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New Delhi, Aug 30 (UNI) Hundreds of intellectuals, mediapersons and civil rights activists today sat on a 'dharna' at Jantar Mantar, here protesting against the crackdown on non-violent protesters of Jammu and Kashmir, seeking to exercise their democratic rights to determine their political destiny on their own.
The protest, organised by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), The Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and Janhastakshep (a People's Intervention Group, Delhi) condemned the alleged economic blockage resorted to by the Hindutva elements on Jammu-Srinagar Highway, saying that ''no one has the right to starve the Kashmiris into subjugation.'' Shouting slogans and carrying banners against the alleged ''repression, that has been let loose in the Kashmir valley, with the imposition of curfew, spanning several days at a stretch''. The black laws like Armed Forces Special Act (AFSPA) and the Disturbed Area Act were in force in Jammu and Kashmir for the past 16 years, were being flagrantly misused to suppress the Kashmiris, they alleged, adding that all these 'undemocratic statutes' should be withdrawn immediately.
In a separate statement released to the press, the Communist Party of India( Maoists) extended its full support to the Kashmiri people's struggle for 'Azadi' and the demand of the majority of non-violent people of the valley, which could no longer be sidetracked by creating a wedge between the two communities of the Jammu and Kashmir. The government should keep in mind that the US, the mightiest powers on the earth, could not keep Vietnam under its control and had to free the Vietnamese after a 14-year-long full-fledged war, the statement alleged.
The protesters at the 'dharna' and several other Left and civil rights organisations demanded that the government should not allow the communalisation of the situation in the Jammu and Kashmir and should hold a dialogue with the representatives of the state people, respecting their democratic aspirations.
The protesters adopted a resolution seeking the opening up of the road and trade with Muzaffarabad and penalising of former Governor S K Sinha and former Chief Ministers - Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, for fanning communal passion and rootcausing the present controversy by transferring the land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) against the law of the state.


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Quest for Curiosity
Discovery Education
What sparks your curiosity? Are you supporting your students' inquisitive minds? No matter the grade you teach or the academic focus of your classroom, the Quest for Curiosity will engage your students and challenge them to harness the skills needed to shine in the 21st century.
Discovery Education's Quest for Curiosity is a teacher-led, student-focused activity. Students will navigate Discovery Education STREAMING digital media resources and find the answers to 10 questions spanning core curricular areas. Along this path they will be exposed to relevant, engaging content tied to your state standards and the common core standards or your provincial standards.
Are you curious about the quest and excited to get started? You can start by clicking "Register" above and completing the registration form. Upon registering, you will receive a confirmation email including 5 ideas for integrating the Quest questions into your classroom activity, as well as, the first steps for implementation.
All teachers registered by March 20, 2011, will gain access to the Quest for Curiosity on March 21, 2011. Registrants will receive a "Quest for Curiosity Kick-Off" email containing the contest questions, tips and tricks for getting started, and access to the submission form.
Teachers will be responsible for compiling student responses into a single entry to be submitted via the submission form. Entries must be submitted by April 15, 2011. The first 5 teachers from the U.S. or Canada to submit an entry with 100% accuracy will win a grand prize package consisting of one Flip camera and 30 Discovery Education student backpacks. Twenty additional educator prizes, consisting of a classroom set of 30 Discovery Education student backpacks, will be awarded to the next 20 teachers from the U.S. or Canada who submit an entry with 100% accuracy. This a total of 25 prize opportunities! For eligibility and official rules, please consult the promotional terms and conditions . Contest winners will be notified by April 22, 2010. The winners of the contest will be announced at the Spring Virtual Conference on April 30, 2011.
Begin the journey today; engage your students in a quest for curiosity and unlock the door to life-long learning.
Discovery Education empowers school systems worldwide to create dynamic digital learning environments that improve student achievement. With proven expertise in developing and delivering standards-based digital content and professional development, Discovery Education builds lasting partnerships across the globe that transform teaching and learning.
Serving 3 million educators and over 30 million students, Discovery Education's services are in half of U.S. classrooms, over 40 percent of all primary schools in the U.K., and more than 50 countries.
Join millions of people on Eventbrite.
In order to purchase these tickets in installments, you'll need an Eventbrite account. Log in or sign up for a free account to continue.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gold equities lure investors after April bullion rout
* Precious metals inflows in equity funds at $275 million in July and August
* Only one of top 10 gold and precious metals equity funds shows net outflow
* Precious metals ETFs outflows at $2 billion in July and August
By Clara Denina and Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - After a once-in-a-generation plunge in the bullion price left investors nursing their wounds, gold equities - long unloved - showed the biggest two-month net inflow for two years in July and August.
That might in part be thanks to a recovering gold price, but also, analysts say, because the miners have taken hefty writedowns, slimmed down projects and put others on hold to save cash, after years of chasing volume at all costs.
A recovery in the price of gold has not, after all, helped gold exchange-traded funds (ETF), which are still seeing outflows.
ETFs have been exceptionally successful since their inception in 2003, responding to the needs of sophisticated investors looking for tools to take full advantage of soaring gold prices. They absorbed 2,691 tonnes of gold over the following 10 years, as gold prices benefited from ultra-loose monetary policies around the world.
But investors started to dump the ETFs when the 12-year-long upward trajectory of gold prices came to an abrupt halt in April; spot gold dropped $200 an ounce, or 13 percent, in two days, its sharpest slide in 30 years, after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated its plan to taper off monetary stimulus. Continued...


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Take 50% off a complete pair of glasses.
Discount at checkout. Complete pair includes frames and lenses. Offer is not limited to one pair. Excludes warranty and Eyeglass Protection Plan. Excludes Maui Jim frames, Ray-Ban frames and Nike Performance Sunglasses. 50% discount taken off full List Price*. Cannot be combined with insurance benefits or other offers. Some restrictions apply. See Store Associate for details.
Offer valid June 23 through July 1, 2017
*"List Price" for complete pair of glasses consists of the ticketed price of the frames and the current list price for the lenses, which are offering prices. That means we offer the frames and lenses in our stores or on Visionworks.com at those prices; however, we may not have sold the frames and lenses at those prices.
Free Shipping on all Orders.
You have not been heard from for a while. For your security, your session will time out in .
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Get notified when new sales are live
Subscribe to our notifications so you don't miss out on our new sales!
Adidas Kids' Akwah 9 Sandals - Blue
$24.99 for world-renowned footwear!
Ready for pool playtime | Soft, light and quick-drying
Available in kids' US sizing - see size chart for correct fit!
One of the world's leading sports brands, Adidas are renowned for their quality, technology and style to boot. So look great and keep comfy with their essentials that will have you giving your all-round best!
- Adidas footwear
- For kids
- Style: Akwah 9 sandals
- Model no: B39857
- Colour: Blue
- Shoe width: N/A
- Adidas brandmark & sporty 3-stripes on the upper
- Hook and loop closures at the ankle
- Front strap adjust to secure their feet for easier walking
- Lightweight moulded outsole cushions and offers stability
- Materials:
- Upper: Synthetic
- Lining: Textile
- Outsole: Synthetic
- Country of origin: Vietnam


text: Upward Home > Children's Ministry > Upward What is Upward? Upward is a great sports program for both boys and girls. Upward at Calvary includes soccer for K-6th grade, flag football and cheerleading for 1st-6th grade. Upward promotes equal playing time for all participants, creating a fun and enjoyable experience for all children while emphasizing character and integrity. For questions concerning Upward, please call or email Jen Siracusa at firstname.lastname@example.com or 727-946-2270. To register, click HERE.


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A Night at the Fine Arts Building
The artists of the Fine Arts Building
Friday, December 13, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM (CST)
Who's Going
San Francisco, California
London, United Kingdom
Florence, Italy
Event Details
Our fifth annual holiday party, "A Night at the Fine Arts Building". Enjoy 10 floors of music, dance, theater, art installations and poetry. Roam the halls of the nation's oldest artist building and experience where Frank Lloyd Wright, Laredo Taft and Ezra Pound called home (All of our art studios are open to the public). Have a glass of wine and enjoy many classical performances in our historic theater or visit our violin making shop, so many things to see. This event is free to all art lovers.
When & Where
Fine Arts Building
410 S Michigan Ave
Friday, December 13, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM (CST)
Add to my calendar
The artists of the Fine Arts Building


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And to continue the theme of design savvy Christmas stuff….here is an awesome wee prezzie from Brisbane Etsy seller Nora Whynot Press.
This is a double banger gift!
1. It is a very attractive 2009 calender.
2. Each image is screen printed and can be framed as a limited edition piece of art after use!
Only 100 being made to be quick!
Also worth a visit is the Nora Whynot website.


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life is a memory
let it live
We are firm believers that your life and all its most special moments should be remembered, but why just keep them locked inside your head where no one else can experience them? We love to capture those moments you never want forgotten so that you can share them with the ones you love. That's our goal when we make a film or when we snap a photo...to keep that memory alive for you.
We are James and Lori Townsend and we live in a semi-small town just outside of Dallas. We have an adorable, happy-go-lucky little boy who truly makes every day a joyful, fun-filled, cup runneth over kind of day! We have been married for 9 years and have been photographing and filming together for nearly a decade.
We'd love tell your story and let your memories live.


