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This, the NBS said was closely followed by treasury bills with 19.37 per cent weight and local money market securities with 8.21 per cent weight.
It said foreign money market securities had the least with 0.04 per cent weight in the period under review.
It said participants within the age range 30-39years had the highest percentage composition closely followed by participants within the age bracket of 40-49years and 50-59 years.
It further said participants above 65 years had the least percentage composition.
In arriving at the report, NBS said data was supplied administratively by the National Pension Commission and verified by the NBS.
The Board of Supervisors appears to be leaning toward allowing a wide range of marijuana businesses in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
“I personally favor serious regulation over any ban in the unincorporated area of the county,” Board Chair Sheila Kuehl said Wednesday.
However, the board this week opted to leave a full ban on the cannabis industry in effect, with nothing expected to change for at least several months.
“Los Angeles County has been thoughtful in its approach and we will continue our careful analysis,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said.
A decision is needed because, while Proposition 64 made it legal in California for adults to use cannabis recreationally nearly two years ago, the law also gave cities and counties the authority to regulate or ban most other marijuana activities within their borders.
So far, counties have been slightly more likely than cities to welcome marijuana businesses. Still, just 18 of the state’s 58 counties permit some type of cannabis operations. And in Southern California, only Imperial and San Luis Obispo counties have opted to let some segment of the marijuana industry set up shop.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors has long banned the industry. But in February 2017, the board asked county staff to draft rules that would allow for cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, testing, distribution and sales in unincorporated areas.
An advisory group then spent months hosting community workshops and crafting recommendations, while county staff partnered with attorneys and health officials to develop a phased-in permitting process.
During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, members received a 96-page county staff report with three options: permit and regulate all types of marijuana businesses allowed under state law, allow only some segments of the industry or continue to ban all commercial cannabis enterprises in unincorporated L.A. County.
Dozens of people spoke at the meeting, with the majority asking the board to open the door for all segments of the industry.
“Please take this historic opportunity to provide a regulated mark where consumers can responsibly purchase cannabis product free of stigma, untested products and the dangers associated with street dealers,” said Matthew Garland, a longshoreman and father from San Pedro.
A few people asked the board to uphold the ban or put more severe restrictions on the industry, including Eddie Torres with the East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Kuehl said she doesn’t believe there’s board support for maintaining a full ban on the industry, with public testimony clearly bent toward comprehensive regulation.
Some 56 percent of the unincorporated county area’s 507,202 voters in the November 2016 election supported Prop. 64. That’s just below the statewide passage rate of 57 percent.
Still, the board opted not to take any action Tuesday, keeping the ban in place while they study their options.
“I think no one felt ready yet to bring a motion,” Kuehl said.
Now it’ll be up to one of the supervisors at an upcoming board to call for staff to craft an ordinance that aligns with one of the three options on the table.
If the board chooses to go with the first option, permitting a full range of marijuana businesses, staff offered a long list of recommendations for what that market should look like.
The proposed regulations would ban all outdoor commercial cultivation.
Shops, delivery services and testing labs would be allowed only in heavy commercial and manufacturing zones, while cultivation, manufacturing and distribution would only be allowed in manufacturing zones.
The county proposal would bump up the mandatory distance between marijuana shops and schools, day care centers or parks, with 1,000-foot separations required rather than the 600-foot requirement in state law. It would also require a 1,000-foot buffer between each cannabis shop, plus a 300-foot buffer between cannabis shops and liquor stores.
Staff also recommends caps on the number of licenses handed out for the first two years. That includes no more than 25 store and 25 cannabis delivery permits, spread out between supervisorial districts and communities. It would also allow for up to 10 cultivation permits, 10 manufacturing permits, 10 distribution permits and 10 testing laboratory permits.
To roll everything out, staff recommends the county conduct a lengthy health assessment with ongoing monitoring, create a new cannabis commission to oversee permitting and offer industry benefits to people in communities who’ve been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
If the board goes that route and gets a tax measure approved by voters, staff estimates L.A. County will see $18 million in new revenue the first year and up to $33 million annually after five years.
Under the second option, the board could choose to, say, only allow medical cannabis businesses or block certain segments of the industry such as cultivation.
