Express NEWS: Octopus Paul picks Spain to win World Cup

Express NEWS: Octopus Paul picks Spain to win World Cup: "Germany's octopus oracle Paul on Friday as he made his biggest prediction yet in the World Cup: Spain will beat the Netherlands in the final..."

Octopus Paul picks Spain to win World Cup

Germany's octopus oracle Paul on Friday as he made his biggest prediction yet in the World Cup: Spain will beat the Netherlands in the final.

Paul's prescient picks in the World Cup - he has yet to predict a match wrong - have propelled him to international fame from obscurity a month ago in an aquarium in the western city of Oberhausen.

TV stations in Germany, Great Britain, Taiwan and elsewhere broadcast live pictures, complete with breathless commentary, of his final decision for the tournament. Millions watched as the world-famous octopus descended upon on a tank marked with a Spanish flag, sitting for only a few minutes before grabbing a mussel and devouring it, while completely ignoring the Dutch tank - indicating a Spanish victory in Sunday's final match in Sunday's final.

It was the first time he'd been tasked to pick a game in which Germany wasn't involved, as the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium bowed to overwhelming demand to see who he would choose in the final. Paul correctly predicted Germany's wins over Argentina, England, Australia and Ghana and the country's loss to Spain and Serbia.

He also predicted earlier on Friday that Germany will win over Uruguay in Saturday's match for third and fourth place.

His handlers say he is coping with fame well.

Octopus oracle Paul chooses a mussel from a glass tank marked with a Spanish flag in the SeaLife Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, Friday. Paul predicts Spain will beat Holland and win the World Cup.
"Paul is such a professional oracle - he doesn't even care that hundreds of journalists are watching and commenting on every move he makes," said Stefan Porwoll, the Sea Life aquarium manager. "We're so proud of him."

Paul first developed his abilities during the 2008 European Championship in which he predicted five out of six games involving Germany correctly. But while he had only a community of local fans two years ago, his World Cup prognostications have brought him international stardom.

Spain's defeat of Germany in the semifinals as predicted by Paul prompted many Germans to wonder about how he would taste grilled for dinner. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero fretted about the safety of "El Pulpo Paul," as he's known in Spain, and offered Paul protection.

"I am concerned about the octopus," Zapatero said. "I'm thinking about sending in a team to protect the octopus because obviously it was very spectacular that he should get Spain's victory right from there."

In response to hundreds of angry e-mails from disappointed German football fans who sent in recipe suggestions for the 2 1/2 year-old floppy mollusk, the aquarium actually did take extra precautions, Porwoll said.

"I even told our guards and people at the entrance to keep a close look at possible for football fans coming after Paul for revenge," Porwoll said. He added, however, that the number of love declarations the aquarium is receiving from Paul's fans far outweighed the hate mail.

"We've been getting tons of requests from around the globe about Paul's visionary capabilities," said Porwoll. "People want to ask Paul about their marriage prospects, the gender of their future baby or the outcome of upcoming elections."

One reporter from Greece asked if Paul could predict the end of the financial crisis and German TV stations have offered the eight-legged psychic lucrative contracts for his post-World Cup life, he said.

Paul has even made waves in the business world.

Gary Jenkins, an economist with London's Evolution Securities, hedged his market analysis note on Friday, conceding "unless Paul says differently."

He added that "we did try and hire Paul the Octopus but we understand he is Goldman's bound," referring to the bank Goldman Sachs.

While Paul is no doubt the world's most famous animal oracle these days, he is facing competition. In Singapore, Mani, a World Cup-forecasting parakeet, predicted a different outcome of Sunday's final match.

Creeping out of his small wooden cage and choosing between two white cards - one hiding a Dutch flag, the other Spanish - the bird predicted the Netherlands will win its first World Cup championship, setting up a Mani-Paul showdown for Sunday.

As LeBron James Heat Jerseys Sell, Cavs Jerseys Go Up in Smoke

As expected, LeBron James Heat jerseys are starting to sell like hotcakes after James announced his decision to play for Miami. But it's the burning of his Cavaliers jerseys that has been even more eye-catching in the wake of James' snub of Cleveland.

Cavs fans wasted little time in uploading videos online of their various acts of pyro. The emotional message being sent to James is loud and clear, but not everyone agrees it's the right thing to do. Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard took to his Twitter page on Thursday night to express his displeasure with Cavaliers fans' behavior.

After watching footage of a Cleveland jersey being set ablaze, Howard had this to say: "Cmon cavs fans don't do that. That man went hard for y'all for 7 yrs. He doin what's best for him burning his jersey is messed up. That's bs. Burning his jersey. That man tried. Wow. [sic]"

Howard then got into a contentious back-and-forth with some angry fans on Twitter. When one fan replied, "Whatever your rich you dont live in Ohio shut up [sic]," Howard shot back with "come shut me up homie. I can say how I feel."

Whether Cavs fans are burning jerseys for catharsis or just reaching for the only form of retaliation available, there's no doubt how many of them are feeling right now: angry as hell.

Warning: The following video contains some explicit language.

When LeBron was asked by ESPN's Michael Wilbon on Thursday night's broadcast if he was surprised that fans were doing this and how he felt about it, James replied: "Well, I can't get involved in that. One thing that I didn't want to do was make an emotional decision. I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James, and what LeBron James is gonna do to make him happy.

"Put the shoe on the other foot. The Cavs would have gotten rid of me at one point. Would my family have burned down the organization? Of course not. This is a business and I had seven great years in Cleveland. I hope the fans understand. Maybe they won't. But I'm going to ultimately be happy with the decision I made and continue to be great."