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[Date Index]
[Thread Index]
[Author Index]
Re: Combinations
On Oct 26, 2005, at 1:01 AM, xxxxyz at abv.bg wrote:
> Hi,
> Is there any way to generate combinations per turn in a cycle? I mean
> first generate one combination, do something, generate next, do the
> same thing ...
> Thanks.
The combinations are called KSubsets in Mathematica, the
Combinatorica package contains the necessary routines. The first
KSubset in lexicographic order is simply Range[k], you can use
NextKSubset to see the others for example:
Block[{subset = Range[3]},Prepend[Table[subset = NextKSubset[Range
[5], subset], {4}], Range[3]]]
will return the first 5 subsets of length 3 of {1,2,3,4,5} in
lexicographic order. There are functions to get the KSubsets in
other orders in Combinatorica, I suggest you read the Help Browser
information or read "Computational Discrete Mathematics:
Combinatorics and Graph Theory with Mathematica" by Steven Skiena and
Sriram Pemmaraju for more information on the package.


text:
Geometrics Color Changing Flameless Wax LED Ornaments (3 Pack)- Circles
Create your own sanctuary!
Flameless wax color changing LED candles to add ambiance to any décor.
Beautiful wax ornament/candles that don't need a flame! Color changing to add a special something to your room or décor. Batteries included! On/Off switches so you can turn on or off when you want the mood to change.
Available in several shapes to compliment any home or office.
3 Packs available in:
Also available- 2 packs in:
THIS LISTING IS FOR 3" CIRCLES/BALLS (3 PACK). Please see other listings for other styles and packs.


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Each month, Rated People connects over 50,000 homeowners with quality tradesmen - simply enter your job details in the form above to get started.
We'll match your job to the relevant tradesmen in your area - those interested will pay to see your contact details and call you to quote.
As each tradesman expresses interest in quoting on your job, we'll send you their profile and ratings to help you choose the right one for you.
After the work is complete, return to the site and rate your tradesman based on their quality of work, reliability and value for money.
Added 07/05/2017
leaking pipe above hot water tank fixed.
Added 11/03/2017
toilet cystern is constantly filing. I think cystern entry valve is broken and not realising...
Added 05/08/2016
Install/connect Cast Iron radiator, pipe work in place, and balance system, as currently on...
Added 11/02/2016
Leaking Pipe under floorboards near water tank (leak not visible) A leak underneath the floorboards...
Added 16/12/2015
Gas safety certificate 1 x boiler Make of boiler: Ariston Additional information: Just need...
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trace and repair leak above kitchen ceiling, and make good
Very impressed with work - finally I got someone who was able to diagnose & fix long-standing problem with overflow. Would definitely recommend!!
Punctual, Professional and good value, will use HEating again and recommend rated people for finding quality tradespeople.
Right from getting a quote from Matt he was the only choice. The detail he gave when pricing up the job was first rate. He answered all questions I had and offered great advice throughout the quote and the job itself. Weather hampered the job but he still turned up and patiently waited in the van until the rain cleared. Great communication when he was unable to turn up due to persistant rain and gales blowing. I advise all users to use Matt. The cheapest quote and excellent workmanship. Thanks Matt .
Managing your job is easier with the Rated People Homes App, download it today.


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We've always printed the occasional specialty book, but more frequently than ever clients are choosing Yorke to print their limited edition books. Why? Because they know their labor of love will receive our focused, careful attention throughout the production process. Each book appears crafted rather than mass-produced. Here are a few of the books we're proud to have printed:
26° 81° - Author: Joshua Dudley Greer; Publisher: Joseph Zednik and Poccuo. http://www.26-81.com
10th Power of Creativity - Author: Steve Edsey. http://bit.ly/t8kSMF
The Playful Hand of God - Author: John T. Richardson. http://bit.ly/rWuhno
What I Know So Far - Author: Kerry Grady; Photographer: Francois Robert. http://bit.ly/zP2CXJ
Rebound - Liberation from Crisis - Author: Tomas Sumsky. http://www.reboundbook.com
Inspire and Laughter - Publisher: Clickin' Moms. http://bit.ly/sgNhci
Mapping Manifest Destiny/Chicago and the American West - Author: Michael P. Conzen & Diane Dillon for the Newberry Library. http://amzn.to/tVfpR1


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Electricity Rates In North Blenheim, NY
3 Residential Electricity Plans Found for North Blenheim, NY in 0.003 secondsUtility Provider:NatGrid NY- F
You are on the verge of finding an incredible electricity rate in North Blenheim, NY. We have put together a listing of the best offers from the top-rated electricity suppliers serving your area. With one click you can sort the list of energy rates for North Blenheim, NY according to the name of the electricity company, contract duration, or perhaps rate.
The 1-Year Price Protection Program ensures your energy supply rates will remain the same throughout your agreement, so you can rest easy knowing you are protected from market volatility.0 Times Sep 28th, 2016
Get 36 months of protection from market volatility. The 3-Year Price Protection Program ensures your energy supply rates will remain the same throughout your agreement.0 Times Sep 28th, 2016
Sign up for the 2-Year Price Protection Program and lock in your energy supply rate for 24 months. Relax knowing your energy supply rate is guaranteed for two full years.0 Times Sep 28th, 2016


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The media and gossip blog Gawker has published George W. Bush's email address, encouraging readers to send a message to the former president on the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq.
Gawker editor John Cook found the email address in a screenshot of Bush family email correspondence that was published by a hacker last month. Those exchanges are best known for exposing images of some oil paintings Bush has produced in recent years, including two self-portraits. The same hacker, known as "Guccifer," has reportedly broken into the email of former Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal.
Cook has previously published the personal cellphone numbers of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit. Both Gawker and a Bush family spokesman declined to comment.


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How to connect to Access Database – ADO Connection String
Using Excel Macros (VBA) you can connect to any Databases like SQL, Oracle or Access DB. In this Article you will learn, how you can do a connection with an Access Database. Access Database connection string is different for Access 2003 (*.mdb) and Access 2007/2010 (*.accdb) because Drivers are different for both the databases.
For Access 2003 Database the Provider is: Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0.
For Access 2007/2010 the Provider is Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0
Before running the below code, you need to Add reference for ADO DB Connection. Follow below steps to Add Reference:
1. Go to VB Editor Screen (Alt+F11)
2. Tools –> References…
3. From the List of Available References Select "Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.0 Library" You can select 2.0 Version or any other higher version of this reference.
4. Click OK
Connection with Access 2003 Database
Sub ADO_Conn() Dim conn As New Connection Dim rs As New Recordset strcon = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" & _ "Data Source=E:\Student.accdb;" & _ "User Id=admin;Password=" conn.Open (strcon) qry = "SELECT * FROM students" rs.Open qry, conn, adOpenKeyset rs.Close conn.Close End Sub
Connection with Access 2007/2010 Database
Sub ADO_Conn() Dim conn As New Connection Dim rs As New Recordset strcon = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;" & _ "Data Source=E:\Student.accdb;" & _ "User Id=admin;Password=" conn.Open (strcon) qry = "SELECT * FROM students" rs.Open qry, conn, adOpenKeyset rs.Close conn.Close End Sub
Read this Also:
My name is Vishwamitra Mishra. Friends Call me Vishwa. This blog is authored by me. I am an Excel Geek. Well, this blog talks a lot about my passion in Excels & Macros so I'll not talk about it :) I am very much passionate about traveling & quite recently discovered that I am a good photographer too..:P
Get your FREE! E-Book & Have Every New Article Delivered Straight To Your Email-Box
13 Responses to "How to connect to Access Database – ADO Connection String"
i use vba and i connect that to Ms Access 2013 when i put password for Ms access i can't acces to MS access from Vba thanks
hye…i'm struggling with the same issue.. Have you obtained any solution?
My connection is fine without the password.. When I password protect the DB, i keep on getting error Error -2147217843 (Cannot start your application.The workgroup information file is missing or open exclusively by another User.)
Hello Please help me
How to connect to Access Database with ADO Connection String
And Add,Delete,Edit … Record
Tank you
How to connect to Access Database with ADO Connection String
and Add,Edit,Delete …Record
tank you
Hi Vishwa
I want to VBA code, to write the data from excel sheet to SQL database
Iyer Kartik
Hi Vishwamitra,
Lear Excel Macro is a beat website. It helps me alot & male my life easier. Thanks a lot for making this website..
I have few queries & queations.
I havn't receive my E-book. Kindly help me to get that.
You make best excel example files which helps alot.
Few of files asking for Password. It will be great If I could get all macro example
with password.
I also download your VBA Code file, but dont know how to use.
Kindly help
Pls suggest any good book or online literature on SQL / Access programming using excel vba?
hi Vishwamitra Mishra could please tell me. i want to automate process of data we usualy copy data from website and pate in excel sheet then through phone call we write them down to do work .i want i should me automated with sms app it will reduce our work ..thanks
[…] How to Connect to Access Database using Excel Macros […]


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Though not blessed with any children of my own, I am the proud aunt of 5 red headed little boys and the reluctant one of a blond pre-teen. Don't get me wrong, I love all of my nephews but my oldest nephew, Nathan and I have not seeing eye to eye for the last year. [Read More…]
Hated Tide: The Real Reason you hate Alabama and Mika Brzezinski
December 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It ain't that deep: What we learned from Joe and Mika's blow up
January 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Anyone watching MSNBC's Morning Joe, this morning could sense something just wasn't right. To the casual observer, all might have appeared well, but to those of us Morning Joe fanatics, we knew that the overt politeness, the lack of teasing, and the somber tone were indicative of something else: the uncomfortable aftermath of a family [Read More…]


