No frying tonight after 'Obama' eatery closes

No frying tonight after 'Obama' eatery closes

A TAKEAWAY restaurant called the "Obama Fried Chicken," complete with a cartoon of a smiling US President Barack Obama as its logo,Dolphins jerseys wholesale has been shut by its owners, three college students in Beijing.

The students said they temporarily closed the eatery yesterday because of the flood of requests for interviews from domestic and foreign reporters. This had "disturbed their business as well as their studies," according to a report in the Legal Evening News.,wholesale POLO Ralph Lauren SERIES,

Obama Fried Chicken, or OFC, was a small rented kitchen with take-away services in premises that used to be a public bath house in the Chinese capital. It attracted public attention even before it opened last Saturday after it featured in major domestic newspapers and even made headlines abroad, including in the Washington Post.

Reports focused on the fact that the eatery's OFC name was similar to that of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and its logo, Obama wearing a Colonel Sanders-style bow tie and suspenders, was also close to being a copy of KFC's.

The Washington Post said a KFC China spokesman had emailed the newspaper to say the restaurant, situated near a college in Beijing, was not affiliated with the brand and the company was considering legal action.

"It is a knock-off and has nothing to do with us and it infringes on our brand trademark," the email said. "We find it distasteful."

Then, on the day it opened for business, the students changed the eatery's name to "UFO,,Nike shox shoes," which,Moncler women's jacketsChina nfl jerseys wholesale they said, indicated that the shop was an "unidentified object" to avoid talk of copyright infringement.

14 lost hikers found safe

14 lost hikers found safe

A team of 14 hikers, missing in the Siguniang mountains in Sichuan Province, were reported to be safe yesterday, but they may be fined for straying into a forbidden area.

After 13 days missing in the mountains, they left the area under their own steam, staying well and maintaining their physical strength, according to guide Tang Yanghua.

But Siguniang Mountain Scenery Area Management Commission said the hikers may be fined 5,Cheap moncler jacketsChina nfl jerseys wholesale000 yuan (US$786) each, and they are also liable for the cost of rescue operations.

The team is being led by 35-year-old Xu Ning, an experienced mountain climber from Hangzhou. He led another team of hikers into the area last year but was forced to turn back because of bad weather and altitude sickness. All those hikers returned safely.Dolphins jerseys wholesale

The latest team made contact around 8:30 yesterday morning and left the mountainous area about two hours later.

Tang said: "We did not lose our way, but had to find a new route because the landscape had changed."

The team, including nine hikers from Shanghai,,Nike shox shoes, Zhejiang and Guangdong, a guide and four bearers,,wholesale POLO Ralph Lauren SERIES, camped in the Haizigou area of the range on October 1. Three days later, as planned, they continued their hike but were out of contact until yesterday morning. Weather in the area has been mostly calm.

The team reached a valley early yesterday morning. There was no cellphone signal and their torches ran out of power, so they decided to camp. They managed to make contact after reaching Gengda County.

China to help small businesses access credit

China to help small businesses access credit

China said Wednesday it will make it easier for smaller businesses to get bank credit,Dolphins jerseys wholesale amid growing concern at the number of cash-strapped companies turning to private lenders for financing.

Independent business owners in China have long complained that banks ignore their loan applications, preferring to lend to large state-controlled enterprises whose debts are implicitly guaranteed by the government.

A growing number of private companies are resorting to the informal lending market where they pay as much as 70 percent interest on loans -- more than 10 times the bank rate.

The issue has gained prominence recently after at least one entrepreneur killed himself and dozens of others disappeared in the eastern city of Wenzhou after borrowing money from private lenders at very high interest rates.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last week visited Wenzhou -- which gained nationwide fame in the 1980s for its free-wheeling entrepreneurs -- and urged stronger financial support for smaller businesses.

The package of measures announced by the State Council, or cabinet,Cheap moncler jackets on Wednesday was intended to increase credit support, broaden financing channels and offer tax breaks for small enterprises, according to a statement.

The State Council also pledged to lower the deposit reserve ratio for small financial institutions which would -- in theory -- free up more money for them to lend to private companies.China nfl jerseys wholesale

Tighter lending restrictions introduced in the past 12 months to stem a flood of liquidity in the economy and rein in inflation were also exacerbating the problem faced by small companies,,wholesale POLO Ralph Lauren SERIES, Credit Suisse warned recently.

It estimated that the informal lending market could be worth four trillion yuan (about $629 billion) and growing 50 percent year-on-year, so that it "threatened financial stability" in China.,Nike shox shoes,

Fed up with Washington, wealthy boycott campaign fundraising

Fed up with Washington, wealthy boycott campaign fundraising

They might not be among the jobless protesting against Wall Street, but the rich are angry,,Nike shox shoes, too. Furious over U.S. government gridlock, the wealthy have their own form of protest: Refusing to make political contributions.Cheap moncler jackets

A number of financial advisers say their wealthy clients have told them they will not make political contributions this year, many for the first time ever.China nfl jerseys wholesale

Bessemer Trust CEO John Hilton says in his 42 years advising ultra high-net worth investors, he has never seen clients so frustrated with the state of affairs in Washington.

He said a number of the firm's clients - who have an average of $30 million in investable assets - say they believe a lack of leadership and political wrangling are the primary cause of recent market problems - and the declines in their portfolios. Because of that,,wholesale POLO Ralph Lauren SERIES, they say they're saying no to requests to make political contributions.

"People are pissed," said Alan Ungar, an adviser with Critical Capital Management Inc. in Calabasas, California. His clients have an average $1.6 million or more in assets invested with the firm. "This isn't about taxes," he said. "It's about the partisan dynamic."

Political contributions from wealthy donors are crucial for presidential campaigns, said Michael Beckel, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group that tracks donations and their impact on elections and policy in the U.S.

Thirty-one percent of all individual donations came from people who donated $2,000 or more during the 2008 presidential elections,Dolphins jerseys wholesale according to the Federal Election Commission. "We are definitely seeing a slower start in donors giving money than we did four years ago," Beckel said.

China's football World Cup dream dims

China's football World Cup dream dims

China's dream of reaching a second World Cup was receding Wednesday after their latest shattering defeat, as Jordan joined Asia's heavyweights on the march towards Brazil 2014.

Australia appeared set for the fourth qualifying round,Moncler women's jacketsDolphins jerseys wholesale while landslide wins for Japan and Iran, who scored 14 unanswered goals between them late on Tuesday, also made them hot favourites to progress.

South Korea beat UAE with the aid of a second-half own goal, but North Korea's bid for back-to-back World Cup appearances -- after a 44-year absence from the tournament -- were hit by defeat to Uzbekistan.

China have recruited ex-Real Madrid and Spain manager Jose Antonio Camacho for their World Cup campaign, but it was a familiar story in Shenzhen as they slumped to a 0-1 loss to Iraq, who played a quarter of the game with 10 men.

Afterwards Camacho, who has overseen two defeats and a narrow win against Singapore in World Cup qualifying since joining China in August, admitted they faced an uphill battle to reach the next round.

"It?s going to be difficult to qualify from here but it?s not impossible. We will try harder in the next game to see what we can do," he said.

Brazilian legend Zico, who is also under pressure to deliver as coach of 2007 Asian champions Iraq,,wholesale POLO Ralph Lauren SERIES, was relieved after what he had described as a must-win game.

"I?m happy that we won this game and we played well under abnormal conditions," he said.,Nike shox shoes, "It was a tough game and it was the second time we faced this problem of playing with 10 men.China nfl jerseys wholesale

"China played well and I have to give many thanks to my goalkeeper because he did a great job."