Sprint, Deutsche Telekom Said to Discuss T-Mobile USA Deal

Read in BusinessWeek:

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG has held talks to sell its T-Mobile USA unit to Sprint Nextel Corp. in exchange for a major stake in the combined entity, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Talks have been on and off, and a deal may not be reached, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private. The companies haven’t been able to agree on the valuation of T-Mobile USA, which reported a drop in profit in the fourth quarter, the people said. Sprint and Deutsche Telekom shares jumped.

A merger of Sprint and T-Mobile USA would combine the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless providers behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. T-Mobile USA may be worth $15 billion to $20 billion, according to Michael Kovacocy, an analyst at Evolution Securities in London. Sprint’s market value was $13.6 billion as of yesterday’s close.

Deutsche Telekom may be disappointed in the price an acquirer is willing to offer, Kovacocy said in an interview. Even though the company may expect about $25 billion based on the unit’s earnings, buyers may want to pay less because of the customer losses, he said.

“It’s selling from a weak position in the marketplace,” said Kovacocy, who doesn’t own shares in either company. “The operations could fetch well south of $20 billion, well below what DTE would look for.”

Sprint added 22 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $4.70 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4 p.m. Deutsche Telekom closed 4 percent higher at 10.01 euros in Frankfurt, the biggest increase in almost a year.

Customer Losses

A tie-up would allow Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest phone company, to keep a stake in one of its biggest markets while making it easier to finance investments for a faster next-generation network.

“In general, all options are open in the U.S. -- the sale of the whole business or of parts,” Deutsche Telekom Chief Financial Officer Timotheus Hoettges said in an e-mail today. He said the company could also find a partner, sell shares in the market or form a network agreement.

Bill White, a spokesman for Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint, declined to comment.

Contracts protecting against a Sprint default for five years dropped to the lowest since October, according to data provider CMA. The contracts declined 36.9 basis points to 303.1 basis points. Credit-default swaps pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. The contracts decline as investor confidence improves and rise as it deteriorates.

Bonds Rise

The company’s $2.5 billion of 6.875 percent notes due in 2028 rose 4.688 cents to 93.938 cents on the dollar as of 3:52 p.m. in New York, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

T-Mobile, which accounts for about a quarter of Deutsche Telekom’s sales, has lost customers at an accelerated rate as it trailed rivals in building out a third-generation mobile network and missed out on being able to sell Apple Inc.’s iPhone. About 56,000 customers abandoned T-Mobile USA last year, while Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless all boosted their counts.

Talks have included discussion of Deutsche Telekom owning about 50 percent of a combined T-Mobile USA-Sprint, one person said. Sprint had revenue of about $32.6 billion in 2010, while T-Mobile USA recorded revenue of $21.4 billion.

‘Flexibly Positioned’

T-Mobile USA is also discussing buying wireless spectrum from Clearwire Corp. as an alternative to a merger with Sprint, two people said. Deutsche Telekom’s Hoettges said last month that buying U.S. wireless spectrum from Clearwire is only one option for the German phone company. He ruled out an outright sale of T-Mobile in the U.S.

“We’re flexibly positioned,” Hoettges said today, adding that Deutsche Telekom is working on several options. “We’re not under pressure. We want the best solution.”

Susan Johnston, a Clearwire spokeswoman, didn’t return a call for comment. Sprint is the majority owner of Kirkland, Washington-based Clearwire.

Sprint is also in talks with LightSquared Inc., a wireless startup founded by billionaire Philip Falcone and backed by his Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund, three people familiar with the talks said last month. LightSquared, which is seeking to sell 4G capacity in the U.S., may strike a deal to use Sprint’s cell sites and equipment to build out its network.

Sprint said in December it is going to spend as much as $5 billion over the coming three to five years to upgrade its network to allow it to combine the disparate spectrum bands it uses onto a single type of base station.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Sprint, Morgan Stanley is working with Deutsche Telekom, and Deutsche Bank AG is advising Clearwire, the people said.