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Discussion in 'Server Configuration and Hosting' started by florencia, Apr 5, 2014.
Your recommendations for best Xenforo setup and hosting requirements for hi-end xenforo security.
They are listed here: http://xenforo.com/purchase/
those are the minimum system requirements. I'm looking for top security bro! Starting from a dedicated or collocation or managed. Best setup to make xenforo secure for members.
XenForo in itself is very secure. There has never been a security vulnerability found in its code.
That being said, regarding the host, have a look around at webhostingtalk.com.
If you had a forum for ex presidents of the United State for example. You would like their forum threads be very secure. How would you recommend setting up Xenforo ?
Make the nodes with the threads private and only allow access to specific people. You could even close registration.
I think close registration is the best option as well. Do you need to have private nodes even if you have close registration or it makes no difference at this point?
Depends if you want to restrict viewing to a whole usergroup or just a few people...
Maybe it wasn't clear. Does nodes provide an extra security level to the close registration?
There is an addon that blocks the login attempts to 3 and the it block users, would you recommend to install it?
Nodes are only forums/sections you add. Permissions on those nodes would add an extra security level.
You can also close your board so only administrators can access it: Options >> Board Active.
This looks also helpfull. http://xenforo.com/community/resources/secure-admincp.415/
There is an addon that blocks the login attempts to 3 and the it block users, would you recommend to install it? http://xenforo.com/community/resources/loginuserlocks-prevent-brute-force-security.1347/
What is your budget for hosting? To "secure it" I'm assuming you want DDOS services, management of the server and forum management? Hope you got some big bucks handy for the site.
Two factor authentication goes a long way towards securing it.
I use it for the sites and also to lock down SSH access to the servers (in addition to using keys).
This is core functionality.
Tracy, I will reply more in detail about our project in private message.
Thank you Andrej, I read the information in the plugins and it said support 1.2 so I thought is wasn't a core functionality for 1.2. OK. I'm glad I asked then. thank you.
The only 100% secure solution is not putting it on the Internet. If it's on the Internet, regardless of what it is or what your budget, you're leaving yourself open to vulnerabilities. You just have to deal with that.
When you set up a server, just have a really good admin team go through and lock things down. I would recommend a place like Rack911. They are REALLY good at management and security. The absolute most secure would be a co-located server, with brand new drives that you purchased yourself and and were never used before.
It's "fun" doing it yourself. I just got through setting up 3 VPS's on my new server and between CSF, Munin, SSH 2 factor authentication and a few other things I'm about ready to call it a night.
I've been waiting on a RapidSSL certificate notification to show up but hit hasn't yet so I'll have to wait until it hits for me to use it.
For even more security, just use land line phones to share content.
Hire a consultant to setup securely your servers. None of the hosting providers I know have deep knowledge on a secure setup, all they care is to sell you the bandwidth. Not to mention a Linux distro was never designed to be secure from the start, as it was never designed to run web services.
Separate names with a comma.


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Khloe Kardashian Sizzling in Completely Sheer Bodysuit. Tempting Tristan Thompson?
- 01:08 PM, Jun 23
Kiefer Sutherland Accepts Award Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals 2013 Man of The Year
Photo credit: N. Czarnecki / WENN
To fit your screen, we scale this picture smaller than its actual size. The original picture size is 733x1000 pixels and this photo has been viewed 2720 times since February 08, 2013