To go the third route, maintaining a full ban, the board wouldn’t need to take any further action.
With an industry ban in place, L.A. County currently has 0.9 out of a possible 100 points on a Southern California News Group weighted scale of marijuana friendliness.
The earned fraction of a point comes from the county’s policy on letting adults 21 and older grow up to six marijuana plants per household, as allowed under Prop. 64. L.A. County lets residents grow those plants indoors or outdoors, with no permit required, so long as outdoor gardens are in a backyard surrounded by a solid fence that’s at least six feet tall and set at least 10 feet back from the property line.
Supervisor Janice Hahn reiterated that the county’s ban on businesses doesn’t impact residents’ right to consume marijuana recreationally or grow it at home for personal use.
Any new ordinance approved by the board would apply only to businesses that are in the roughly 65 percent of Los Angeles County that’s outside incorporated city limits.That includes 140 communities, from Acton to Rowland Heights to Catalina Island.
Anyone who wants to open a marijuana business inside one of L.A. County’s 88 cities still has to comply with that city’s rules for the industry. Those range from very permissive, in Los Angeles, to very restrictive, in places like South Gate.
See the Southern California News Group’s database of marijuana policies to find marijuana laws for each city. Or enable the “California Marijuana Laws” skill on your Amazon Echo device to let Alexa read you the rules.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Fox Studio backlot, first built in 1926 on a Century City ranch in Los Angeles, was enormous. Before much of it was sold off in the 1960s, it was four times the size of its current, and still huge, 53 acres.
Shirley Temple’s bungalow still sits on the lot, as does the piano where John Williams composed, among other things, the score to “Star Wars.” A waiter in the commissary might tell you where Marilyn Monroe once regularly sat.
When the Walt Disney Co.’s $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox is completed at 12:02 a.m. Wednesday, the storied lot — the birthplace of CinemaScope, “The Sound of Music” and “Titanic” — will no longer house one of the six major studios. It will become the headquarters for Rupert Murdoch’s new Fox Corp., (he is keeping Fox News and Fox Broadcasting) and Fox’s film operations, now a Disney label, will stay on for now as renters under a seven-year lease agreement.
The history of Hollywood is littered with changes of studio ownership; even Fox Film Corporation founder William Fox, amid the Depression, lost control of the studio that still bears his name. But the demise of 20th Century Fox as a standalone studio is an epochal event in Hollywood, one that casts long shadows over a movie industry grappling with new digital competitors from Silicon Valley and facing the possibility of further contraction. After more than eight decades of supremacy, the Big Six are down one.
Disney’s acquisition has endless repercussions but it’s predicated largely on positioning Disney — already the market-leader in Hollywood — for the future. Disney, girding for battle with Netflix, Apple and Amazon, needs more content for its coming streaming platform, Disney+, and it wants control of its content across platforms.
The Magic Kingdom will add 20th Century Fox alongside labels like Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm. But film production at Fox, which has in recent years released 12-17 films a year, is expected to wane. Due to duplication with Disney staff, layoffs will be in the thousands.
Disney will also take over FX, NatGeo and a controlling stake in Hulu, which has more than 20 million customers. It will gain control of some of the largest franchises in movies, including “Avatar,” ”Alien” and “The Planet of the Apes.” Fox’s television studios also net Disney the likes of “Modern Family,” ”This Is Us” and “The Simpsons.” Homer, meet Mickey.
Some parts of Fox, like the John Landgraf-led FX and Fox Searchlight, the specialty label overseen by Stephen Gilula and Nancy Utley, are expected to be kept largely intact. Searchlight, the regular Oscar contender behind films such as “12 Years a Slave,” ”The Shape of Water” and “The Favourite,” could yield Disney something it’s never had before: a best picture winner at the Academy Awards.
Nowhere is the culture clash between the companies more apparent than in “Deadpool,” Fox’s gleefully profane R-rated superhero. While Spider-Man still resides with Sony, Disney now adds Deadpool, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four to its bench of Marvel characters. How they will all fit with Disney’s PG-13 mission remains to be seen, though Iger last month suggested in a conference call with investors that there may be room for an R-rated Marvel brand as long as audiences know what’s coming.
