals of the trouble couple told the National Enquirer.

“Erin was blabbing to everyone about how tired she was of Steve riding her coattails and how she just wanted to run away and fall in love with a woman,” a friend of the actress said.

Moran’s hard-partying at the Colonial Lanes bowling alley reportedly included several shots of tequila.

During the very public spat, Moran, 52, allegedly mocked Fleischmann, 45, for working at Walmart.

“Then she told everyone that Steve stays with her only because she’s the breadwinner,” the source said.

The couple has been living nomadically in the small southern Indiana town, just outside of Louisville, Ky.

They’ve crashed at the mobile home of Fleischmann’s mom and bounced around various low-end hotels around town, according to the paper.

Summary: Down-and-out actress Erin Moran is about to find happier days by dumping her hubby and landing in the arms of a lady lover, according published reports today. The “Happy Days” actress and husband S…


Charlie Sheen’s former mansion is infused with new tiger blood and has been price-boosted to match. The actor sold the house in December 2015 — shortly after he admitted to having HIV — for $6.6 million.

Whoever bought the house chose the most bland partnership name possible: Luxury Estate Holdings LLP. The folks behind the milquetoast moniker bought it to flip it. The Mediterranean-style mansion is now listed as “newly restored and enhanced” for $9.2 million.

Are the enhancements winning enough to warrant an extra $2.6 million?

It’s difficult to determine what exactly has been changed — the mansion’s brokerage, Hilton & Hyland, declined to comment. We do know it’s a 9,020-square-foot, six-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion in the exclusive neighborhood of Mulholland Estates.

According to some “before” pictures on Variety, it looks like the tile floor in the grand foyer has been replaced with hardwood and the chestnut-colored staircase has been stained an espresso black. In the kitchen, the center island countertop has been replaced, and built-in bookshelves in the office have been replaced with more stylish ones.

Sheen has been offloading real estate and personal effects — including a bullet-proof 2009 Maybach he tried to sell on eBay a couple of times — ever since he confirmed the HIV rumors on the “Today” show in November. Sheen purchased this mansion in 2011 for $7 million from veteran movie and TV producer Mike Medavoy.

This article originally appeared on Realtor.com.

Summary: Sheen’s former home is back on the market.


(MoneyWatch) Who is more committed to their work -- the office strivers who toil away industriously every day in order to build a successful business, or the kind of employees who spend half their day loitering by the coffee maker and tweeting their lunch adventures? The answer isn't as obvious as you might think.

A new survey by Leadership IQ found that in 42 percent of companies, slackers report having the highest levels of satisfaction and engagement in their jobs. And why not? The Wall Street Journal explains that bosses are partially to blame for this phenomenon because they assign the slackers the easy projects. So instead of being stressed out at work, they generally have little trouble accomplishing their tasks. After all, diminished expectations are easier to achieve.

How can you tell what category you fall into -- striver or slacker? Ask yourself the following:

How many times per day do you typically check Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest or other social media sites? Unless monitoring the Internet is part of your job, if the combined total is more than, say, three, you might be a slacker.

How long does it take you to refill your water glass or coffee mug? A trip to the office kitchen shouldn't take more than five minutes. If your trips are averaging 20 minutes a pop, you're probably spending more time chit-chatting than working.

Are you planning something big that's not work-related? Getting married? Buying a house? Researching colleges for your child? If you're super-focused on this big project, you may be spending too much of your time at work working on this project. Your boss isn't paying you to research flower decorations.

Do you always get the easiest projects? If your coworkers are beavering away while you often find yourself twiddling your thumbs, take that as a hint. Your boss may be giving you easier work because you can't be counted on for more challenging assignments.

© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

Summary: For employees and companies, too much job satisfaction may be too much of a good thing


Over the past half decade, the solar market has boomed thanks to falling solar panel prices. Now the same thing is happening with technology for storing energy.

Lithium-ion battery prices have started to drop, helping to create a market for developing, financing, and selling battery systems to building owners, corporations, and utilities. The batteries are important because they can store energy produced by solar panels for use at night, can help utilities better manage the power grid, and can help building owners save money on their energy bills.

Companies as diverse as Tesla TSLA , GE GE , utility Southern California Edison, Walmart WMT and a handful of Silicon Valley startups are investing in lithium-ion batteries.

The latest evidence of batteries becoming a bigger business opportunity: traditional financiers are getting into the mix.

On Monday, a San Francisco-based startup called Advanced Microgrid Solutions, which builds battery farms, announced that Australian banking powerhouse Macquarie Group plans to fund $200 million worth of its battery projects.

The money will help Advanced Microgrid Solution build battery projects around Los Angeles and in dozens of office buildings (some using Tesla batteries) around greater Southern California.

The funding shows how investors are becoming increasingly comfortable with backing lithium-ion battery use as a smart and stable way to store large amounts of energy in buildings and across the grid. As more and more batteries are installed and used in this way, more traditional banks will start investing in these projects in the same way they’ve done with solar panel and wind farms.

Advanced Microgrid Solutions installs batteries in buildings and uses software and data to manage the collective battery energy to help utilities better run the power grid.