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Lobster Roll [Recipe]

Recieved from to KitchenDaily: **Keep in mind if you do not eat lobster, then use a vegaterian lobster substitute, make sure to cook out the salt from if the sodium count is too high**

Ingredients
o 1 cup chopped celery (from 3 to 4 celery stalks)
o 1 1/2 pounds lobster meat (from about 2 steamed lobsters)
o 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
o 2 tablespoons plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
o 1 small bunch of chives, thinly sliced
o 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, minced
o 1/4 teaspoon salt
o 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
o 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
o 4 whole-grain hot-dog buns

Directions
Mix celery, lobster, mayonnaise, yogurt, chives, jalapeno, salt, pepper and Old Bay together. Spread over warmed hot-dog bun.

Best Instant Coffee: Café Bustelo Instant Espresso @slashfood

According to Slashfood:
What's the best instant coffee that beat out the OVER-MARKETED Starbucks VIA?

Here's what the site had to say:

Our Winner
Café Bustelo Instant Espresso

Sip or skip? Sip and sip and sip again

Pass for brewed? Easily

Tasting Notes: We had to buy a second jar because our colleagues kept stopping by to "borrow" spoonfuls once word got out. It kicked the kiester of our office kitchen's major label brew with a rich, bold flavor comparable to its non-instant incarnation. As much as we dug VIA, Bustelo's more friendly per-serving price makes this the tip-top cup.

Wimbledon In 3D! @wimbledon

According to their website:

7 March 2011
Sony's unique 3D technology brings the world famous Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships to sports fans in High Definition 3D

For the first time ever, the finals of Wimbledon, the premier tennis championships in the world will this year be filmed in 3D and screened live in High Definition 3D to 3D capable cinemas around the world. The live 3D production, in partnership with the Wimbledon host broadcaster the BBC, will also be offered to interested global broadcasters.

Sony and The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) today announced their multi-year partnership to bring Wimbledon in 3D to suitably equipped cinemas around the world, offering the perfect opportunity for fans to experience The Championships like never before in a completely new environment, while retaining all the excitement and atmosphere of the famous Centre Court. Sony will work with SuperVision Media, their theatrical distribution partners, to bring the excitement of 3D tennis to 3D cinemas worldwide.

The AELTC/Sony/BBC production of the Men's Singles Semi-Finals and the Ladies' and Men’s Singles Finals will be filmed in High Definition 3D and will also be offered to rights holders and interested global broadcasters seeking unique and compelling content for their 3D channels. The two parties also have a commitment to deliver 3D tennis to a much wider audience over time.

Sony is uniquely placed to capture and broadcast the finals of the Wimbledon Championships in Live 3D, bringing the exhilaration and atmosphere of Wimbledon to a larger audience than ever before, with every forehand, smash and volley yours to appreciate in stunning 3D reality. All you need to supply are the strawberries and cream.

Fujio Nishida, President of Sony Europe commented, "We are delighted to be working with The All England Lawn Tennis Club to bring such a high profile sporting event to consumers around the world in 3D. Watching tennis in High Definition 3D is a stunning experience, bringing the speed of the action and the emotions of the occasion to life; it is as close to the atmosphere and excitement of Centre Court as actually being there. With the Live 3D Wimbledon experience available in hundreds of 3D cinemas across the world, many more people will be able to enjoy one of the world’s most iconic sporting events as though they were actually at Wimbledon."

Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, said, "Wimbledon is renowned for its heritage and sense of tradition. At the same time we are always looking for ways to improve the presentation of The Championships by successfully blending that tradition with innovation. We are delighted that our 3D partnership with Sony will not only guarantee we are at the cutting edge of live sporting television, but also deliver a compelling new viewing experience for our global audiences, especially amongst our younger supporters."

BlackBerry Messenger coming to Android

According to the link: BlackBerry Messenger App May Be Coming To Apple, Android Devices

Research In Motion (RIM) plans to develop its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app for Google's Android platform and perhaps even for Apple's iOS devices, according "multiple trusted sources" who dished to Boy Genius Report.
At the Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona, BBM was named "App of the Year on the BlackBerry App World Platform." Were RIM to offer its messaging service across multiple platforms, the company could potentially shake up the mobile messaging landscape. Writes Techland, "By extending the BBM service to iPhone and Android handsets, BlackBerry would be able to leverage functionality that it arguably does better than anyone else--quick, simple group messaging--and potentially get users of these other platforms hooked on it."
But don't expect these rumored apps to be as robust as the native version. BGR explains.