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The following is a list of all the Featured Images on the Final Fantasy Wiki. A featured image is displayed on the front page of the Wiki from Sunday to Sunday. Images are chosen if they are artistically valuable or depict an interesting aspect of the series. To suggest a Featured Image, click here.
Fëasindë, Yuan, Drakey, Catuse, and BlueHighwind are in charge of the Featured Images and will
tyrannically carefully choose the Image taking weekly turns.
February 26th - March 5th
Artwork of Zidane Tribal in Trance from Puzzle & Dragons. Puzzle & Dragons (PAD) is a mobile puzzle game which involves matching tiles; increasing numbers of matches empowers the monsters controlled by the player, which they may then use to fight through dungeons. PAD, which has been so successful that there is an anime based on it, heavily collaborates with other media, especially anime and role-playing games. In particular, PAD draws heavily from Final Fantasy source material. Here, we see card no. 2038, Trance Zidane. Trance is the Limit Break system of Final Fantasy IX, and, aside from serving as a plot device, is indicated in gameplay by the character turning gray (or pink, in Zidane's case -- an allusion to the Trance of Terra Branford in Final Fantasy VI) and gaining new abilities.
Here Zidane appears to be wielding the Ultima Weapon, the most powerful weapon accessible to Zidane in IX, distinguishable by the helm-like discs at the hilt of each blade. It is unclear which Dyne he is casting -- it seems closest to Shift Break, but the color scheme is unlike any Dyne in IX. In the background are the twin moons of Gaia. The twin moons are an allusion to the Red Moon of Final Fantasy IV whose astronomy is elaborated upon in the Final Fantasy IX Ultimania. Zidane's "anime face" is characteristic of PAD cards.
February 26th - March 5th
Artwork of the Warriors of Light and Warriors of Darkness as various jobs from Final Fantasy Dimensions. From top left counterclockwise, this artwork depicts Nacht as a Dark Knight, Glaive as a Monk, Diana as a Summoner, Alba as a Dancer, Sarah as a Bard, Dusk as a White Mage, Aigis as a Paladin, and Sol as a Warrior. Dimensions follows two groups of protagonists, the Warriors of Light and of Darkness, on an adventure modeled after classic Final Fantasy games both in terms of story and gameplay.
The art style is typical of Dimensions concept art, which typically has a faded background and larger-than-life characters which exaggerate their emotions. The game's large collection of artwork includes a piece depicting the events of each chapter in the main story. Here, the characters are assigned jobs which fit their personalities -- for example, the bubbly, sociable Alba is a Dancer, while the blunt, straightforward Glaive is a Monk. Jobs which have obvious parallels are opposite each other: Bard opposite Dancer as both are support jobs based on real-life art forms, Summoner opposite White Mage as both are mages, but one is offensive and one is defensive, and so on.
February 26th - March 5th
Screenshot of Noctis and friends posing for a photo from Final Fantasy XV. In XV, Prompto can take photographs whenever he is in the party, which can then be viewed when the party is resting. The player can post the photos to social media; this feature, unique to XV, grew out of Hajime Tabata's desire to create a game which would impact social media, thus capitalizing on the mobile-gaming trend rather than attempting to compete with it. Tabata views XV as an experimental vessel for the future of Final Fantasy and gaming as a whole.
True to real-life social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat, Prompto's camera can unlock filters with which he can modify his photos. A recent patch, XV 1.05, increased the number of photos on Prompto's camera roll from 150 to 200.
If the party poses for a photo, they will frequently pose with one finger in one hand and five in the other, to indicate the number fifteen. Allusions to the number of the game are prevalent throughout Final Fantasy, and date back at least as far as Final Fantasy VII, in which the terrorist group AVALANCHE operates out of 7th Heaven, a bar with seven permanent residents based out of Sector 7.
February 12th - February 26th
Panel of Miwa and Kurasame Susaya falling in love at a dance in the "If Only..." chapter of the manga Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story: The Reaper of the Icy Blade. Kurasame and Miwa are two members of Class Third at Akademeia, the capital and military school of the Dominion of Rubrum. Miwa and Kurasame are two of the five only survivors of a Concordian attack on Class Third. During the resulting war, Miwa and Kurasame grow quite close, and she helps him confess his love for Aoi. However, the manga ends in tragedy. Seven years later, in Final Fantasy Type-0, Kurasame is an instructor of Class Zero, known as the Reaper of the Icy Blade, and fights alongside Class Zero and his Tonberry in the war.
However, in an alternate timeline depicted in the chapter "If Only...", there is no war, and Kurasame and Miwa dance together at a festival held by Akademeia. This chapter is based off of the "What If" ending of Type-0, in which war is averted and the party instead spends their days gossiping about romance, and in particular certain female students' affection for Kurasame.
Reaper of the Icy Blade is a spinoff of the Type-0 manga, which is included with the Type-0 HD Collector's Edition.
January 29th - February 12th
Promotional image of Noctis Lucis Caelum and Nyx Ulric from Final Fantasy XV. Nyx is the main protagonist of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and a member of the titular Kingsglaive, tasked with defending the capital of Lucis, Insomnia, from the hostile nation of Niflheim. Kingsglaive takes place during the events of XV, focusing on the events in the capital while Noctis travels around the countryside and stars Aaron Paul as Nyx, with Lena Heady as Lunafreya Nox Fleuret and Sean Bean as Regis Lucis Caelum. Though the movie was panned by critics, Hajime Tabata has claimed that "experiencing both [the game and the movie] ensures a deeper appreciation of the two."
Indeed, the two characters are clearly meant to complement each other, which Square Enix emphasizes even in their similar appearances and in their names: Noctis is a form of the Latin nox (in English, night) while Nyx is named for the Greek goddess of the night. Here Noctis and Nyx each hold one of Nyx's daggers, which can be obtained as a powerful late-game weapon in XV, Ulric's Kikris. According to the item description, one of the kikris was forged in Nyx's homeland, Galahd, while the other was forged in the Crown City of Insomnia.
December 28th - January 4th
Promotional stickers of some of the Primals and other enemies from Final Fantasy XIV. These stickers were available for purchase from the Europe Fanfest in 2016. Each sticker references the battlefield where the fight takes place and the mechanics of the encounter. From left to right, top to bottom, they are:
- Nidhogg: fought at the Final Steps of Faith. Has various flame breath and explosion attacks.
- Ramuh: battled at the Striking Tree. Wields the power of lightning.
- Shiva: encountered at the Akh Afah Amphitheatre. During her battle, she turns the floor to ice.
- Behemoth: an open world event rather than an instance, which often results in a swarm of players appearing in a small area.
- Titan: he drops the rocks that make the people fall down. In the Navel.
- Garuda: the Howling Eye is found in the centre of a tornado. Garuda divides the battlefield with further tornadoes.
- Morbol: the common Final Fantasy enemy and its signature attack, Bad Breath.
- Sophia: a primal representing the Goddess in the Warring Triad of Final Fantasy VI. Heavy tilts and no railing lead to players falling off the floating platform she is battled on.
December 21st - December 28th
Artwork of the Ice Cavern from Final Fantasy IX. Zidane, Garnet, and company are traveling through the Ice Cavern when suddenly most of the party falls asleep, and Zidane is ambushed by Black Waltz 1, a powerful black mage sent to apprehend Garnet. However, Zidane destroys the Waltz and wakes up the party. As they are leaving, Garnet decides on an alias: "Dagger," after Zidane's weapon of choice.
This concept art was done by Christian Lorenz Scheurer, a graphic novelist who also contributed art to several movies, including Suicide Squad and 300: Rise of an Empire. The darkness of Zidane brings out the light blue tones of the cavern and the light from the plains near Dali — that he is walking into the "light at the end of the tunnel" is rather ironic, as the party's escape from Alexandria shortly after the events of the Ice Cavern marks the beginning of a continent-wide war.
December 1st - December 7th
Screenshots of food at camp and the Sky System from Final Fantasy XV, demonstrating the graphical power of Luminous Engine 2.0. Luminous Engine 1.0 was first unveiled in 2011 with the tech demo Agni's Philosophy; this engine was later used for Final Fantasy XIV and its expansions, though not to the same power; Agni's Philosophy requires 1.8 GB of data per scene, which would not be feasible in a game as large as XIV. However, XV revolutionizes the graphical capacity of the series: a typical character model in Final Fantasy XIII used 20,000 polygons, but XV uses 20,000 for just the hair alone (which is designed by a professional hair stylist on a mannequin and then translated into in-game models).
Two examples of the graphical realism of Luminous Engine are shown here. First, on the left, we have mashed potatoes and cake that Ignis Scientia prepared at camp. In XV, the strongest monsters come out at night, so it useful to set up camp and rest overnight rather than attempt to continue to fight. In camp, Ignis prepares food that will grant the party status buffs, determined by which ingredients are in the party inventory. At the time of writing, it is unknown what ingredients and status elements are tied to mashed potatoes.
On the right, four screenshots demonstrate the power of the Sky System, software used to indicate the coming of night. In particular, photographs of Earth's sky were used to generate the lighting effects in game; unlike earlier games, where day-night cycles occur at set time intervals, cycles in XV occur continuously.
It is morbidly amusing to note that Naoki Yoshida noted that one of the main reasons for XIV 1.0's failure is the emphasis on graphical fidelity rather than gameplay and story, but we withhold judgement on the success or failure of XV until everyone has actually completed the game. And unlike XIV 1.0, XV has already sold five million copies.
November 24th - November 30th
Screenshot of the banquet at the Imperial Palace from Final Fantasy VI. Late in the Third Gestahlian Campaign, the imperial capital, Vector, is sacked by espers, forcing Imperial surrender and negotiations with the Returners. Here the party dines with Emperor Gestahl and his men; Gestahl asks the party various questions, including who they should toast and what should be done to punish Kefka Palazzo. If the party answers correctly, reprimanding the Emperor but not being too harsh, the Gestahlian army will withdraw from its various occupied territories, and the party can even get rare equipment. Unfortunately, Gestahl's "surrender" is merely feigned to manipulate the party, and the Empire ultimately resumes its war, leading to the end of the world, as Gestahl laments that the ruin of his empire will mean nobody will ever worship him.
As the negotiations with the Emperor are part of the buildup to the end of the world, it makes for one of the darkest story arcs in the series. But it might be a bit harder to take seriously with the iOS's faceless soldiers and over-detailed lobsters.
November 9th - November 16th
Screenshot of Squall's assassination attempt on Edea Kramer from Final Fantasy VIII. Edea is to be made the Ambassador of Galbadia, but because she is the vessel of the Sorceress Ultimecia, she is a threat to the country, so Galbadia Garden arranges for her to be assassinated by the mercenaries of SeeD. However, Irvine Kinneas recognizes her as the main characters' "Matron", who cared for them in an orphanage at Centra, and sabotages the assassination attempt. As a result, Edea is able to murder president Vinzer Deling, mortally wound Squall with her Limit Break, magically subdue the crowds of people watching the violence, and assume the position of Galbadian dictator.
Final Fantasy VIII was the second game to have presidents, ambassadors, and other "modern" political titles, after Final Fantasy VII. Prior games had kings, emperors, and even elders, but this changed as part of a shift in genre towards science fiction during the PlayStation-era games. Later games, including Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy XII, return to medieval fantasy, but the sci-fi influence on Final Fantasy continues today with Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XV, though both games have anachronistic government systems.
November 2nd - November 9th
Screenshot of the Legend from Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. Before Crisis is a prequel to the other games in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, an action RPG playable in an episodic format on Japanese mobile phones, and follows the Turks as they fight against the enemies of Shinra Electric Power Company, namely AVALANCHE. Unlike the other games in the Compilation, Before Crisis was never released outside Japan.
The Legendary Turk is a former anti-Shinra activist known only as the "Death God of the Battlefield", whose faction was betrayed and annihilated at a Mako Reactor by a weapons dealer. After this, the Death God joined the Turks, but when he encountered the dealer on a mission in a military facility in Wutai, he bombed the building with the dealer still inside to exact revenge for the betrayal. The Legend is placed on house arrest for two years as punishment, but continues to work with the Turks on his release. True to his appearance, the Legend is lax in his duties—and, predictably enough, lives in the beach town of Costa del Sol.
October 19th - October 25th
Model of Sephiroth from World of Final Fantasy. World of Final Fantasy, which will be released on October 25th, has a "Day 1 Edition", which includes an exclusive Sephiroth summon. When summoned, he appears surrounded by flames, reminiscent of the Nibelheim Incident, then rises up into the air, covered in formulas ranging in complexity to the area of a circle, to equations that appear to be from celestial mechanics and relativity, similar to Super Nova. Sephiroth then unleashes Meteor upon the player's enemies.
The Final Fantasy Wiki held a podcast about World of Final Fantasy recently, and reached the conclusion that though World is clearly meant for a younger audience, the game may draw affection from fans of the older games of the series, who may not appreciate how seriously recent games have taken themselves, and who may appreciate the content drawn from classic games like Final Fantasy VII. Though to be sure, while Sephiroth may have been terrifying to young fans playing the game for the first time in the late 1990s, nobody is going to have nightmares about this incarnation of Sephiroth.
October 11th - October 18th
Screenshot of Alisaie, Ga Bu, and the Warrior of Light mourning beneath the stars from the latest patch of Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Soul Surrender. After the end of the Dragonsong War, the beast tribes are pressured by the Warriors of Darkness into summoning their primals, often with gruesome rituals to ensure their victories over mankind and the Warriors of Light. In the case of the Kobolds of U'Ghamaro Mines, their chief orders the ritual sacrifices of his enemies, including the parents of the young goblin Ga Bu, to create implements for the summoning of Titan, but due to the intervention of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, the summoning fails until Ga Bu accidentally unleashes his despair into the aether from which Titan is reborn. After Titan is slain by the Warriors of Light, a shellshocked Ga Bu is taken in by the Scions, refusing to speak to anyone.
Here Ga Bu mourns his parents as Alisaie contemplates her role in the defense of the realm in the wake of the sacrifice of her grandfather, Louisoix, at the Battle of Carteneau, for the sake of Eorzea — a land where he was not raised, and that he was not indebted to. After the Warrior of Light recounts his own travels and losses, Alisaie resolves to fight alongside the Scions, though Ga Bu still struggles to recover from his parents' murder. This scene is notable for its use of detailed dialogue options, uncharacteristic for the usual "silent protagonist" character of the Warrior of Light. It also serves as a major event in Alisaie's character arc: how can she reconcile her desire to walk away from the war to defeat the Ascians and preserve Eorzea, which she at times holds in contempt, with the fact that her beloved grandfather gave her life for it?
October 4th - October 11th
Models of Lightning's Garbs from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Garbs are costumes which affect Lightning's appearance, but like Dresspheres, they also affect her abilities and statistics. However, the concept of Garbs did not grow out of Final Fantasy X-2, similar in design the game may be to Lightning Returns, but rather Final Fantasy XIII-2, which featured DLC costumes that had solely cosmetic purposes. Many fans felt that the costumes should have more than an aesthetic effect; combine this with a developer desire to call back to classic Final Fantasy costumes, and the extra system resources created by having only one playable character, and the concept of Garbs was born.
From left to right, the Garbs depicted here (a small subset of those unlockable or purchasable in game) include: SOLDIER 1st Class (based on Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, of course), Midnight Mauve, Dark Muse, Equilibrium (said to be "for the savior who stands on the border between man and God"), Spira's Summoner (based on Yuna from Final Fantasy X), Mi'qote Dress (a near-perfect recreation of the default wear of the Mi'qote of Final Fantasy XIV), and Heartstealer (said to be imbued with the "soul of the thief"; perhaps based on the Thief from Final Fantasy Tactics and her Steal Heart ability?) Sadly, this image lacks the most amusing of Lightning's outlandish wear, including one costume that is entirely made of moogles, and another that seems to be an incomplete sexy mermaid costume for Halloween.
September 21th - September 27th
Model of Gilgamesh's counterfeit Revolver from Final Fantasy XII. Gilgamesh is a traveling swordsman and recurring character in most Final Fantasy games since Final Fantasy V. In V, he wielded the Excalipoor, a sword that always dealt one damage, believing that it was the legendary blade Excalibur, and in every game since then, Gilgamesh has traveled the realms, searching for legendary weapons, only for them to always turn out to be counterfeit. (Humorously, in Final Fantasy IX, he turns down the Excalibur II, arguably the most difficult weapon to obtain in the entire series, for the Excalipur, a variation of the Excalipoor).
In Gilgamesh's boss fight in XII, he wields a number of "legendary" weapons across the series, including Squall Leonhart's Revolver, a gunblade engraved with Griever, a lion crest that, according to Squall, symbolizes strength and courage. Unfortunately for Gilgamesh, his Revolver is instead engraved with a Chocobo. Aside from being amusing, Gilgamesh's collection of weapons, which in XII includes the Buster Sword of Final Fantasy VII, the Orichalcum of Final Fantasy IX, and Ivalician weapons like the Zantetsuken, Tournesol, and Wyrmhero Blade, helps tie together the continuity of the Final Fantasy series, which takes place in many different universes of multiple genres, but still has a shared history of recurring characters ... and mediocre swords.
September 13th - September 20th
PlayStation 4 cover artwork from World of Final Fantasy. World of Final Fantasy, a turn-based role-playing game set to be released next month in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Final Fantasy, is set in two worlds: a "normal" world in which protagonists Reynn and Lann live, and the titular world of Final Fantasy, Grymoire. Beings in Grymoire have shrunken, "chibi" bodies depicted here; classic heroes like Cloud, Terra, and Lightning battle villains such as Exdeath and monsters, like the Bomb. In a non-chibi art style similar to Kingdom Hearts, Reynn and Lann stand at the forefront of the picture, ready to explore the fantastical, uncharted territories of Nomura's and Amano's imaginations.
The concept of World of Final Fantasy was conceived by Shinji Hashimoto and Hiroki Chiba as a way to make Final Fantasy appeal to a younger audience, after learning that not many children play Final Fantasy. The sharp contrast with the realism of Final Fantasy XV and the Lightning Saga was deliberate: according to Hashimoto and Chiba, younger gamers are more used to cutesy fantasy graphics. Despite the cast's comic appearance, World of Final Fantasy claims to have a emotionally intense story designed to draw players into the greater Final Fantasy multiverse.
August 31th - September 6th
Promotional artwork of some of the cast from Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia. Opera Omnia is a turn-based sequel to the 2008 fighting game Dissidia Final Fantasy, set to be released later this year and featuring an expanded cast, which befits the title, which translates to "complete works". This artwork depicts the Warrior of Light from I, Terra from VI, Cloud and Yuffie from VII, Vivi from IX, Yuna from X, Vaan from XII, Hope from XIII, Y'shtola from XIV, and Rem from Type-0. Of these, Yuffie, Vivi, Hope, and Rem are new to the Dissidia series.
Dissidia has always had conflict and chaos as a central theme — its title translates to "discord", after all — and the moody background and the anger of the characters reflects this; contrast comes from the humorous chibi art style and Yuffie's grin.
August 23th - August 30th
Screenshot of Noctis and his friends playing Justice Monsters Five from the Stand By Me trailer from Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV. Justice Monsters Five is a pinball game that will be playable in-game in Final Fantasy XV, but will also be playable standalone on the iOS, Android and Windows 10. Over 90,000 players have registered to play Justice Monsters Five, and it will be released later in 2016.
The trailer features a recording Stand By Me, one of the game's main themes, sung by Florence + The Machine. The song, a cover of the classic Ben E. King song from the 1960s, is about Noctis's love for his friends, which he is unable to express in prose, and features the Prelude in its instrumentation. Along with two other songs, Too Much Is Never Enough and I Will Be, Stand By Me was released on Florence's album Songs from Final Fantasy XV on August 12.
August 15th - August 22th
Concept artwork of Estinien Wyrmblood, the Azure Dragoon of the Holy See of Ishgard by Kazuya Takahashi, from Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. Estinien first appears as a character and the final boss of the Dragoon quests in A Realm Reborn, where he steals the Eye of Nidhogg to draw the Wyrmking's wrath away from the Holy See, only to be consumed by its rage and forced to fight the player. Throughout Before the Fall, Part 2 and Heavensward, he works with the player to defeat Nidhogg. He fights alongside the party in the Aery, only to become one with Nidhogg; fused with the Wyrmking, he is the final boss of Revenge of the Horde, fought atop the Final Steps of Faith.
Estinien is often moody and gruff, motivated by revenge for the deaths of his family at the hands of Nidhogg and filled with contempt for Ysayle, who opened the Holy See to attack, but who travels with him in Heavensward. Though he eventually opens up to the other main characters of Heavensward, in particular befriending Alphinaud, he remains outwardly disdainful for his peers. This is reflected in the shadowy, gray artwork of him here
August 8th - August 15th
Screenshot of Wol and his field fairy, Echo from Mobius Final Fantasy. Mobius is based on classic Final Fantasy games (after all, its name and logo are meant to invoke the concept of "infinity" and looping back to one's origins), and sure enough, Wol is named for the Warriors of Light of old. The developers originally took this to an extreme in designing his Onion Knight garb — it was originally intended to be far more revealing, because the old Onion Knight was so often described as a "bare bones" job. Though the developers eventually clothed their Onion Knight, they couldn't let his well-toned body go to waste; and so, after defeating the enemies in Chapter 4, Wol decides to take a break in a hot spring with Echo. Echo, who according to Mog is mischievous and dangerous, uses her "Spiritual Gifts" to buff Wol in battle. Here, she tells him to relax and cool off.
August 1st - August 7th
Screenshot from a trailer of Penelo dancing from Final Fantasy XII. Penelo is frequently described as a dancer; her Quickening in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is known as Dance of Rapture and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift describes her as "fast gaining renown as a skillful dancer"; however, the only time she actually dances in the original XII, outside of concept art, is in her Quickening animations. It is possible that this scene was intended to be in the game, and may have been meant to take place for the Golmore Jungle. A scene based on this dance does appear in Revenant Wings.
July 25th - July 31th
Concept artwork of a Propagator from Final Fantasy VIII. Eight Propagators spawn in four different colors, two for each color, throughout the Ragnarok: purple, green, gold, and red, though to the knowledge of the Final Fantasy Wiki, only concept artwork of the red Propagator exists. These space monsters must be killed in pairs to keep them from respawning. According to Scan, they are extremely violent creatures that attack anything that moves. There are also notes on the ship left behind by its previous crew that speak of a "Propagator infection", which suggests that the Propagators somehow boarded the ship and slaughtered the crew seventeen years ago, likely as they were attempting to return home after imprisoning Sorceress Adel in outer space. Perhaps, because they are an "infection", they are morphed humans; perhaps they were somehow byproducts of the Lunar Cry in Trabia. Propagators reappear in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, where they must be fought two at a time, just like in VIII.