For more on Advanced Microgrid Solutions and smart cities watch:

The company is led by co-founder Susan Kennedy, who has a long history in the energy industry. She was the former chief of staff to California Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis, and a former commissioner for the California Public Utilities Commission. The company has raised equity funding from DBL Partners, which was also an early investor in Tesla, French power company Engie, and former Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Advanced Microgrid Solutions has a deal to sell 50 megawatts (across four contracts) of four-hours-worth of energy storage capacity to utility Southern California Edison. The batteries will have enough energy to power the equivalent of about 8,200 average homes and the utility will be able to tap into them during peak times of grid use like during hot summer days.

The utilities can use the batteries as an alternative to using peaker power plants, which are expensive and dirty power plants that they turn on only during periods of very high power grid usage. Corporations, like a Walmart, that have installed batteries in their buildings, can switch on battery power when power grid use and energy rates are high, to lower their monthly energy bills.

Lithium-ion batteries have seen their costs drop dramatically over the past year thanks to major investments by Asian battery giants. Tesla, too, is building a massive battery factory outside of Reno, Nev. in partnership with Panasonic in an effort to lower its battery costs by a third.

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Tesla has already started selling its battery packs for buildings and the power grid, and Advanced Microgrid Solutions plans to use some of Tesla’s batteries in its projects. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said there’s been huge demand for Tesla’s grid batteries, called the Power Pack.

Last month, Tesla announced a deal to buy solar installer SolarCity SCTY for $2.86 billion, which could mean the electric car maker could move even more heavily into selling a combined solar panel and battery pack product. SolarCity and Tesla have been testing out this combined solar and battery system for years, but initial sales have been limited.

Other startups have been selling batteries to companies and utilities, too, including Stem, Greensmith, Green Charge Networks, and Sonnenbatterie. These companies are raising increasingly larger amounts of money and installing ever more batteries.

Stem has a $100 million fund for its battery projects that it raised through affiliates of New York investment adviser B Asset Manager. The startup also has raised equity funding from billionaire Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management, Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, power giant Iberdrola, GE Ventures, the investment arm of GE, and others.

Earlier this year, power company Engie bought 80% of Green Charge Networks, making it the first utility to dive into supplying energy storage. As the market for these battery projects starts to mature, more of these companies will start to get acquired by large companies.

Summary: Big investors are now willing to fund the sector.


The saying, as it goes, is that an elephant never forgets. But an Amazon Echo — now that’s another beast entirely.

A wireless speaker with a voice-enabled virtual assistant, Amazon Echo is full of cloud-enabled smarts. Activated by saying the wake word “Alexa,” the Echo is an ideal kitchen companion, able to convert units of measurement, play Beatles music (if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber), and even rattle off some Star Wars trivia simply by being asked.

But one thing Echo doesn’t do quite so easily is forget your commands. For that, you need to dig deeper.

But before you do, take into account how the Echo works. According to Kinley Pearsall, senior public relations manager for Amazon devices, the speaker can adapt to individual users’ speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences over time. But to do that, it needs to store and analyze recordings of commands.

“It’s a long-term learning process, as the brain gets smarter and smarter in the cloud,” says Pearsall. Translation: The Echo stores your requests to help it recognize your specific voice. Deleting your recordings also erases any memory it has of your speech patterns, potentially making it less accurate.

On top of that, Echo isn’t listening to everything everybody says, all the time. “It’s listening only for the wake word, Alexa,” says Pearsall. “When it hears the wake word, it starts streaming audio to the cloud — and you’ll know it’s streaming to the cloud because the light ring (on the Echo’s crown) turns blue.” The Echo can also be set to play a short audible tone when the wake word is recognized, giving users a clue that the device is listening.

Still, privacy-minded users may want to clear house every now and again. And some Echo users on Reddit have said their speaker has become less adept at understanding them over time, and a memory wipe proved worthwhile. So, there may actually be a benefit to making Echo forget your voice beyond privacy.

If you want to delete your Echo recordings, there are two ways to go about it. You can either remove individual requests or delete your entire history en masse.

To remove individual recordings, open the Amazon Alexa app on your mobile device. In the sidebar, select settings, and then history. This pulls up a list of all the requests you’ve ever made of Alexa. You can even select them to hear the actual recording, if you please. But say that you were embarrassed to have asked to hear Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.” Selecting that request will also pull up an option for deleting the recording. Tap or click on it, and it’s like it never happened.

To wipe Alexa’s entire catalog of your requests, visit the Amazon Connect and Devices website, a great resource for any of your Amazon associated gear, including Kindles. From there, select the “Your Devices” tab, then your Amazon Echo, then “manage voice recordings” and delete everything. And there you have it — a spotless Echo, full of nothing.

Summary: The speaker that listens to you doesn’t need to remember forever


The only thing rich about

' new chin tattoo is the irony.

Ross just posted the ink pic on Instagram -- but clearly, the Boss isn't familiar with the #1 rule of the universe ... tattooing the phrase "

" on your face pretty much guarantees you will NOT be rich forever.

It's true, Ross is rich -- reportedly worth around $30 million -- but he's not rich enough that he doesn't have to worry about money for the rest of his life ... especially the way he spends it.

Then again ... "Rich for the next few years" doesn't really have the same ring to it.

Summary: The only thing rich about Rick Ross' new chin tattoo is the irony.Ross just posted the ink pic on Instagram -- but clearly, the Boss isn't familiar with…


More than 50,000 people have been rounded up, sacked or suspended from their jobs by Turkey's government in the wake of last week's failed coup.

The purge of those deemed disloyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan widened on Tuesday to include teachers, university deans and the media.

