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By DANIEL WOOLLS and HAROLD HECKLE Associated Press

MADRID (AP) - Concern grew for the stability of Spain's place in the fragile eurozone economy after reports of a rise in the level of bad loans on the books of its banks and word from the government Friday that it may have to revise its 2011 budget deficit upwards for a second time.

The Bank of Spain reported that lenders' and savings banks' bad loan ratio had risen in March to an 18-year high of 8.36 percent from 8.15 percent the previous month.

The Finance Ministry then said in a statement late Friday the deficit could reach 8.9 percent of GDP after four of its 17 regions overshot their expected budgets. The regions mentioned were Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Castilla-Leon.

News of the increase in bad loans followed a downgrading by credit ratings agency Moody's late Thursday of the country's banking industry.

Spain's budget deficit is higher than the 3 percent threshold that was supposedly part of the euro's economic framework. The incoming government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy earlier had to revise the figure upwards to 8.5 percent of GDP from the 6 percent forecast by the previous, Socialist government.

The ministry said it still expected to hit its target of 5.3 percent for this year's budget deficit.

Moody's acted late Thursday, citing Spanish banks' heavy load of non-performing loans amid a recession-plagued economy, their trouble raising financing on capital markets and the government's sovereign debt problems, which might make it hard for the government to come to the aid of banks.

Spain is in the eye of the storm of the eurozone debt crisis amid worries that its banks are overexposed to an imploded real estate bubble and the government, fighting recession and a nearly 25 percent jobless rate, could not afford to bail them out if it needed to.

Nuria Alvarez, a banking analyst with Madrid brokerage Renta4, warned that the rise in the bad loan ratio could mean that Spain's banks will get hit harder as the country's recession bites deep and unemployment worsens.

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Spain may have to revise its 2011 budget deficit

By RAPHAEL SATTER Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - British officials have given their word: "We won't read your emails."

But experts say that its proposed new surveillance program, unveiled last week as part of the government's annual legislative program, will gather so much data that spooks won't have to read your messages to guess what you're up to.

The U.K. Home Office stresses that it is not seeking to read the content of every Britons' communications, saying the data it was seeking "is NOT the content of any communication." It is, however, seeking information on who's sending the message, whom it's sent to, where it's sent from, and potentially other details including a message's length and its format.

The government's proposal is just a draft bill, so it could be modified or scrapped. But if passed in its current form, it would put a huge amount of personal data at the government's disposal, which it could potentially use to deduce a startling amount about Britons' private life - from sleep patterns to driving habits or even infidelity.

"We're really entering a whole new phase of analysis based on the data that we can collect," said Gerald Kane, an information systems expert at Boston College. "There is quite a lot you can learn."

The ocean of information is hard to fathom. Britons generate 4 billion hours of voice calls and 130 billion text messages annually, according to industry figures. In 2008 the BBC put the annual number of U.K.-linked emails at around 1 trillion. Then there are instant messaging services run by companies such as BlackBerry, Internet telephony services such as Skype, chat rooms, and in-game services liked those used by World of Warcraft.

Communications service providers, who would log the details of all that back-and-forth, believe that the government's program would force them to process petabytes (1 quadrillion bytes) of information every day. It's a mind-bogglingly large amount of data on the scale of every book, every movie, and every piece of music ever released.

So even without opening emails, how much can British spooks learn about who's sending them?

THEY'LL SEE THE RED FLAGS

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UK surveillance could yield window into lives

Posted: 12:23 PM ET May 17, 2012

By Brian Stubits | NHL Blogger

John Tortorella has done something rather amazing. He has turned the conversation in the postseason from criticism of his team's shot-blocking to criticism of himself.

Well it hasn't completely stopped the block talk. For example, CBS Sports Network hockey analyst Dave Starman just tackled the issue. But after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals he's about the only one who is still talking about the game and not talking about the talking.

By now you're well aware that Tortorella has made a habit of brief press conferences, particularly after losses. He has gone into a shell and refuses to say anything descriptive whatsoever. He won't talk about individual players. Anything that might resemble something strategic is left unexplained. Give him a yes or no question and he'll take the easy out with a one-word answer.

Put it briefly, he has been uncooperative and it's upsetting a lot of people in the media. Below you'll see the latest example after the Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Devils in Game 2.

It has gotten to the point that it's been suggested the media return the favor to Tortorella and stage a walk-out at Tortorella's next setting. I'm serious, that's a real suggestion.

And it makes me laugh. What is that going to do other than please Tortorella? The guy would probably love nothing more than not to have to talk to the media ever, so walking out isn't going to teach him a lesson. It's going to make a dream come true. The only skin off his back is that he spent the team to walk down the hall to the media room. Poor guy.

I've been one of those media members. I was present for a couple of his pressers in the second-round series with Washington. I admit that I'm on the side that actually finds them funny. I sat in the second row and was doing my best not to crack a smile. I was afraid to find out what would happen if an angry Torts saw me grinning like a teenage boy who snuck into an R-rated movie.

It was one of the many postgame briefings that he has given that was just that, brief. But only in their production. The post-press talk has been anything but brief.