July 18th - July 24th
Concept artwork of the Water Guardian (left) and Kraken (right) from Final Fantasy IX. Each classical element has a guardians of Terra associated with it, guarding the Elemental Mirrors in their respective shrines. The four mirrors unlock the Shimmering Island, a portal to Terra, a twin world to Gaia. Terra is the site of Pandemonium, the castle of Garland and where Kuja enters Trance and assumes the form of Trance Kuja.
The player controls Zidane and Quina as they defeat the Earth Guardian and collect the Earth Mirror, while the other Guardians are defeated by other party members outside of the player's control. Unlike the Fire Guardian and Wind Guardian, Garnet and Eiko's victory over the Water Guardian is not shown in a cutscene.
When the party is traveling through Memoria, the game's final dungeon, the four Guardians reappear and morph into their true forms, just as they were in Final Fantasy; the Water Guardian is fought in the form of the Kraken. Thus, the Water Guardian art is something of a curiosity: it never appears in the game, but its artwork still exists, even though the Kraken has its own model and artwork.
June 27th - July 3rd
Promotional artwork of Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca and Basch fon Ronsenburg from Final Fantasy XII, by Hideo Minaba, one of two Art Directors for the game. Basch, a hardened, professional soldier who has been imprisoned for years, serves a personal guard to the Princess Ashe, herself a serious, politically motivated character — so this picture of them splashing about in a lake in swimsuits, featured in the Final Fantasy XII Ultimania Omega, feels quite out of place; it would make more sense if it featured Vaan and Penelo, though even then it's suspect, since there aren't many bodies of water near Dalmasca, a barren desert. But I suppose we cannot protest too much.
June 20th - June 26th
Concept art of Mog suffering in the heat from Final Fantasy XIII-2. Director Motomu Toriyama has said that adding a baby moogle character is fan service that would help fans accept the "rather serious main story." Mog forms an intimate bond with Serah Farron, and has a number of personality quirks, including a love for sweet foods. In the game's concept art, his antenna flops in different directions to show his mood. Here, it droops in the sun as he tries to cool off with a fan and ice cream bars.
Happy first week of summer, Final Fantasy Wiki. Except for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere.
June 14th - June 19th
Trailer screenshot of Titan in combat from Final Fantasy XV. Titan is an Astral living in the town of Lestallum. According to Hajime Tabata, Titan is integral to the story, which is why his boss fight is not shown in Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae. He will be able to be summoned, using his signature attack, Gaia's Wrath.
This screenshot is from E3 2016, where game developers played through his trial to demonstrate the graphics and gameplay of Final Fantasy XV to the masses. However, the objectives of the fight will be different in-game than they were at E3, where the player simply had to destroy Titan's arm to defeat him.
June 6th - June 12th
Screenshot of Vaan drawing attention to himself in Bhujerba from Final Fantasy XII. At the start of the game, Basch fon Ronsenburg, a knight of the kingdom of Dalmasca, is framed for the assassination of King Raminas B'nargin Dalmasca and "executed" by the Empire of Archadia. In reality, however, the murder was committed by Gabranth, Judge Magister of the Empire, and Basch is being held hostage to ensure the loyalty of Bhujerba, a supposedly neutral state led by Marquis Halim Ondore IV. To prove his "neutrality", Ondore plays along with the Empire's demands, claiming that Basch is dead. Later, Basch escapes with Vaan's party, and plans to seek aid from Ondore to rescue Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca from the clutches of the Empire.
However, Ondore refuses to meet with them, setting up the infamous minigame shown here. Vaan begins running around the city, exclaiming to anyone who will listen:
I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca! I'm Captain Basch! Basch lives! Don't listen to Ondore's lies!
Though Vaan is clearly not Basch, the plan works, and the party is taken in to meet with Ondore, who allows the party access to the Imperial ship Dreadnought Leviathan, where Ashe is being held hostage.
Square Enix recently announced a Final Fantasy XII HD remaster for the PlayStation 4 in English and Japanese, featuring the International Zodiac Job System. We'll finally be able to run around in painted-on abs screaming that we're Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca in HD.
May 31st - June 5th
Cosplay of Serah Farron's "Exposure and Defense" DLC costume from Final Fantasy XIII-2. The younger sister of protagonist Lightning and hardly more than a damsel-in-distress in the original Final Fantasy XIII, Serah's design for XIII was cute and girly. However, the developers felt that since Serah is the main character of XIII-2, her costume needed to reflect her readiness for combat. To "preserve her femininity", she wields a bow that can also transform into a sword. After her default design was created, singer Yuko Oshima was asked to design a DLC costume. "Exposure and Defiance" attempts to answer the question: how can Final Fantasy girls fight with such revealing clothing? The answer is that Serah wields pointed shoes and a shield, so despite her garb, she is still equipped for combat. Fans chose "Exposure and Defiance" over a second, "Little Red Riding Hood" costume, designed to symbolize Serah's growth into adulthood. The Wiki has concept art of "Little Red Riding Hood", but it was never implemented into the game.
Here Oshima cosplays as her design at the game's launch event, holding copies of XIII-2 where Serah would normally hold a shield. Though this might be more combat-ready than, say, some of Lightning's designs from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, one has to wonder how Oshima would defend against an attack aimed at her left leg.
May 22nd - May 30th
Screenshot of Tidus laughing from Final Fantasy X. Tidus is distressed, and Yuna tells him to practice smiling when he feels sad. Tidus forces himself to laugh, much to the bemusement of Yuna and her Guardians. Though the laughter is first awkward, unrealistic, and even painful to listen to, eventually Yuna joins in and it becomes real, though Wakka observes, "We were worried you guys might have just gone crazy."
This scene is often ridiculed by detractors of the game as an example of bad voice acting, while fans of the game argue that the awkward but endearing incident allowed Tidus and Yuna to resolve tension and improve their relationship. Whatever the case, this scene can be viewed in the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, recently released on Steam.
May 17th - May 22nd
Yoshitaka Amano concept art of Emperor Mateus from Final Fantasy II. Mateus, the Emperor of Palamecia, unleashes an army of hellspawn with which he conquers the world. The Wild Rose Rebellion is formed to overthrow him, and deploys the party to assassinate him inside his Cyclone. After his death, he murders the ruler of Hell, or Pandaemonium (said to be Satan in the novelization Muma no Meikyū, which also reveals that a long line of Palamecian emperors have been corrupted by demons) and assumes his place. Though the party enters Pandaemonium and slays the Emperor, his "Light" half lives on in Heaven. In Soul of Rebirth, party members who sacrificed their lives during the events of the main game and are now in Heaven face and kill the Light Emperor.
Most of Amano's artwork of the Emperor is in black and white, though there is a version of this particular piece in blue, and many of his sprites are in purple; in Dissidia Final Fantasy, the Emperor wears a purple cape and golden armor. Such color choices are quite symbolic: the darkness of this and similar pieces of art is associated with evil, while "Tyrian purple" — a dye produced from sea snails only affordable by the most elite Romans — has come to symbolize royalty. Children of Byzantine emperors were afforded the title "Porphyrogennetos", literally, "born in the purple."
May 8th - May 15th
Screenshot of Sephiroth in Shinra Manor from Final Fantasy VII. After an expedition to a Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel, Sephiroth sees the name on the chamber inside the reactor is "Jenova," the name he was told is his mother. Concerned by the implications, he returns to Nibelheim and finds a secret lab in the abandoned mansion once inhabited by Shinra researchers.
For days, Sephiroth reads journals left behind about the Jenova Project. Misinterpreting the readings to mean that he was artificially produced from Jenova's cells, Sephiroth comes to believe he is Jenova's son, and as the journals falsely identified her as a Cetra, that makes him the last Cetra, heir to the Planet. Sephiroth leaves the mansion to reclaim Jenova's remnants from the reactor, coldly telling Zack "Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother."
The Final Fantasy Wiki wishes all visitors a happy Mother's Day, and gives well wishes to all mothers. Even the ones that happen to be parasitic space aliens bent on global destruction.
April 24th - May 8th
Promotional Yoshitaka Amano artwork entitled Big Bang from Final Fantasy XV. This artwork was unveiled outside the Shrine Auditorium where Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV took place. Players can obtain Big Bang as a PlayStation 4 theme through digital pre-orders of the game on PSN. Square Enix does not have an official interpretation of the artwork and the game has not yet been released, so much of the artwork's content is ambiguous, but there are a handful of points that stand out.
The kingdom at the top left appears to be Lucis, with the same skyline. To its right is a car that is most likely the Regalia. Below the Regalia are two figures, possibly Aranea and Glauca, carrying a blonde figure that may be Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Right-of-center are Shiva, Leviathan, and sundry unidentified monsters.
April 18th - April 24th
Yoshitaka Amano artwork of the Lunar Whale from Final Fantasy IV. The Lunar Whale is an airship built by Kluya to facilitate travel between Earth and the Red Moon, and when Golbez activates the Tower of Babil, the Elder of Mysidia and others prayed for the fulfillment of a prophecy, which caused the Lunar Whale to arise from the waters outside Mysidia. From this point on, the party can use the Lunar Whale to fly around Earth or to the Red Moon, allowing them access to the endgame dungeon, the Lunar Subterrane.
A number of details, such as the guns and yellow windows along the sides of the ship, have no function in-game and in fact can only be seen in recent versions. In particular, the cannons only appear in the website model of the airship, and the windows can be seen in the iOS version, though it is not particularly clear that that is what they are meant to be. The whale-like anatomy of the ship, such as its white underbelly, are not clearly visible in in-game models of any versions or remakes ... at least, at the time of writing.
March 27th - April 3rd
Screenshot of Mog from a 1994 Final Fantasy VI commercial. The commercial, called "Do you have what it takes?" features Mog casting Bolt spells at monsters that are trying out for parts in the game, including Behemoth, the Ghost, and Chupon. He dismisses the monsters and shouts, "Next!" The announcer then says, "Final Fantasy III. Do you have what it takes?"
Mog features prominently in Square's marketing of the SNES North American release (known as Final Fantasy III because the only other Final Fantasy games localized for North America were the original and Final Fantasy IV). He appears on the game's front cover and in many advertisements, despite having a minor role as an optional, unlockable character.
The commercial can be viewed in its full length here.
March 20th - March 27th
Screenshot of Kefka's Tower on Final Fantasy VI's overworld from the iOS release of the game. In the original Final Fantasy VI, Kefka's Tower was a simple sprite, but for the iOS remaster of the games' graphics, apparently something different was required. Already the iOS graphics were fairly controversial, with the higher quality spites merely rescaling the original sprites, creating more of a brighter, cartoony effect that the original Final Fantasy VI did not have (but may have been the original intent). Some players prefer the old graphics, some players prefer the new graphics, but the design choices the remake made became downright bizarre when it came to Kefka's Tower.
In this screenshot we see three entirely different kind of graphics at once, all at different resolutions. The Falcon is just a traditional 2D sprite. The World Map is an iOS recreation of the SNES' Mode 7 with a blurring effect to simulate depth of field. But the centerpiece is a frankly bizarre decision to turn Kefka's Tower into a polygon, the only one in the entire game. It is an especially jarring image that in no way fits with the graphics around it, and is not even a terrible well-made polygon either. It is a jumble of brown and tan and gray, as if the original sprite has been turned into a texture for a vaguely cactus-shaped object.
Kefka's Tower on iOS is a little view as to what Final Fantasy VI might have looked like if its Nintendo 64 Technical Demo had been made into a full game. We can see the technology of 1997... in 2014.
March 13th - March 20th
It's not a question of can or can't. Some things in life you just do.
Screenshot of Lightning modeling Louis Vuitton summer wear and handbags from an LV advertisement. The strong-willed protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII and the Lightning Saga was included in a number of 2016 video and magazine ads, performing her signature in-game maneuvers while dressed in SS16 Series 4 clothing. Here she wears a summer dress with an LV handbag. Other advertisements feature her in a crop top, a pink jacket, and other garments. Square Enix and Louis Vuitton say that the collaboration stems from the two companies' values of tradition interwoven with revolutionary changes to create quality products, and that Lightning personifies the "global, heroic woman" of the social era.
Square Enix has collaborated with other fashion companies in the past, with Final Fantasy XV character models being designed by the creative director of Roen in 2008 and Final Fantasy XIII-2 characters modeling Prada men's wear in 2012. Though the most die-hard fashion aficionados or Final Fantasy geeks may be bemused, at the very least, by these crossovers, one should keep in mind that Lightning is more human than a mannequin, and Lightning is being treated better than Tidus was in Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daishō~.
March 6th - March 13th
Screenshot of Garnet Til Alexandros XVII from a Final Fantasy IX FMV cutscene. Garnet is the rebellious princess of the Kingdom of Alexandria. Beginning to suspect that something is wrong with her mother, Queen Brahne and her ambitions for conquest, Garnet concocts a scheme to escape her castle to reach her "uncle" Cid for help. In her escape attempt, Garnet disguises herself in a white and pink robe, the traditional costume of a White Mage, foretelling her eventual role as a party member. However, her stealth was too effective, fooling even the men Cid had sent to assist her in her flight.
In the image featured this week we see Garnet through the POV of the main character, Zidane Tribal. Garnet stands upon the battlements of the castle, smirking enigmatically before leaping across on a rope. This is the first time Zidane has ever seen Garnet, and her striking action of Errol Flynn-esque adventure seems to be the beginning of his infatuation with her. Garnet shows herself to be a proactive character, not merely a little bird in a cage that must be rescued.
February 28st - March 6th
Promotional artwork of Vayne Carudas Solidor and Larsa Ferrinas Solidor, royalty of Archades in Final Fantasy XII. The Solidor brothers are the surviving sons of the Emperor of Archades, Gramis Gana Solidor, who comes to regret his brutal conquests of Nabradia and Dalmasca in his old age. After Gramis dies under mysterious circumstances, Vayne dissolves the Imperial Senate and becomes a ruthless autocrat ruling over Archadia, Dalmasca, and the ruins of Nabradia. He is eventually overthrown and killed by the party and the younger and more liberally-minded Larsa, who becomes Emperor at the end of the game.
This artwork is somewhat more realistic and formal than the other artwork of Final Fantasy XII, which includes noseless Ivalice Alliance-style art of the party and a drawing of Ashe and Basch enjoying a beach day; this reflects the terseness of Imperial politics, which is far removed from the humorous misadventures of Vaan and Penelo at the start of the game.
February 21st - February 28th
Artwork of Geist the Bloody, a boss from Bravely Second: End Layer. Geist is the Asterisk-holder of the Exorcist class. As one may have surmised from his nickname, Geist is a maniac sadist obsessed with torture and death. He accompanies his blood-stained skin and clothing with an expression of pure madness. Exorcists in Bravely Second are meant to be support classes, with most of their abilities based around undoing the damage from the last turn. Geist perversely uses these powers to undo the torture he inflicts upon his victims, meaning he can hurt them again and again as long as he pleases. He is one of the more deranged and monstrous figures the party must face in order to save the world in Bravely Second.
This piece looks very little like other Bravely Second concept art, and not just in content. The artist leaves in swirling brush strokes, framing the figures in inky blackness. The impressionist style creates a throbbing motion to the painting.
The excelling framing and overall darkness of the painting makes for an unforgettable nightmarish scene. Geist is accompanied in the background by his Guardian, a living ghostly suit of armor. Geist created this twisted creature by accident, and it's existence is a constant reminder of the one mistake he can never undo. Its arms reach out in a violent motion. The Guardian's unearthly bright blues silhouette Geist's wild black hair. Geist's hair creates more shadow from which to focus the viewers' eye onto his grimace and piercing eyes. The eyes seem to break out of the picture, to tear their into viewers' mind. It is difficult to look at them for very long without feeling some discomfort.
Altogether this artwork is one of the most terrifying pieces ever made for the Final Fantasy series.
February 14th - February 21st
New Year's Day postcard of Yoshi-P riding Kirin from Final Fantasy XIV. Every New Year in Eorzea, the people celebrate with the in-game event Heavensturn. As 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, a delegation from the Far East came to the continent to "impart upon Eorzea the good fortune of the monkey." Out of game, Director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida wished players New Years' Greetings, and left them this postcard with a mysterious prophecy translated by the Archon Louisoix before he gave his life for the realm at the Battle of Carteneau, perhaps foreshadowing Main Scenario Quests soon to come...
And so, in these waning hours, my thoughts turn to a passage from the Gerun Oracles:
In the beginning, before myth and legend, before Light and Dark, there was but the sea
In the beginning, before man and hist'ry, Light and Dark were divided, the sea sundered in fourteen
To the seas She cast Her children, for fear of the Moon.
For hate of the Star, to the seas He cast His doom.
May we ever walk in the light of the Crystal.
Yoshi-P rides Kirin, the mount players unlock after earning all 2.x Primal mounts. He is accompanied by two primate pals, also in honor of the Year of the Monkey: on his head, the Paissa Brat, and floating through the clouds beside him, an opo-opo dressed in the circlet of and wielding the staff of Sun Wukong, better known in Japan as Son Goku, a monkey in the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West who earns supernatural powers through Taoist means. Yoshi-P's flintlock and Machinist are an allusion to his Machinist cosplay from an event promoting Heavensward, the expansion in which Machinist was released.
February 7th - February 14th
Screenshot of Aranea Highwind from the most recent trailer for Final Fantasy XV. Aranea Highwind was first revealed back in 2011 in an early trailer for the game when it was still called Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Not much was known about the character other at that time. All that could be guessed was that she was a female Dragoon, and appeared to be villainous. Since then Versus XIII has changed its name, switched directors, and rewrote much of its story, including removing the character of Stella for the much tanner Lunafreya. However, Aranea apparantely has survived the transfer from Versus XIII to Final Fantasy XV. In the Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report on January 30th, 2016, Aranea was re-revealed, along with her name and some details about the character.
Aranea is an unusual figure in the villainous Niflheim army. She does not use advanced technology or wear typical Imperial uniforms, but rather fights as a traditional Dragoon, as fitting her last name, Highwind. It is currently unknown what her personality will be or how important she will be to the greater story, though Hajime Tabata has mentioned that Aranea is popular amongst the developer staff. In the latest trailer, Aranea attacks the hero, Noctis using a Jump attack from above.
As seen in this screenshot, Aranea wears an armored mask with bars and slots to protect her face. Spikes and decorations on her arms imitate the wings and shape of dragons. Her design leaves open her armor to emphasize her feminine form and hair. Because of her mask, it is difficult to guess what Aranea's emotion is in this scene, or what her ultimate intentions are when she attacks Noctis and his friends. Aranea Highwind is an enigmatic character whose mysteries add to build up to Final Fantasy XV's ultimate release
February 1st - February 7th
Card of the Fat Chocobo from Mobius Final Fantasy. The Fat Chocobo is a comically overweight Chocobo that has been a recurring character since Final Fantasy III and is usually either a Summon or item storage. (According to an NPC in Final Fantasy III, the bird stores items in its stomach.) In Mobius, the Fat Chocobo card can be summoned with two Normal Elements and casts Barrier, raising Defense for 8 turns. It also grants HP Up.
This Fat Chocobo is drawn somewhat differently than 3D models of Fat Chocobos, which typically show the Godsbird with a well-defined neck, lazily half-opened eyes, and straight talons. Because yellow Chocobo breeds cannot fly in most games, and Fat Chocobos appear less mobile than their leaner counterparts, one would expect Fat Chocobos to be flightless, but this one appears to be lifting off the ground.
January 25th - January 31st
Yoshitaka Amano artwork of Snow Villiers and Serah Farron from Final Fantasy XIII. This a depiction of a flashback romance scene between the two characters. While entranced by the beauty of the fireworks behind them, Snow proposes marriage to Serah. Serah agrees, but is nervous over her sister Lightning's reaction. The possibility of a new life together is juxtaposed with Serah's terrifying realization that she has become a l'cie and is fated to die. For this moment though, Serah and Snow have each other. They are as happy here as they ever will be in the trilogy, which separates them constantly with one strange metaphysical threat after another. The couple works constantly to overcome evil to return to the warmth they felt here.
Amano's artwork is a gorgeous painting capturing the colors of the fireworks. The brightness of the background is contrasted upon the the characters silhouetted in the center. They embrace in the darkness before the light. The artwork captures both the positive and the negative emotions of the scene.
January 18th - January 24th
Akira Oguro artwork of the Tower of Babil from Final Fantasy IV. The Tower of Babil is a gargantuan structure stretching from the Underworld to the surface, and can be used to summon the Giant of Babil from the Red Moon. Near the end of the game, the peoples of the Overworld and Underworld unite to destroy the Giant from within outside the Tower. As former party members are united, the Giant is destroyed, and peace is restored to the world, the party departs for the Moon to end the possibility of invasion at its source: the Lunar Subterrane.
January 10th - January 17th
Ryōma Itō artwork of the Esper Bahamut from Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. As in most Final Fantasy games, the Revenant Wings version of Bahamut is the most powerful summoned creature. While Bahamut did not appear as an Esper in the original Final Fantasy XII, in Revenant Wings he is a deadly power serving the forces of evil in the main story capable of destroying entire floating islands. After being summoned by the Judge of Wings Bahamut shatters The Muruc Cahuac Skysea into three smaller islands. Bahamut later fights for Feolthanos during the Final Boss fight of the game.
Like all summons though, Bahamut merely serves the wishes of his master. The Esper can be obtained by the player in side mission 79 Wings of Midnight, after defeating a difficult gauntlet of strong Espers. At that point Bahamut will join Vaan's Ring of Pacts to be used by the player.
The design of Bahamut in Revenant Wings is unique in that this version is very humanoid, standing up-right similar to his appearance in Final Fantasy X. He wears armor and uses a spear as a weapon, making him appear vaguely Dragoon-like in appearance. Ryōma Itō's design is a striking and elegant form.
January 3rd - January 9th
Screenshot of Kirby using Cloud's Buster Sword and Blade Beam from Super Smash Bros. Along with the Midgar stage, Cloud appears as DLC which was released in December 2015. In combat, Cloud has access to some of his original Limit Breaks from Final Fantasy VII, such as Blade Beam and Climhazzard. Cloud's Final Smash is Omnislash, which causes him to dash to a target, hit them several times with the Buster Sword, and then deal damage in an area-of-effect explosion and knock all targets back.
When Kirby eats an opponent, he takes on part of their appearance as a "hat" and gains some of their abilities. Here he is wearing Cloud's spiky hair and shooting a Blade Beam out of the Buster Sword.