The government says they are allied to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who denies claims he directed the uprising.

PM Binali Yildirim said the preacher led a "terrorist organisation".

"We will dig them up by their roots," he told parliament.

Turkey is pressing the US to extradite Mr Gulen and the issue was raised during a phone call between US President Barack Obama and President Erdogan on Tuesday, the White House said.

Spokesman Josh Earnest said a decision on whether or not to extradite would be made under a treaty between the two countries.

A Turkish government spokesman suggested that the US should be able to extradite the cleric "on grounds of suspicion" rather than requiring facts of the case against him.

"There is very strong suspicion for his [Gulen's] involvement in this coup attempt. So this is sufficient grounds," said spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

For his part, Mr Gulen says claims he was behind the coup attempt are "ridiculous".

"I urge the US government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas," he said in a statement.

President Erdogan is due to chair meetings of his national security council and cabinet in the capital, Ankara, on Wednesday, after returning to the city for the first time since the attempted coup.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Ankara says that the meeting will be the president's first chance since the coup attempt to sit and talk in person with all key members of the government and armed forces.

Mr Erdogan's task is to re-impose stability amid the turmoil, our correspondent adds, and to reassure the country and Turkey's allies abroad that he is not embarking on a witch-hunt against his many critics.

The Pentagon said that talks also took place on Tuesday between Defence Secretary Ash Carter and his Turkish counterpart, regarding the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.

The base is used by the US-led coalition fighting so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Turkish government crackdown widened on Tuesday to include the education sector and government departments.

Turkey's media regulation body on Tuesday also revoked the licences of 24 radio and TV channels accused of links to Mr Gulen.

The news came on top of the arrests of more than 6,000 military personal and the sackings of nearly 9,000 police officers. About 3,000 judges have also been suspended.

The removal of thousands of officials has alarmed international observers, with the UN urging Turkey to uphold the rule of law and defend human rights.

A senior German official said on Tuesday that "a deep split" had opened in Turkey, and he feared the divisions would cause unrest among Germany's large Turkish community.

"The danger of an escalation in violence between Erdogan supporters and opponents has also risen in Germany," Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has accused Turkey of carrying out "revenge" against its opponents and critics.

He also said a debate around restoring the death penalty was "deeply worrying". The EU has warned such a move would end talks over Turkey joining the bloc.

According to official figures, Friday night's coup attempt left 232 people dead and 1,541 wounded.

Are you in Turkey? Have you lost your job or been affected in some way by the crackdown? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences.

Summary: More than 50,000 people have been detained, sacked or suspended from their jobs amid a crackdown in Turkey following last week's failed coup.


One way of showing you are going nowhere is to go nowhere. Which is why Jeremy Corbyn had invited the Sky TV cameras to film him glueing himself to his seat at the meeting of Labour’s shadow cabinet. Within seconds – though still far too late – Corbyn had begun to have second thoughts. “This feels like a bad idea,” he muttered. Recording a group therapy session in a psychiatric institution is seldom anything else.

On his right was Cat Smith, the newly promoted shadow minister for something or other. Cat looked utterly bewildered and out of her depth, but was relieved to be told it didn’t matter that she didn’t know what she was doing because she wouldn’t be doing it for long anyway. On his left was the deputy leader, Tom Watson, whose face was crumpled in abject misery. “Get me out of here,” his eyes pleaded. “I’m stuck in a room with the seriously unwell. Get me out of here in case it’s contagious.”

The eyes had it. The camera quickly panned away, then panned back to reveal Emily Thornberry on Corbyn’s right and Steve Rotherham on his left. Neither of them looked best pleased to be pawns in the fastest cabinet reshuffle in political history – Stalin would have been awestruck – but they both knew they had to suck it up. Even with the change in personnel, Corbyn still wasn’t happy. He knew something was wrong, he just wasn’t sure what. “Are we getting the cameras to go?” he asked, tetchily. The cameras went. In just over a minute the Labour party had delivered yet another totally avoidable self-inflicted wound.

Something rather more grown-up was happening in another part of Westminster. An Yvette Cooper speech has often in the past been a useful way of emptying a room in a hurry, but here she was making far more sense about the way Britain needed to proceed towards separating from the EU than the prime minister or Boris had managed in months. A low bar, but she sailed over it.

Key to Yvette’s plan was keeping Corbyn well away from everything. “I’ve written to Jeremy Heywood [head of the civil service] to ask him to trigger the process for access talks for opposition parties,” she said. When asked if she was acting on instructions from Corbyn, Yvette looked horrified. “I really don’t think that getting him involved is the right way forward,” she sighed. She was equally aghast to hear that Diane Abbott had earlier said that Corbyn’s inability to win a general election was “just a Westminster issue”. “I’m speechless.”

The Labour party didn’t have a monopoly on embarrassing itself. Sajid Javid was busy convening a last-minute conference of business leaders to reassure them that everything was basically going to be fine once someone had a plan. Schoolboy error. Few things are more guaranteed to inspire panic in businessmen than “hastily arranged” and “Sajid Javid”. The business secretary has a fine track record of being on the wrong continent at the wrong time and seldom passes up an opportunity to strike when the iron is ice-cold. It wasn’t long before Richard Branson was announcing Virgin had lost a third of its value since last Friday.