Some were surprised regulators gave the deal relatively quick approval. The Department of Justice approved the acquisition in about six months, about four times less than the time it took investigating AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner. The New York Times editorial page suggested the deal benefited from President Trump’s relationship with Murdoch.
Disney is about to have more influence on the movies Americans and the rest of the world see than any company ever has. Last year, it had 26 percent of the U.S. market with just 10 movies which together grossed more than $3 billion domestically and $7.3 billion worldwide. Fox usually counts for about 12 percent of market share.
Fewer studios could potentially mean fewer movies. That’s a concern for both consumers and theater owners, many of whom already rely heavily on Disney blockbusters to sell tickets and popcorn.
Still, Disney has been willing to throw its weight around. Ahead of the release of “The Last Jedi,” the studio insisted on more onerous terms from some theater owners, including a higher percentage of ticket sales.
More experimentation in distribution is coming. Later this year, WarnerMedia, whose Warner Bros. is regularly second in market share to Disney, will launch its own streaming platform. Apple is ramping up movie production. Amazon Studios is promising bigger, more attention-getting projects.
Ahead of a blizzard of new streaming options, Fox — and a giant piece of film history — will fade into an ever-expanding Disney world. Film historian Michael Troyan, author of “20th Century Fox: A Century of Entertainment,” has studied enough of Hollywood’s past to know that relentless change is an innate part of the business.
Rothman says he will pause for a “wistful moment” Wednesday, but he believes consolidation doesn’t mean obsolescence.
Syrians offer mostly tongue-in-cheek 'advice' to Ukrainians fighting to ward-off Russian takeover in Crimea.
The revolution in Kiev has been widely covered in the Arab press, which has seen comparisons to the Syrian revolution and claims that the Ukraine – like Syria – is another arena of the new "cold war" between Russia and the U.S.
At the same time, the Ukrainian revolution was also highlighted on Syrian Facebook pages, especially those of many Syrian citizens. They likewise drew similarities between their revolution and that of the Ukrainian people, but the tone taken by most of them was humorous or sarcastic, reports the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) Tuesday.
Thus, for example, Syrian activists from Homs started a virtual Facebook event titled "Give Advice To The Rebels Of Ukraine And Venezuela." The page received many “likes” and thousands of Syrian oppositionists filled it with advice (most of it sarcastic) for Ukraine's rebels based on their experience rebelling against their own regime.
Some of the posts on the "Give Advice To The Rebels Of Ukraine And Venezuela" Facebook Page were serious in their tone. An activist named Siran Hajj ‘Ali wrote: "Do not carry weapons, even if three quarters of Ukrainians are killed. Keep your revolution nonviolent."
Another piece of advice for the Ukrainians was to prepare for the possibility of being displaced in case the regime escalates violence, as it did in Syria: "Pack a small bag [in advance] with your personal documents and all basic necessities, since at the moment of flight you won't have time to do anything."
An individual calling himself "Nasser the Syrian" advised Ukrainians to buy generators and store fuel in case of blackouts as a result of a siege.
However, notes MEMRI, most advice on this page was ironic and sarcastic. For example: "Advice for our Ukrainian brothers: Prepare your gas masks in case the Ukrainian Ba'ath regime decides to bomb you with chemical weapons, and stay away from the windows."
Some posts used the opportunity to mock the claim that Shia fighters from Hezbollah and from the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were only in Syria to defend the Tomb of Zaynab in Damascus, which is sacred to Shia Muslims.
One post said: "If you have a Tomb of Zaynab, you must demolish it immediately and get rid of it, lest foreign [forces] arrive to defend it." Another post mocking Hezbollah for this reason portrayed Nasrallah as saying: "We will send [military] reinforcements to Kiev to protect the Tomb of Natasha."
Some advice reflected self-criticism by Syrian activists: "To the free Ukrainian rebels... Do not make the same mistakes we made. Make new ones!!!"
Criticism was also leveled at Syrian opposition institutions, chiefly the Syrian National Council and the National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces. Thus, for example, a post addressed to the Ukrainians read: "Do not believe anything called a 'coalition' or 'national council'".