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UPDATE 3-Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions
(Adds Volkswagen, Groupe Caisse d'Epargne and others)
Oct 7 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday. (For Reuters columns on deals, click on [DEALTALK\] )
** Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] kicked off the sale of electricity generator PowerSeraya, in a deal that could fetch around $2.5 billion. To read more, please double click on [ID:nSIN4698]
** Porsche (PSHG_p.DE: Cotización) bought a small stake in Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE: Cotización) in an off-bourse transaction on Tuesday in which it paid far less than peak prices during the session. [ID:nWEB8377]
** British military consumables maker Chemring Group Plc (CHG.L: Cotización) is buying a U.S. mine-detection systems company for an initial $30 million, to boost its explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) business. [ID:nL7704869]
** Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX: Cotización) (CBA) said it has started exclusive talks with British bank HBOS HBOS.L about a potential takeover of BankWest, HBOS' Australian operation, estimated to be worth A$2 billion ($1.45 billion). [ID:nSYD33205]
** Italian power grid operator Terna (TRN.MI: Cotización) is nearing a 1.5 billion euro ($2.04 billion) offer for Enel's (ENEI.MI: Cotización) high-voltage network, sources close to the negotiations said. [ID:nRAT004110]
** British insurer Amlin Plc (AML.L: Cotización) agreed to buy French underwriting agency Anglo French Underwriters SAS (AFU) for an undisclosed cash sum to boost the expansion of its business in Europe. [ID:nBNG252899]
** Fletcher Building Ltd (FBU.NZ: Cotización), New Zealand's largest building products and construction company, said it would buy steel products company Fielders Australia Pty Ltd. [IDnWEL75644] Continuación...