And then there was Boris. Even when he’s out of sight, he’s still causing chaos. Having written a piece for the Telegraph the previous day – another £5k in the Johnson bank account; who says that Brexit isn’t working for some? – begging people to stop being so glum and pointing out that when he’d been saying horrible stuff about immigrants during the referendum he’d only been having a laugh, Boris had just woken up to the fact that this particular reverse ferret made him look even more untrustworthy. He hadn’t imagined that was possible. “Maybe I had been a little hasty,” he told an aide. “Next time I promise to get someone to check what I write before it gets printed.”

Related: Jeremy Corbyn suffers heavy loss in Labour MPs confidence vote

Ukip’s Douglas Carswell was at least trying to play the statesman by tweeting the pundits were being a wee bit harsh on the Brexit campaigners and that there really was a plan. I replied, asking him to share that plan with the rest of the world. Carswell’s response was to block me on Twitter for not being serious enough. The plan was his plan and he would only share it with people who could be trusted with it. At the moment Dougie has yet to find anyone he trusts to share his plan with.

If Dougie’s plan was the same as his party leader’s, it was to insult as many people as possible. Nigel Farage turned up at the European parliament to collect his salary, file his expenses – he’s always done financially very well out of the EU – tell some old Bob Monkhouse gags and be thoroughly abusive. MEPs happily waved him goodbye. It’s not everyone who manages to make enemies wherever he goes.

Back at Westminster, Labour MPs passed a no confidence vote in Corbyn by 172 votes to 40. The Labour leader started smashing his head against the wall. If only he hadn’t accidentally put his X in the wrong box for the second time inside a week, he would only have lost 171 to 41. Vive la révolution. A la muerte.

Summary: It was meant to be a meeting of the shadow cabinet but turned into what looked more like a secretive group therapy session


As the two-year anniversary of the last round of conflict in Gaza approaches, the inhumane conditions to which 1.8 million Palestinians are being subjected threaten to reach boiling point by the summer months, when the lack of access to water and electricity - available for a maximum of eight hours a day - combined with the oppressive heat and the lack of a reconstruction progress, could exacerbate frustrations, culminating in a new cycle of violence.

Despite the relative calm since the August 26, 2014 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, there have been more than 20 serious incidents that involved incursions, air raids, and missile exchanges with 23 Palestinians killedÂ in the Gaza Strip since December 2015.

Gaza blockade: contravening international law?

As antagonistic verbal exchanges between Hamas and Israel continued over the past few months, scenes of rising violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem - seemingly outside the control of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) - started to further fuel people's frustration, thus adding to the volatility of the situation.

The Israeli/Palestinian question has become notorious for the international community's inaction.

Nevertheless, the reconstruction of Gaza is one area where action is not only possible but is also badly needed from both strategic and humanitarian perspectives.

READ MORE:Â Gaza's 'jihadists' can no longer be dismissed

The estimates for how much construction has been completed vary depending on the source, and range from about 17 percent (3,000) of the approximately 18,000 homes destroyedÂ or severely damaged in July/August 2014 according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; to 9 percent by the World Bank, or to "nothing" by the average Gazan.

Regardless of the exact figure, the fact remains that more than 75,000 people remain displaced across Gaza as a direct result of the July/August 2014 war, a problem made worse by insufficient funding.Â

There are many factors to explain the slow progress. Chief among them is the continued Israeli blockade; the underlying cause of all the wars in Gaza since Israelâs unilateral withdrawal in 2005.

Egypt's refusal to open the Rafah border crossing without the presence of the PA, along with the Palestinians' inability to activate a unity government, makes the situation even worse.

However, one controversial factor that has received little attention is the UN's Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM).

The GRM is a complicated system of surveillance intended to: "a. Enable the GoP to lead the reconstruction effort; b. Enable the Gazan private sector;Â c. Assure donors that their investments in construction work in Gaza will be implemented without delay; d. Address Israeli security concerns related to the use of construction and other 'dual use' material" (UN, October 2014).

By attempting to be both the humanitarian and the jailer at the same time, the UN has fast become the recognisable face of the blockade.

Two years into the reconstruction process, it is now clear that the GRM not only poses difficulties for the people of Gaza seeking to rebuild their homes - as it forces them to wait for a long time before they receive any construction materials - but also, more importantly, erodes the moral legitimacy of the role of the United Nations in Gaza.

By attempting to be both the humanitarian and the jailer at the same time, the UN has fast become the recognisable face of the blockade.

For more than 70 years, the UN in Gaza has been associated largely with the work of theÂ United Nations Relief and Works AgencyÂ for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

While the Palestinian people have come to accept that the UN cannot resolve their problems, they still expect that it should at least attempt to take an impartial position, and on occasions adhere to its own values by acting as a witness and speaking up against the atrocities that Palestinians face.

With the GRM, the role of the UN changed. The humanitarian imperative that the UN clings to as it delivers aid in the occupied Palestinian territory is no longer neutral.

In fact, in order to facilitate the flow of construction material under the GRM, the UN is increasingly seen as favouring the status quo and siding with the one with power - Israel.

READ MORE:Â ICC must look into Egypt's role in Gaza atrocities

Arguably, among the four main objectivesÂ behind the establishment of the GRM, the one related to Israel's security interest seems to take precedence all the time.

Under the current arrangements, a person seeking construction materials must first go to the GRM administrator to be placed on a list. Once their name reaches the top of the list, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) must approve of the request before the distribution of any materials. The process between COGAT and the GRM can take weeks.