Syrian humor also appeared on other Facebook pages related to the Ukraine revolution, adds MEMRI. For example, a page called "Jokes and Puns of the Syrian Islamic Revolution" featured a picture of National Coalition head Ahmad Jarba looking like a Ukrainian and with a Ukrainian name: "Head of Ukrainian National Coalition, Ahmadov Jarbanov".
Similarly, the Facebook page "The Ukrainian Revolution against the Ukrainian Tyrant" shows the founder of the Free Syrian Army, Riad Al-Asaad, with a Ukrainian appearance and name, and with the headline: "Lieutenant Colonel Riadakov has announced his defection from the Ukrainian army and the establishment of a free army."
Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) for China in year 2015 is 114.867 (Index, Base Year 2000 = 100). Data for inflation are averages for the year, not end-of-period data. The index is based on 2000=100.
This makes China No. 129 in world rankings according to Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) in year 2015. The world's average Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) value is 148988674.38 (Index, Base Year 2000 = 100); China is 148,988,559.51 less than the average.
In the previous year, 2014, Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) for China was 113.24 (Index, Base Year 2000 = 100) Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) for China in 2015 was or will be 1.44% more than it was or will be in 2014.
In the following or forecasted year, 2016, Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) for China was or will be 116.94 (Index, Base Year 2000 = 100), which is 1.80% more than the 2015 figure.
• Is there a more recognizable, powerful, or popular sneaker than the Air Jordan XI? In his first full season back from baseball, MJ had one of the better NBA seasons in his career. He became the second player ever to win MVP awards for the regular season, All-Star Game, and NBA Finals in the same season—and he did it all in this sneaker.
In Ohio, Lordstown Mayor Says It's Been Quiet Since General Motors Plant Closed NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Mayor Arno Hill of Lordstown, Ohio, about the General Motors plant at the center of President Trump's latest tweetstorm.
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Mayor Arno Hill of Lordstown, Ohio, about the General Motors plant at the center of President Trump's latest tweetstorm.
General Motors shut down its auto factory in Lordstown, Ohio, two weeks ago as part of a massive restructuring that's affected GM plants from Detroit to Baltimore. But it's the one in Lordstown that's got President Trump's attention.
He has been tweeting about it since Sunday, urging GM to work with the labor union to quickly reopen the plant or sell it. GM and the United Auto Workers plan to hold contract talks this fall. The president says that's not soon enough.
CHANG: To get a sense of what it's like in Lordstown right now, we checked in with Mayor Arno Hill. He says since the GM plant closed, it's been quiet.
ARNO HILL: We had three shifts two years ago, and now we're down to zero shifts, so the traffic's definitely down. Right now, you know, everybody's in a state of limbo wondering should they take a transfer, should they try to wait it out? The ripple effect is what's really pretty devastating for our area.
CHANG: I was wondering if you could paint a picture for us of Lordstown for people who aren't familiar with the place. About how many people live there?
HILL: There's about 3,200 people. We have about 25 square miles. We have a lot of agriculture. We have a big General Motors plant.
CHANG: For quite some time, GM has been the main employer in the town, is that correct?
HILL: They are still the main employer. Well, they were until they closed down. They've been there 53 years, and we're hoping to keep them there by getting another product.
CHANG: Have people moved away because of the plant's closure already?
HILL: We have had some people relocate - Spring Hill, Tenn., Arlington, Texas.
HILL: I'd say quite a few. I'd say there's probably been eight to 10 families who have either moved or the person who worked for General Motors has moved, and the other ones are going to be following. So, yeah, we have had people move.
CHANG: I'm curious. Have you had an opportunity to speak to President Trump recently? He's been certainly talking about your town in his tweets.
HILL: Yes, he has. I've talked to somebody from his office of governmental affairs. Tomorrow, he's going to be in Canton, Ohio, which is probably about less than an hour's drive away, but they've - with his busy schedule, he could not get me worked in. But if he does come nearby, I told them I would like to meet with the president sooner than later. I believe that's the same terms the president used with negotiations. He'd like to see it done sooner than later. But we're going to see if we can get something to try to get together with him.
CHANG: Well, if you do have a chance to talk to President Trump, what would you say to him?