Originally posted here:
A brief word on John Tortorella's brief press conferences in playoffs

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

W Hotels Worldwide, in collaboration with burn studios, an innovative music platform developed by burn, a globally leading energy drink from The Coca-Cola Company, today announced the new international DJs who have been selected to participate in the second annual W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab. In addition, a global search has launched on whotels.com/music to find the final DJ, representing Asia, to join the curated group. The DJ Lab is designed to bring together the most exciting rising DJ talent from around the globe and provide them with unprecedented mentorship and valuable tools to help them realize their full potential. The chosen participants will polish their skills during a weeklong DJ boot camp at W Retreat & Spa Bali Seminyak this July in preparation for a global tour hosted at W Hotels and Retreats around the world.

We are thrilled to welcome a new group of rising global artists to join the 2012 W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab, said Vincent Gillet, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide and Le Mridien. Supporting emerging talent is a core value of the W brand, and through our partnership with burn studios, we are continuing to provide a global platform that identifies and supports these up-and-coming artists, while showcasing whats new and next in music at our hotels worldwide.

W Hotels Global Music Director, Michaelangelo LAcqua, along with burn studios, has identified seven promising DJs to join the program at W Bali this year. Hailing from global gateway cities across the world, the 2012 DJs are:

Dogus Cabakcor, Istanbul Posso (aka Marylouise Pels and Vanessa Giovacchini), Los Angeles Vitor Kurc, So Paulo Klaus Rosa De Macedo and Ameet Jugnauth, London Aline Magnier, Berlin

When the new class of emerging DJs convene at W Bali, they will be mentored by industry experts, including Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation), Paul Nolan (SAE) and Jason Bentley (Music Director, KCRW) along with LAcqua. After honing their craft in master classes, each DJ will be given the chance to put their skills into practice by spinning at signature W Happenings and other sought-after W Hotels events, providing a fresh soundtrack for W guests and local music fans alike.

Through our partnership with W Hotels, the burn studiosDJ Lab is providing another opportunity for artists to meet and learn from some of the industrys biggest names, said Prinz Pinakatt, GlobalDirector, burn, The Coca-Cola Company. Our programming nurtures and showcases aspiring DJs looking to break onto an international stage.

W Hotels Launches Online Search for Final DJ to Join 2012 Program

For the first time ever, the eighth and final DJ, representing Asia, will be found through an online talent search held by W Hotels Worldwide, in partnership with MIX.dj. Starting today through June 15, aspiring DJs can go to whotels.com/music to upload their mix for the chance to join the 2012 DJ Lab. Uploaded mixes will automatically be entered into the MIX.dj platform where sharing and voting by the public will commence. Those DJs with the highest number of votes will then be selected by the DJ Lab Mentors to perform at various W Hotels in Asia in May and June, showcasing their unique, cutting-edge sounds.

The first of these events will kick off at W Taipei on May 18, where LAcqua will be on-site at the official Show Off party to witness firsthand the DJs who have submitted mixes for consideration. On May 26, W Hong Kong will host its first Summer Series pool party of the season, giving the DJs additional platforms for exposure. Finally, W Seoul will welcome 2011 DJ Lab participant, DJ Angus Wong, on June 1 for a W Happening featuring select DJs from the online search, industry tastemakers and VIPs. The search will end on June 15 and the winner announced as the 2012 DJ Lab commences in July.

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W Hotels Worldwide Selects Rising International DJs to Participate in 2012 W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab

The Spanish archipelago has a reputation as a party destination, but the cost of living there is soaring for the thousands of Britons who call it home.

According to the latest figures from the Spanish National Statistics Institute, the Balearic islands of Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera are now home to almost 24,000 Brits.

But the cost of living has been climbing gradually in recent years. In Spain as a whole as in most large European countries inflation has taken its toll while wages have stagnated. A fall in the sterling to euro exchange rate has also affected expats, while Spain's well-publicised economic troubles mean the banks are reluctant to lend for personal or professional borrowing.

In the Balearics, where many goods are imported from the mainland and therefore more expensive the situation is even worse, with the popularity of the island pushing up property prices.

Expats Justine and Bruce Knox, who are based in Mallorca, own and run Knox Design. The islands are comparable to a city like London or Paris [in terms of price], said Justine. But I am sure there is still a small percentage of people who dont realise how much the islands have changed and still expect them to be a cheap destination."

Bruce agrees that expat life in the Balearics is expensive. Mallorca actually produces very little so we are really reliant on importing goods and that increases the price, he said.

Many expats on the islands choose to start their own businesses, but when it comes to getting financial advice, they are frustrated by the Balearic banks. A poll by Just Landed at the beginning of the year found that two-thirds of expats polled 64 per cent said that they do not trust local banks at all. They quoted "unfair" charges on their Spanish accounts as a cause for concern, while language can also be a major barrier especially as locals speak Catalan, not Spain's primary language, Castilian.

Its important that expats hoping to start businesses here have good financial, legal and business advice, said Telegraph Expat blogger Anna Nicholas. Social Security is pretty crippling here, and the bureaucracy can be exhausting.

But success stories can inspire potential expat business owners. Providing you are offering the right product and service to the right target market, it is an excellent place to run a business, said Justine. I do always recommend that, despite the potential to target English-speaking holidaymakers, it is still absolutely vital to be able to speak Spanish.

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Life's no party for expats in the Balearics