The sight of UN personnel in armoured vehicles accompanying sacks of cement (to ensure delivery and use as proposed) incenses the population of Gaza, as they view this practice as the UN placing a higher value on the protection of construction commodities than on human life.

The inability of the GRM to engage the local population has alleviated tensions over the past two years. During the conception of the GRM, the civil society of Gaza did not participate in the formation of policies governing the distribution of reconstruction materials.

Among the four main objectives behind the establishment of the GRM, the one related to Israel's security interest seems to take precedence all the time.

Only the United Nations, the Israeli government, and the PA devised the plan to rebuild Gaza. Due to their pre-determined position to deny Hamas any opportunity of engagement, the process effectively resulted in excluding citizens and civil society organisations, which was a big mistake.Â

Nickolay Mladenov and other senior UN officials understand well that the GRM has fallen victim to the complex politics of occupation and resistance.

It is being used every day to punish or "incentivise" Hamas and/or to frustrate any possibility of reaching an understanding between Gaza and the West Bank.

It has also provided a fig leaf to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi which allowed him to close his borders while pursuing a doomed-to-fail securitisation agenda in Sinai.

Its lack of effectiveness has also provided many donors with the excuse to not honour their pledges, thus compounding the suffering.

In short, the situation in Gaza requires immediate action. Regardless of whose fault it is that the GRM has not been able to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza, it seems appropriate for the United Nations to admit to the failure of the mechanism and even to withdraw its services.

In fact, a walkout by the UN from administering the crossing and use of construction material is not only the right thing to do morally, but might also force constructive action from Israel, EU governments, the Gulf states, and the US as well as Hamas and the PA.

Given the security concerns in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and elsewhere, the international community would not stand by and allow for a complete meltdown in Gaza.

The alternative is to continue to deny the reality of the mechanism and to watch the grievances of Palestinians in Gaza reaching an unresolvable level that explodes into another violent round of conflict, worse than the last.

Sultan Barakat is professor at the University of York and director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. He is a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Summary: It's time for the United Nations to consider the morality of its Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism.


The independent panel investigating possible corruption in the United Nations oil-for-food program in Iraq has delivered a mixed verdict on Secretary General Kofi Annan. On the most explosive issue, the panel largely exonerated Mr. Annan of personal corruption in the awarding of a contract to a company that employed his son. That contract was awarded by officials who had no idea the son even worked for the company. But the panel faulted Mr. Annan for failing to begin a serious investigation six years ago when his son's involvement became known. This was a grievous lapse, for which the United Nations is now paying the price as critics accuse it of conflicts of interest and corruption in high places.

This second interim report from the panel, headed by Paul Volcker, focused primarily on Mr. Annan's knowledge of and involvement in the awarding of a contract in 1998 to Cotecna Inspection Services, a small Swiss company, to monitor the importation of goods into Iraq under the oil-for-food program. That company had hired Kojo Annan, the young son of Kofi Annan, in 1995 to work at its offices in Africa when he was fresh out of college. Kojo got the job through a family friend, and the company hoped his contacts in Africa would help procure government contracts there. Many suspect that the company also hoped his U.N. connection would be useful some day.

Nothing has caused the United Nations more grief than the appearance of a conflict of interest. Although the Cotecna contract was a small slice of the oil-for-food program, the link to the secretary general put a face on the allegations of corruption in the program and triggered calls for Kofi Annan's resignation from critics who were enraged by his opposition to President Bush's war with Iraq.

The panel has largely undercut that line of attack. It found no evidence that Mr. Annan intervened in the bidding or selection process, and no clear evidence, just a few possibilities, that the secretary general even knew Cotecna was bidding. The panel concludes that Cotecna got the contract because it was the lowest bidder and was deemed capable of performing the work.

Where Mr. Annan dropped the ball most grievously was in his response to public disclosures in 1999 that Cotecna employed his son and, in a separate matter, was being investigated by Swiss authorities for allegedly making illicit payments on behalf of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan. All Mr. Annan did was ask his top aides to look into the Cotecna selection process. They reported back -- the same day -- that Cotecna got the contract because it was the lowest bidder and was thought, on the basis of a Dun & Bradstreet report, to be free of administrative or criminal investigations. The Volcker panel argues persuasively that the secretary general should have referred the matter to U.N. investigators for a more thorough inquiry. Had it done so, the panel believes, Cotecna's contract would not have been renewed repeatedly.

It is not clear whether Cotecna's departure would have changed anything in Iraq. But it would clearly have eliminated a weak spot and a perceived conflict of interest.

This latest report cites a lot of questionable practices at U.N. headquarters. Mr. Annan's former chief of staff authorized the destruction of files. Procurement officials failed to get required financial information from Cotecna before awarding the contract. Even worse behavior was shown by Kojo Annan and Cotecna, who strove mightily to deceive the public, the United Nations and the Volcker panel about Kojo's continuing financial ties to the company even after he allegedly resigned. Kojo lied repeatedly to his own father.

All this might have been avoided had the secretary general responded properly in 1999. The panel is surely right that the United Nations badly needs stronger conflict-of-interest rules that spell out how to resolve possible conflicts of interest. A cavalier response is the road to trouble, and Kofi Annan needs to demonstrate that he has learned from past mistakes and can still be the strong, effective leader the United Nations needs so badly at this time.

