Oil prices surge in Asia
New York s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in March, gained 35 cents to $97.26 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for March delivery advanced 47 cents to $116.40.
“Brent crude rose… as cold weather in Europe boosted heating fuel demand,” said Ker Chung Yang, commodity analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.
He also told AFP that the WTI was up due to “some bargain hunting” after falling on Monday.
Fatalities from wintry weather sweeping across Europe topped 360 on Monday after snow and rain-swollen rivers burst a Bulgarian dam and killed at least eight people while more homeless perished on frigid city streets.
Switzerland reported temperatures plummeting to minus 35.1 Celsius (minus 31 Fahrenheit) in the eastern Graubuenden canton.
Mitt Romney wins Nevada caucus: US media
Mitt Romney convincingly won the Nevada caucus, US media projected, solidifying his position as frontrunner in the race to be the party s 2012 presidential nomination.
With nearly all polls in the western US state closed and about 10 percent of caucuses reporting, Romney had a decisive lead with 48 percent of the vote, CNN reported, leaving his main rival Newt Gingrich in a tight battle for second place with Texas Representative Ron Paul.
16th Annual ADG Awards Winners Announced
TrendPK.com: And the Art Directors Guild Winners are:
Feature Film, Period: Hugo
Feature Film, Contemporary: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Feature Film, Fantasy: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series: Saturday Night Live
Awards, Music, or Game Shows: 83rd ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
Episode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series: Modern Family
One-Hour Single Camera Television Series: Boardwalk Empire
Television Movie or Mini-Series: Mildred Pierce
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Third ‘Bridget Jones’ film reportedly still in works
TrendPK.com: It looks like ‘Bridget Jones’ fans are going to still have something to look forward to as it is being reported that a third film is being worked on in hopes of filming it soon.
While it was recently rumored that Hugh Grant didn’t want to be involved due to script issues, it is now reported that the stars are still on board with working things out, states E! News.
Grant’s rep recently commented, “Hugh is keen that ‘Bridget Jones 3′ happens, but Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and he all have some issues with the present script. They are hoping to help work them out.”
It is rumored that the third film will be called ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby.’
Do you want it to be made?
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The Hunger Games: Lionsgate releases a spoiler-free second trailer
By Scott Mendelson
TrendPK.com: I have now seen three Hunger Games previews, the teaser, the wonderful full trailer from a few months ago, and now this 69-second second trailer. And I still know next-to-nothing about how the film plays out.
I know the concept, I know large chunks of the first and second act, and I know some of the actors I can expect to see. Other than that, nadda. No mega-money shots from the climax, no thrill-spilling montage, no expository narration or on-screen text. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you market a would-be franchise. You explain the core story, you tease a character relationship or two, offer a few tantalizing bits and pieces, and you get out. This final teaser, combined with the news that the film will play in IMAX for the first week of release, is a sign that Lionsgate feels it has the goods and can deliver not just to the fans of the source material but to general audiences as well. The Hunger Games opens on March 32rd.
As always, we’ll see… Oh, and the IMAX press release is after the jump.
To see trailer and read more go to Mendelson’s Memos
US Archives unveils Magna Carta after repairs
The National Archives unveiled its 715-year-old copy of Magna Carta on Thursday after a conservation effort removed old patches and repaired weak spots in the English declaration of human rights that inspired the United States founding documents.
A $13.5 million gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein funded conservation and a new case for the only original Magna Carta in the United States. Rubenstein bought the historic document at auction in 2007 for $21.3 million and sent it to the National Archives on a long-term loan.
Rubenstein, who is co-founder of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, said he bought the document previously owned by Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot because he wanted to keep it from leaving the country. The only other copies are in Britain and at Australia s parliament.
The U.S. copy was one of four reissued in the year 1297. It still carries the wax seal of King Edward I of England, which is attached by a ribbon under the document.
As a history buff, Rubenstein, 62, has become somewhat of an expert on Magna Carta s legacy dating to 1215. That s when noblemen came together to declare their rights to King John, including the right to a trial by jury and the first limits on arbitrary taxation that led to the principle of “no taxation without representation.”