Mock Meats... in NYC?

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Tele: 212.334.4428
Fax: 212.334.4423

MayWah@vegieworld.com

Gmail bug wipes out 150,000 user accounts

from BGR

Google confirmed on Sunday that a major bug has mysteriously deleted the entire contents from within roughly 150,000 Gmail accounts. Google initially reported the problem to be more widespread, but it revised its initial estimate down from 0.29% of total Gmail user accounts to 0.08%. According to user reports, email correspondence from within affected accounts was deleted earlier this past weekend. Affected users were initially unable to log in to their accounts, and then found that their data had been deleted once access to the accounts had been restored. Accounts were essentially reset, with years worth of emails and chats having seemingly been erased. Google appears confident that the lost data will be restored, however, and it notes that users will be unable to access their accounts while engineers address the issue. “Google engineers are working to restore full access,” Google noted on its Gmail status page. “Affected users will be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts.”

Marriage and children kill creativity in men

just read this on ABC Science Online

Getting married and having kids appears to dent creativity in men, a study suggests Men do their best work in their younger years, but getting married and having children stalls their creativity, according to a New Zealand study of successful scientists.

Dr Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, reports in the August issue of the Journal of Research in Personality that a man's age and unmarried status appear to drive success in his field.

His study was based on the analysis of a biographical database of 280 scientists considered 'great' by their colleagues, noting their age at the time when they did their greatest work. He found the data remarkably concurs with the observation made by Albert Einstein in 1942: "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so."

"Scientific productivity indeed fades with age," Kanazawa said. "Two-thirds [of all scientists] will have made their most significant contributions before their mid-30s."

But, regardless of age, the great minds who married virtually kissed goodbye to making any further glorious additions to their CV. Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married scientists had made their last significant contribution to knowledge.

"Scientists rather quickly desist [from their careers] after their marriage, while unmarried scientists continue to make great scientific contributions later in their lives," said Kanazawa.

The energy of youth and the dampening effect of marriage, he added, are also remarkably similar among geniuses in music, painting and writing - and even among criminals.

Previous studies have documented that delinquents are overwhelmingly male, and usually start out on the road to crime in their teens. But those who marry will subsequently stop committing crime, whereas criminals at the same age who remain unmarried tend to continue their unlawful careers.

Kanazawa suggests "a single psychological mechanism" is responsible for this: the competitive edge among young men to fight for glory and gain the attention of women. That craving drives the all-important male hormone, testosterone.

After a man settles down, the testosterone level falls, as does his creative output, Kanazawa theorises.

Sweet Potato Koftas [Recipe]

thx to Archana for this one
What better way to relish the wholesome nutrition rich sweet potatoes other than making healthy koftas out of them. These are delicious and my family, including the children enjoy this dish with hot phulkas

Ingredients For Koftas
2 cups of boiled sweet potatoes
1/4 cup freshly chopped fenugreek leaves
¼ cup of gram flour
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Method for koftas
Preheat oven to 200 C.

Mix all the ingredients and divide into 10 round portions/balls.

Place the balls in a baking tray and into the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you see the kofta balls have begun to brown/golden. Prick the kofta with a toothpick to check if it comes out cooked and not raw. Turn the oven off and let the kofta's sit aside until the gravy is ready.

For the Gravy
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
2 cups of freshly pureed tomatoes
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves
1 tablespoons cream
1 tablespoon sugar/honey
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons vegetable/sunflower oil
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a pan; add the ginger, garlic and saute them on low heat until they release their aroma.

Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, chilli powder, dried frenugreek leaves coriander powder and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add cream, sugar, 1 cup of water and salt to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Since these are baked kofta's they tend to absorb more gravy.Add the baked kofta's to the gravy just before you are ready to serve and simmer them for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add more water if you feel they gravy is too thick for you. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves

Enjoy the kofta’s with hot phulka’s or any Indian bread of your choice.