Summary: Editorial on report largely exonerating UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan of personal corruption in awarding of contract to company that employed his son; notes Annan was faulted for not investigating seriously six years ago, and says much harm to world body could have been avoided if Annan had acted properly in 1999


Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush made it clear on Saturday that he would not join Donald Trump’s ticket as vice president.

“No,” Bush responded quickly when asked by a reporter in South Carolina, according to a video surfaced by The Hill. His reply was met with laughs from supporters, including South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. “And let’s be clear,” the former Florida governor added, “I don’t think he would ask me, either.”

Bush’s remarks came as voters cast their ballots in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary, which Trump, the GOP front-runner, was expected to win.

At numerous times on the campaign trail, Bush has been critical of Trump and said he’s not a viable candidate.

In an exclusive interview with Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” last month, he said Trump is “entertaining” and doesn’t have a plan to help Americans.

“He has no proven leadership skills in the public domain,” said Bush. “I’m gonna continue to be critical of him when he doesn’t advocate conservative principles,” Bush said. “He’s running for the conservative party’s nomination. He should be a conservative, and he hasn’t shown it.”

Trump, on the other hand, has repeatedly blasted Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, over the war in Iraq and 9/11. During the Republican debate in South Carolina, Trump said, “The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush. He kept us safe? That is not safe.”


They found that two of the most stressful habits were leaving email on all day and checking emails early in the morning and late at night.

There was a "strong relationship" between use of the "push" feature that automatically updates emails on devices as soon as they arrive and perceived email pressure.

Higher email pressure was associated with more examples of work having a negative effect on home life, and home life having a negative impact on performance at work.

Lead author Dr Richard MacKinnon said: "Our research shows that email is a double-edged sword. Whilst it can be a valuable communication tool, it's clear that it's a source of stress of frustration for many of us.

"The people who reported it being most useful to them also reported the highest levels of email pressure. But the habits we develop, the emotional reactions we have to messages and the unwritten organisational etiquette around email, combine into a toxic source of stress which could be negatively impacting our productivity and wellbeing."

Email pressure was highest among younger people and steadily decreased with age, according to the findings presented at the British Psychological Society's Division of Occupational Psychology annual meeting in Nottingham.

Those working in IT, marketing, public relations, the internet and media were most affected by email stress.

More than 30 per cent of this group received more than 50 emails a dayand more than 65 per cent allowed their devices to update emails round the clock.

Experts in digital distraction and productivity have suggested managing the stresses of constant email communication by limiting how often the app is checked, setting Out Of Office replies more frequently and resigning to the fact that, if a matter is urgent, employers will attempt to make contact with a phone call.

In 2014, an estimated 196.3 billion emails were sent around the world, according to the report.

The average adult spent more than an hour a day consulting emails.

Summary: The secret to happiness is to ignore an endless stream of emails by turning off your app, according to psychologists who warn constant updates are a


An insider's guide to getting to Venice, including flights to the island, as well as recommendations for car hire and local bus services. By Anne Hanely, Telegraph Travel's Italy expert.

Venice Marco Polo is the closest airport to central Venice, while Treviso, 70 minutes by bus from Piazzale Roma (the main Venice road terminus), is used by most low-cost airlines.

Marco Polo is served by British Airways (ba.com) from Heathrow and Gatwick; Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) from Dublin; BMI (bmibaby.com) from East Midlands; EasyJet (easyjet.com) from Gatwick; Jet2.com (jet2.com) from Belfast and Manchester; and Monarch (flymonarch.com) from Gatwick and Manchester.

The seven-mile journey from Marco Polo to Venice can be made by road or water. The bus trip is quicker and cheaper, but the boat option is so much more Venetian. Boats are operated by Alilaguna (alilaguna.com) and run at least once an hour from 6am until midnight. For San Marco, take the Arancio (1hr 14min) or Blu (1hr 12min) lines; for Rialto hop on the Arancio (57min). Linea Blu also calls at Lido (1hr 2min) and at the cruise ship port (Terminal Crociere, 1hr 34mins). Fares are €15 one way, €27 return; there are reductions if you book on line. Buses to Piazzale Roma road terminus are operated by ATVO (atvo.it; 20min, €6 one way, €11 return, reductions for groups) and ACTV (actv.it; 35min, €6 one way, €11 return). All tickets, for bus or boat, need to be bought in the arrivals hall and stamped on boarding.

Buses to Piazzale Roma road terminus are operated by ATVO (atvo.it; 20min, €6 one way, €11 return, reductions for groups) and ACTV (actv.it; 35min, €6 one way, €11 return). All tickets, for bus or boat, need to be bought in the arrivals hall and stamped on boarding. A taxi to Piazzale Roma will cost about €35, while a water taxi to anywhere else in Venice or the Lido costs €100 for up to five people with luggage.

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Treviso is served by Ryanair (ryanair.com) from Stansted, Bristol, Dublin, East Midlands and Leeds Bradford. Lying 19 miles north of Venice, Treviso is connected to Piazzale Roma road terminus by ATVO bus (atvo.it; 70min, €10 one way, €18 return). The buses normally wait for late incoming flights. A taxi to Venice will cost anywhere from €150 upwards.