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On average, listings lease in the $20's per square foot per year. The Multnomah region is experiencing a an increase in rates. In the last 3 months, the median rate went up $23 per sqft per year.
Compared to the rest of the Greater Portland market, the Multnomah region has smaller rates, so you should have no trouble finding a great deal in this discounted submarket.
In the last 90 days, 10 listings have been made available, which means office spaces might be leasing quickly. You'll want to be prepared to tour spaces as quick as possible. About 90% of the available leases in the Multnomah are subleases, so you might be able to snag a great spot on a short term. There aren't many listings below 2,000 square feet on the market, so finding a space for a small business might be tough.
The standard measurement for office space in this area is around 1,200 sqft. Most buildings in this market are approximately 3 stories. Most buildings in this area were built in 1983 and are Class C.
Not much of the real estate is used for commercial space, so it might be hard to find office space. Health care is the dominant industry in this market. Commute by public transit is the most popular way to get to work amongst Multnomah residents. Commuting around 20 minutes a day is the norm for those who opt to reside in this part of town.
Trends and status of the commercial real estate market in Multnomah.
Market Report
Real time and historical data on commercial real estate listings in Multnomah.


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Conagra Brands quarterly profit jumps 29 pct
June 29 Chef Boyardee pasta maker Conagra Brands Inc reported a 29 percent rise in quarterly profit as it cut back on promotions and jettisoned unprofitable products.
* Adjusted eps 32 cents vs. Street view 29 cents
* Knight stake boosts earnings by 8 cents/share
* Jefferies shares fall 6.6 percent to $14.62 after report
* Analysts question plans for pay, funding and potential downgrade
By Lauren Tara LaCapra
Sept 20 Jefferies Group Inc, an investment bank, reported quarterly banking and trading revenue below some analysts' forecasts, a sign that the summer was likely also rough for its bigger competitors, and the bank's shares fell 6.6 percent.
Trading activity picked up across the board in September thanks to fresh stimulus plans from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the bank's chief executive said. But a better September was too late to help Jefferies' fiscal third-quarter results, which cover the three months ended Aug. 31.
The New York-based bank reported a 2.8 percent rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, but excluding the acquisition of a stake in Knight Capital Group Inc, results came in slightly below what some analysts had been expecting.
JMP Securities analyst David Trone cut his estimates and price target for the firm, saying Jefferies' operating results excluding the Knight revenue and other special items "fell short" and that he expected the stock to "remain captive" to broader economic concerns.
Trading volumes and investment banking deals were stagnant in the quarter. Because the firm reports earlier than bigger Wall Street competitors, whose quarter ends Sept. 30, investors tend to look at Jefferies' results as a harbinger for what will come from banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley.
Chief Executive Richard Handler said conditions have improved dramatically this month after the U.S. Federal Reserve unveiled a program to purchase $40 billion in mortgage bonds.
"September has begun extremely well," Handler said on a conference call with analysts, citing improvements "literally across the board" in fixed-income and equities trading globally.
But while improvements from the Fed's stimulus program, or QE3, will undoubtedly help bank profits in the short term, banking analyst Meredith Whitney questioned whether the temporary improvements are just delaying resolution of fundamental issues hampering industry profits since 2010.
"QE3 makes everybody feel like a really smart trader," she said on the Jefferies conference call.
Analysts hammered Jefferies with questions about some of those issues on the call, asking about the high portion of its revenue that goes toward compensation, about how the bank funds itself, and about how the threat of a Moody's downgrade may affect the company in terms of business and collateral calls.
Jefferies paid employees 59.6 percent of net revenue last quarter, in line with previous periods but higher than the 50 percent ratio that industry peers generally target. Three analysts asked management about the figure, and how they expect it to change moving forward.
Handler said he expects the payout ratio to decline naturally over the next two years or so as revenues rise with better market conditions, as employees become more productive, and as retention bonuses, promised to woo talent in recent years, wind down.
"We have obviously a long way to go from where we are to where we need to get," he said.
Jefferies executives also said a potential Moody's downgrade would not have a significant effect on their trading business because Jefferies does not have much exposure to over-the-counter derivatives, the kind of trades that would likely be subject to large collateral calls if a downgrade occurred.
Moody's, which already downgraded 15 other banks with large capital markets businesses this year, said this month that it may cut Jefferies' rating as well.
Jefferies' results were muddied by the Knight stake and by special items related to its acquisitions of Hoare Govett and Bache. The company acquired the Knight stake last month when it took part in a private bailout of the market-making firm after Knight suffered a $440 million trading loss due to a software glitch.
Jefferies posted earnings of $70.2 million, or 31 cents per share, for its fiscal third quarter, up 2.8 percent from $68.3 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings were 32 cents per share, topping analysts' average estimate by 3 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. But excluding the Knight revenue, Jefferies' results missed some analysts' estimates by a wide margin.
Trone estimated that the firm's operating earnings were just 24 cents per share and Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski said the reported figure came in 10 cents below his estimate, which included Knight.
Jefferies said its stake in Knight contributed 8 cents to its earnings per share, and $103.3 million to principal transactions revenue.
Jefferies' overall revenue rose 45.1 percent, largely due to positive income in principal transactions, versus a loss in that trading business a year ago.
June 29 Chef Boyardee pasta maker Conagra Brands Inc reported a 29 percent rise in quarterly profit as it cut back on promotions and jettisoned unprofitable products.
BUCHAREST, June 29 Romania plans to replace a flat 16 percent tax on corporate profit with a progressive tax on turnover of 1-3 percent, incoming Finance Minister Ionut Misa told reporters on Thursday.