“This became something that set the trend of common law” in Britain and later in the United States as founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison referred back to Magna Carta, Rubenstein said.
Rubenstein said he became interested in the ideas behind the Constitution while working for Congress in his 20s, which led him to study the Magna Carta. The document will likely remain at the National Archives permanently, he said.
“You can t be buried with these documents as far as I know,” Rubenstein said.
Magna Carta will return to public view at the National Archives on Feb. 17. A new interactive display will allow visitors to zoom in on an image of the parchment and see how it was repaired. They can read an English translation of Magna Carta s Latin words and see comparisons to language in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
On Thursday, conservators showed the document in its new protective case developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Rubenstein s gift also is funding an upcoming exhibit that will open in 2013. There, Magna Carta will be shown as a forerunner to the freedoms imagined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights and will be paired with other documents declaring human rights for African Americans, women, immigrants and others.
LeAnn Rimes, Khloe Kardashian take in Dallas Mavericks game
TrendPK.com: Khloe Kardashian has been enjoying the Dallas Mavericks game ever since her husband, Lamar Odom, was traded there from the Lakers, but she isn’t the only celebrity who is a fan of the team.
Khloe was at the game Friday night along with Texas girl LeAnn Rimes who was put on the JumboTron while eating a hot dog, states RadarOnline.com.
Khloe was at the game along with her brother, Rob Kardashian, and Lamar’s two children, Destiny and Lamar Jr.
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Oil prices higher in Asian trading
Oil rose in Asian trade Friday on expectations the US economy saw robust growth in the final quarter of 2011, analysts said, while tensions between the West and Iran also supported prices.
New York s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March, gained eight cents to $99.78 a barrel in the afternoon.
Brent North Sea crude for March delivery was up 31 cents at $111.10.
“Crude markets are holding steady, with prices supported by an anticipation of strong US growth data in Q4 (fourth quarter) of 2011,” said Nick Trevethan, senior commodities strategist at ANZ Research.
The US Commerce Department will release its figures later Friday, with analysts expecting the world s biggest economy to have grown 3.20 percent in the quarter, the fastest pace in 18 months.
European Union foreign ministers agreed a ban on Iranian oil imports and a phase-out of existing contracts up to July 1 to pressure Tehran to end its controversial nuclear programme.
They also froze the assets of the country s central bank while ensuring legitimate trade under strict conditions.
In a retaliatory move, Iran s parliament is expected to consider next week a bill to ban oil exports to Europe immediately before the embargo comes into force, according to media reports.
The Islamic republic, which is already under four rounds of United Nations sanctions, vehemently denies its nuclear programme masks an atomic weapons drive as the West alleges, and insists it is for civilian purposes only.
“The threat from Iran to cut off its crude exports to the European Union earlier than July … also helped lift prices as it added to the geopolitical risk premium,” said Phillip Futures in a commentary.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad eased tensions slightly late Thursday by declaring that Tehran was ready to sit down with world powers for talks on its nuclear drive, according to state media.
Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds reportedly teaming up for animated series
TrendPK.com: Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds must really enjoy working together as they will allegedly both be working on a new animated series for FOX.
The two will reportedly be voices in the new animated series ‘And Then There Was Gordon,’ states UsMagazine.com. The series is reportedly about an ordinary child surrounded by extraordinary siblings and a brilliant mother.
The two have gotten close since working together on ‘The Proposal’ so much so that they have even been facing dating rumors.
Justin Bieber’s street sign gets stolen
Justin Bieber
TrendPK.com: It was recently reported that Justin Bieber received his very on street in the Forney, Texas area thanks to a local fan, but now someone has gone and taken that sign.
It has been reported that the sign reading Justin Bieber Way was stolen by an unknown person, states Hollyscoop. While the sign was to only stay up during the young fan’s one-day stint as mayor, locals wanted to keep it up just for her.
Now, it is unknown if the sign will be replaced or if the original street sign will go back up.