HILL: I would say I'd appreciate any effort we can to try to keep a General Motors plant product here. If not, I can agree that we want - we'd like to have the plant repurposed. You know, the rest of the country seems to be going very well, but for our little section of northeast Ohio, it seems like whenever there's an economic downturn, we never quite come up to where we were before the downturn started. And that is a real enigma to me. I can't figure out why.
CHANG: There is some speculation that the president is impatient because he's looking to 2020, and Ohio obviously is an important swing state in the presidential election. He campaigned in 2016 on bringing manufacturing back to the heartland. What do you expect of President Trump to improve things in Lordstown specifically?
HILL: I'd like to see him get the UAW and General Motors to the table. You know, he made promises. You know, we want to keep manufacturing in Ohio, and we want to - don't sell your house. Well, you know, I'm looking at it from a local view. I want to get the jobs back in Lordstown in the Mahoning Valley.
CHANG: And do you think that he has the power as the president to actually make that happen?
HILL: I don't know whether he can, but he can certainly, you know, give both sides a little bit of a push to try to make it happen. I don't know the reason why they're not at the table negotiating right now.
CHANG: Mayor Arno Hill of Lordstown, Ohio, thank you very much for joining us today.
CHANG: In response to President Trump's tweets, General Motors says it is open to talking with all stakeholders, but the plant's future will be resolved between the company and the United Auto Workers.
Your Dream Home is now on the market For Sale. Come out to view this Highly Desired & Gorgeous 4 bedrooms 2 bath. Home located in FAIRFIELD Neighborhood off of Bell Road. This home has a beautiful floor plan & is great for entertaining. The Great room is very spacious and the heart of the home. It has Vaulted Ceiling, Wood Burning Fireplace & New Patio Doors that lead out to a nice patio and lovely fenced in back yard. The Eat in Kitchen has lots of Natural lighting and multiple people can work together nicely & this home also has a Dining Room. You will love the Main bed & bath room, it is spacious, it has 2 closets, garden tub, double sinks, separate shower. Owner is currently using one of the four bedrooms as her personal closet/make-up studio. A/C a year old. This Move In ready home is conveniently locating minutes from shopping, theaters & restaurants. Call your Agent for your private showing.
2ND UPDATE: I hear the New World Development investment in Legendary Pictures was $45 million.
UPDATE: What’s being described as the most powerful privately held family fortune in China has recently made an investment in Thomas Tull’s Legendary Pictures. It signals the start of new China business for the entertainment movie finance and production company best known for its 7-year, 40-picture deal with Warner Bros. The family company is called New World Development and among their many holdings it’s the largest landholder in China outside the government. This investment in Legendary Pictures is similar to those of Jim Breyer and Gordy Crawford previously reported. Film financing circles familiar with the investment speculate to me that Tull is eying a major move in China and expect this financial and strategic relationship to be a great asset to have towards that end. They say it’s possible that a joint production deal, company expansion, or offshoot company is planned. New World Development is the third well-connected investor for Tull’s company this month alone: both Gordy Crawford, the Downtown LA-based shareholder in a long string of entertainment companies through his firm Capital Research Global Investors, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Jim Breyer of Accel Partners quietly bought minority stakes in Legendary — Crawford for his personal portfolio, and Breyer $40M for Accel after purchasing the shares from a previous legendary investor as part of a larger stock sale that Legendary arranged in March.
APRIL 16: Thomas Tull’s Legendary Pictures is seeking to secure a $700 million line of credit from 2013 out to 2016 or even 2017. Its current credit facility doesn’t expire until 2013 — the same year that Legendary’s current distribution and financing arrangement with Warner Bros ends — “but the feeling is that now there are really favorable terms.” Right now banks and institutional lenders are being approached to participate and investment presentations are being put together for the next few weeks. JP Morgan, which has a long relationship with Legendary, is expected to lead this round of financing. Tull has previously raised private equity and hedge fund financing from ABRY Partners, AIG Direct Investments, Bank of America Capital Investors, Columbia Capital, Falcon Investment Advisors and M/C Venture Partners.
New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman discusses his whirlwind offseason after helping the team to a win in Super Bowl LIII and an most valuable player award.

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