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Taiwan Shares May Bounce Higher Ahead Of Holiday
RTTNews - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower now in back-to-back sessions since the end of the six-day winning streak that saw it collect more than 385 points or 5.8 percent on its way to a fresh eight-month closing high. The Taiwan Stock Exchange fell below the 6,700-point plateau - but now ahead of the four-day weekend holiday marking the Dragon Boat Festival, the Taiwan Stock Exchange is tipped to move back to the upside on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, although the positive sentiment could be damaged by the test-firing of another missile on Wednesday morning by North Korea. The markets get a boost from better than expected economic data out of the United States, and retailers also are forecast to trade higher. The European markets finished mostly higher and the U.S. markets ended sharply higher - and the Asian bourses are also tipped to trade in the green.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday, thanks to continued profit taking from last week's winning streak. Construction stocks fell under heavy selling pressure throughout the session, while the financial and technology shares also ended lower.
For the day, the index lost 51.35 points or 0.76 percent to close at 6,683.11 after trading between 6,649.95 and 6,830.24 on turnover of 199.72 billion Taiwan dollars. There were 1,551 decliners and 662 gainers, with 100 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the decliners, Farglory Land Development, Elan Microelectronics Corp. and Wintek Corp. all were limit-down and United Microelectronics Corp fell 0.39 percent.
Finishing higher, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was up 1.62 percent, Nan Ya Plastics rose 2.41 percent and China Steel added 1.9 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks staged a substantial rally over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after seeing some initial weakness, snapping a four-day losing streak. The major averages finished near their best levels of the day, bolstered by some positive news on the health of the U.S. consumer.
The Conference Board's reading on consumer confidence for May improved by far more than expected, reaching its highest level since September. The data generated some optimism about the outlook for consumer spending, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of economic activity. The consumer confidence figure helped to bolster some of the day's risk appetite, as reflected by the surge in equities following the release of the report.
Earlier in the day, disappointing housing price data contributed to the initial weakness. Traders largely shrugged off the data, however, citing the lagging nature of the numbers and choosing to focus on the encouraging consumer confidence data.
Retail stocks enjoyed a considerable run-up on the day, benefiting from the better than expected consumer confidence data. The S&P Retail Index closed up 4 percent, although it remains well off the seven-month highs that it set earlier this month.
The major averages moved roughly sideways in the second half of the day, holding onto strong gains. The Dow closed up 196.17 points or 2.4 percent at 8,473.49, the NASDAQ rose 58.42 points or 3.5 percent to 1,750.43 and the S&P 500 closed up 23.33 points or 2.6 percent at 910.33.
For comments and feedback: contact firstname.lastname@example.com


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London, Aug.16 (ANI): Four British cancer experts who had previously been involved with the bomber's treatment have claimed that they were not consulted by the Scottish Government before the decision to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, was taken.
According to the BBC, the new developments put further pressure on Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill in the week that marks the 12-month anniversary of the release of the only man convicted of the murder of 270 people when Pan Am flight 103 was blown up over the town of Lockerbie on 21 December, 1988.
A year ago, MacAskill said he was releasing the bomber because medical evidence said he had just three months to live.
In what he described as a judgment from "a higher authority", MacAskill said he was sending the bomber home to die.
But Megrahi is still alive in Libya, leading to suspicions that there was a hidden motive behind the release.
The US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee launched an inquiry into the release, but the Scottish Government and UK politicians in power at the time of the release declined to appear before it.
Meanwhile US senators called on "whistle blowers" in the UK and Scottish governments to provide them with evidence of a link between the release and a possible oil deal. (ANI)


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Structural and optical properties of Ge-As-Te thin films
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, South Valley University, 82524
Sohag, Egypt
Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com
Revised: 27 January 2006
Accepted: 17 March 2006
Published online: 24 June 2006
Chalcogenide glasses with Ge10AsxTe90−x (x = 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 55 at.%) were prepared by melt quenching technique. The glass transition temperature, the crystallization temperature, the melting temperature and the glass-forming tendency were determined from the differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The structural and optical properties of Ge10AsxTe90−x thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation were studied. X-ray diffraction showed that the as-evaporated films are amorphous and crystallize after annealing depending on the As content. The transmittance and reflectance of the films are found to be thickness dependent. The optical-absorption data indicate that the absorption mechanism is direct transition. The optical band gap values are increased with increasing As content while they decrease with increasing the film thickness. Upon annealing the transmittance and the optical band gap decrease whereas the reflectance and the refractive index increase.
PACS: 73.61.Jc – Amorphous semiconductors; glasses / 61.10.-i – X-ray diffraction and scattering / 78.20.-e – Optical properties of bulk materials and thin films / 81.40.Ef – Cold working, work hardening; annealing, post-deformation annealing, quenching, tempering recovery, and crystallization
© EDP Sciences, 2006