Most of the big cruise ships and ferries dock at the Stazione Marittima at the western end of the Zattere, below the Piazzale Roma road terminus and car parks. A shuttle bus runs from here every 20 minutes or so to Piazzale Roma, where you can buy waterbus tickets, cross the pedestrian bridge to the train station, or jump on a bus to either airport. If you’re heading for San Marco, board the Blue Alilaguna ferry direct from Stazione Marittima (20 minutes; single €8). It runs every hour from 8.54am until 3.54pm.

The main station is Venezia Santa Lucia, right on the Grand Canal. On the mainland side is Mestre station, a busy hub with lines south to Bologna, Florence and Rome, west to Padua, Verona and Milan, and north and east to Treviso, Trieste and Slovenia. The national rail operator is Trenitalia (trenitalia.com).

Waterbuses (vaporetti) and road buses (autobus, which operate on the mainland, and on the Lido) are run by ACTV: check routes and timetables at actv.it. There are two main vaporetto routes: from Santa Lucia train station and Piazzale Roma road terminus, you can either head down the Grand Canal to Rialto and San Marco on the scenic lines 1 or 2, or loop around the main 'island' of Venice to the north or south on the 4.1/4.2 or 5.1/5.2 lines (the 5.1 is the quickest route between the station or road terminus and San Marco).

If you are heading for the Lido, the fastest options are the 6 from Piazzale Roma or the 10 from Zattere and San Marco Giardinetti. For Murano, take the 4.2 (4.1 in the other direction). For the islands of the northern lagoon, take the 12 at Fondamente Nove on Venice’s northern shore; change to the 9 at Burano for Torcello. Vaporetto tickets cost €7 single, valid for 60 minutes with any number of changes in the same direction. If you are planning to use the waterbuses a lot, invest in a travel card (€20 for 24 hours; up to €60 for a week). VeneziaUnica (veneziaunica.it) offers discounts.

These sleek motorboats are a stylish and speedy way of getting around, but not cheap. Up to five passengers (including luggage) pay €60 to travel from the train station to Rialto or St Mark’s and €95 from the airport to Venice or the Lido. Additional passengers pay €10 each, plus €5 for luggage. Book (00 39 041 522 2303; motoscafivenezia.it).

More an experience than a form of transport, a gondola ride starts at €80 for 30 minutes during the day (8am-7pm) for up to 6 people.

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Summary: Read our insider’s guide on getting to Venice, as recommended by Telegraph Travel. Find expert advice on flights, transfers, cruising and car hire.


After a venture-capital presentation at a Hamptons home three years ago, guests were moved poolside for cocktails. Several people donned bathing suits. “After that, I felt I knew them very well,” says Jonscott Turco, an attendee who watched the swimmers frolic from the safety of his business suit.

Mr. Turco sometimes sees those people in Manhattan these days. Their names often escape him, but other details are indelible. “No matter how dapper they look in Midtown, I think, ‘He was the Speedo,’ ” says Mr. Turco. Same with the people he has dubbed “White Bikini,” “Leopard Bikini” and “Board Shorts.”

It’s time for the summer corporate outing. As if that weren’t scary enough, office party planners often find it irresistible to hold these events beside the ocean or a pool. Sometimes, there’s a little friendly competition thrown in—a water polo match or volleyball. The idea may be to spur bonding, to augment working relationships, or even to get a deal going under conditions that are more conducive to friendship. The invitation may specify a bathing suit.

Just remember this: Once you’ve stripped to the equivalent of skivvies in front of your colleagues, you’ll never be fully dressed again in their minds.

Professional relationships often depend on maintaining a certain emotional distance. Revealing personal details like the birthmark on your belly or your varicose veins can close that space permanently. These details make us seem more vulnerable, more human. Seeing them even can make us want to wince or giggle. Hence the standard remedy for public-speaking anxiety: Pretend that the audience is dressed in their underwear.

For all those reasons, Britons were shocked last week to see photos of Sir John Sawyer, the new British intelligence chief, sporting swim trunks in family photos that his wife placed on her now-infamous Facebook page. In fact, keeping your clothes on may be more important if you’re at the top of the ladder: Whether you’re cultivating an image of spy cool or executive command, your aura of power is at risk.

“I saw a hedge-fund tycoon this weekend in a white velour sweat suit. I will never forget that sight as long as I live,” says Jill Markiewicz, a former derivatives analyst who now works as a stylist in Manhattan and the Hamptons. “If that’s a peer you work with, it becomes a part of their image.”

Ms. Markiewicz advises that her male clients attend casual summer corporate events in long-sleeved button-down linen shirts and longish shorts or softer pants. For women, she suggests clutch purses, shoes in neutral colors, white pants and a substantial piece of jewelry.

Personally, I won’t forget my glimpse of a shirtless, sunburned Robert Polet, CEO of Gucci Group, speeding through the lobby of the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach in his swim shorts and flip-flops. Truth to tell, the business presentation he gave 20 minutes later in a dark business suit was picture-perfect. Yet when I see Mr. Polet in his sleek cashmere Bottega Veneta and Yves St. Laurent suits these days, I can’t help but recall what lies beneath that tailored shirt.

Of course, the risks of exposure are even worse for women. “The double standard is in full force: Men are wearing swimsuits, but women are perceived as wearing underwear,” says Renee Brissette, a partner in a New York law firm who has done stints as a corporate “minder” at Florida events for her firm’s young associates. She suggests that women wear Capri pants, sleeveless dresses or, at most, Bermuda shorts at such events.

“This is not a pick-up scene,” she says. “It’s your workplace with suntan lotion.”

Indeed, even if bathing suits are on the invitation, it’s OK to ignore the host’s dress code if it feels inappropriate, says Meredith Moore, a managing director at Boyden Global Executive Search in San Francisco. “If they say bring your swimsuit, it doesn’t mean you have to do that,” says Ms. Moore, who calls these events “little landmines.” When she joined a corporate white-water-rafting trip on the Snake River several years ago, she wore a windbreaker and two layers of T-shirts over Bermuda shorts.

Yet there are particular risks for men, too. For instance, they can easily make underlings uncomfortable by revealing aspects of their character that seem at odds with their work persona. Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust Co. in Radnor, Pa., says he wouldn’t forgo a collared shirt—even if it’s just a golf shirt—at a work event.

“If you wear shorts, make sure they hang to one inch above the knee, no shorter,” says Mr. Smith, who also rules out Hawaiian shirts. “Also, don’t bother wearing shorts if you have lily-white legs or some other abnormality showing.”

James Carbonara will never forget seeing a senior executive in sporty, colored, mirrored Oakley sunglasses at a corporate pool party. Somehow, the executive always seemed less substantial to junior staffers thereafter.

“Sunglasses should be conservative” at business events, says Mr. Carbonara, a New York investor-relations adviser. “He looked a bit like a major league baseball player.”

—Contact me at Christina.Binkley@wsj.com; twitter.com/BinkleyOnStyle; or WSJ.com/OnStyle.

Summary: You may be going to the pool or the beach, but wearing a bathing suit to a company event can be risky. Christina Binkley writes in On Style.


"It’s about much more than style, which is why we’ve called the ad series ‘Made of More’," says Mediavilla, who first encountered the Sapeurs in 2003 while working on a project about showing the less familiar facets of African life. The documentary that accompanies the Guinness ad campaign looks at the engrained social codes involved with being one of these impeccably decked out gents. "It’s a way of life and it’s a way of having pride in yourself. It brings a sense of meaning to their lives."

The Sapeurs sense of style is one of joyous exuberance, flamboyant colour, polished tailoring and impeccable attention to detail; suits in periwinkle pink, buttercup yellow and poison green, fat regatta stripes, Jeeves-esque bowler hats, handsome canes, plump bow-ties, polished brogues and jaunty evening scarves, draped just so. It’s a sartorial DNA that nods to 1920’s jazz age refinement and has its roots in the French colonisation of the Congo in the early part of the 20th century.

Certain pockets of the Congolese took inspiration from this new influx of French elan; Paris sophistication and elegance became the sartorial goal. When Congolese immigrants visited France and returned laden with finery, the Sapeurs evolved into a fully-fledged style tribe, adapting European clothes with vibrant African flair.

What makes their sense of dress all the more remarkable – surreal even – is that it often takes place against a backdrop of poverty and deprivation, the Sapeurs resemble rare exotic birds in the most desperate of surroundings, from bombed buildings to shanty-town slums. But this isn’t about frivolity or conspicuous displays of wealth. There are strict behavioral customs that come with being a Sapeur which are as important, if not more so, than dressing with dash and flair.

"The Sapeur is a model of gentlemanly behaviour and mannerisms; it’s also the language he uses, the way he walks," says Mediavilla. "How you treat people is very important. For a man to be a Sapeur he must be gentle, he must not be aggressive, he must be against war, he must be calm tempered." In a country where many of the population live below the poverty line, the simple act of civility and kindness means a great deal.

The Sapeurs' cultivated code of conduct, gentility and sense of propriety is a rejection of the more brutal aspects of Congolese life. Even the stringent grooming regimes of the Sapeurs is, to Mediavilla, a way of showing that one has the ability to wash and stay clean and hygienic in a country where water is in short supply. And when so much of the West’s idea of Africa comes from what we’ve seen in the media, there’s a sense that the Sapeurs are striking out as rainbow-hued, vibrant individuals in a world that’s been painted in broad brushstrokes.

The Sapeurs look doesn’t have to come at great expense either, says Mediavilla. "Men borrow pieces from one another, and focus on putting it all together in an individual, creative way. They pick pieces up from the fashion boutiques in Brazzaville or have pieces made by local tailors. A lot of the clothes come from Europe and are sold in the Congo."

It’s not a clandestine society either; the focus is on inclusiveness. Initiation into the visual and social codes of the Sapeur society comes through myriad ways too. "Sometimes it’s a father showing his son how it’s done; sometimes its through friends. Sometimes it’s a personal choice. The Sapeurs like to say that it passes through generations, from grandfather to father to son."

Cynics might dismiss it as trivial gloss, but the transformative effect of dressing as a Sapeur - of perfecting the dimple in a half-Windsor knot, tilting that top hat at just the right angle, fine tuning those complimentary colours - is "a way of feeling a sense of pride", says Mediavilla. "The Sapeurs have said to me lots of times that when they get dressed up, when they go out and put on a show, they forget their problems. They feel happy."

To find out more about the new Guinness ad and feature documentary on the Sapeurs, visit guinness.com

Summary: They're the stars of a new Guinness campaign and are devoted to dressing like   gentlemen. Stephen Doig introduces the Sapeurs, a curious sartorial   society in the Republic of Congo