LeBron James decision recalls one by Kobe Bryant: LeBron James Rumor Mill

Chasing down rumors about LeBron James' basketball future could be a full-time job. Every day we'll compile a list of the rumors we're hearing about James and his next contract. Just remember these are just rumors, not necessarily facts.

With anticipation grown for James' announcement on ESPN at 9 p.m. on Thursday, we're posting rumors as we hear them today.


A thoughtful piece from ESPN's J.A. Adande compares James decision to that of Kobe Bryant six years ago.

Writes Adande,
"Of course it would end like this, with a personal decision that has become public property, offered for the world to consume on live TV. Everything has been building toward this LeBron James announcement on ESPN on Thursday night. Not since Game 5, not since his last visit to Madison Square Garden, not even since he and Dwyane Wade signed the contracts with a 2010 opt-out that turned this summer into Armageddon. This is almost two decades in the making, a product of a culture that long ago removed the borders between reality and reality TV.''

Adande says Bryant handled his decision in much the same way James has.

"People that wonder how Kobe Bryant would have handled this have short memories. He strung everyone along before his opt-out summer of 2004, just as LeBron did. He had the Bulls, Knicks and Clippers come meet him, just as LeBron had teams meet him. (Although at least Kobe's pursuers got to go to Newport Beach instead of Cleveland). Two year later, Kobe changed his number, just as LeBron will next year. So it's a mistake to say Kobe wouldn't have done it the way LeBron did it. He has. He also went on radio to demand a trade, then appeared on another show to retreat from that position, then charged forward again in a different radio appearance. That was followed by the secretly taped parking-lot conversation in which he took swipes at teammate Andrew Bynum and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. Kobe didn't use technology; technology used him.''

LeBron headed to New York either way


From ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan: "We know one thing for sure about LeBron's future: He is coming to New York this weekend, according to the New York Post, to attend Carmelo Anthony's wedding to LaLa Vazquez.''

Tweeting frenzy

James announcement of his impending announcement has set the sports world atwitter.

Some of the best recent tweets:

• KCJHoop (K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune): 45 hours until LeBronathon ends. Here's a shot at rankings that have never changed for me: 1) Cavs; 2) Bulls; 3) Nets; 4) Knicks.

• AschNBA (Steve Aschburner of NBA.com): Once LeBron announces, will an ESPN scribe "confirm?"

• MaureenEF (Maureen Fulton, former Plain Dealer intern and Toledo Blade reporter): Brett Favre thinks LeBron needs to tone down the drama 'king' act a few notches.

And four good ones from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News:

1. Until LeBron speaks, I still rank it as Cavs, NY, NJ, Heat, Bulls & Clips. Lakers are out cause they already have greatest baller on earth

2. Sources: LeBron’s decision to be based on which team’s bench players create most insufferable dance routine during player introductions

3. There hasn't been this much anticipation about an athlete's future since the O.J. Simpson verdict

4. Too bad LeBron didn't put this much thought and energy into Game 5 against Boston.

Never tell me the odds

According to Predicto, a vote-by-text poll site, James will return to the Cavs. Predicto is the only mobile voting game with more than 1 million subscribers. The Cavs earned 30 percent of the votes, followed by the Knicks with 27 percent and the Bulls with 26 percent.

New odds on where James will play next season have upgraded the Heat and downgraded the Bulls, though the Cavs remain the favorite.

NBA Free Agency Rumor: LeBron James' Choice Down To Cavs Or Heat

How does the news that Chris Bosh has opted to join Dwyane Wade in Miami, eschewing a potential sign-and-trade to Cleveland, affect where everybody's favorite Global Icon, LeBron James, lands? Well, if an anonymous team official from one of the franchises pursuing James is to be believed, it means James will either follow Bosh to Miami or re-sign with the Cavs, according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Throughout the melodrama that has been this summer's free agency, rumors have swirled that the trio of James, Wade and Bosh intended to join force in Miami and form a super-team. James was expected to be the first domino to fall in the line of NBA mega-free agents, but by preemptively committing to Miami, Bosh and Wade have effectively pressured James to do so as well. Aside from questions about whether jumping ship to Miami would "diminish the LeBron brand" by having to share the spotlight, the biggest obstacle for the proposed super-team would be that they'd only be able to add minimum contract players (in addition to their four second-round picks from this past year's draft) to their roster. Then again, they'd have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh...it shouldn't be too hard to convince some ring-hungry vets to sign on as mercenaries for a year or two.


Beyond hometown loyalty, it's not clear what would entice James to remain in Cleveland. Indeed, after failing to convince Bosh to accept a trade to the Cavs, it's difficult to see how they could measurably improve their roster to compete in what figures to be an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference, with the Heat figuring to contend along with the Magic and Celtics.

Meanwhile, the ubiquitous Chris Broussard of ESPN (via Arash Markazi) disputes that the Heat and Cavs are the only remaining contenders for LeBron James' services, adding that the Bulls remain in the mix. According to Broussard, the Heat are the frontrunners for James at this point, with the Bulls the second favorites and the Cavs third.

Indian Shares End Little Changed In Dull Trade

MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--Indian shares traded choppy before ending flat Monday, not reacting much to the Reserve Bank of India's move to increase its key policy rates late Friday.

Cues from Asian markets were also subdued with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of the Independence Day holiday in the U.S.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index lost 19.51 points, or 0.1%, to close at 17,441.44. The index, which slipped 0.7% last week, moved in a narrow 17,423.74-17,505.73 band during the session. On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty also ended flat, slipping just 1.20 points to 5235.90.

However, trading volume on the BSE dropped to INR28.51 billion, from INR45.55 billion Friday as investor participation was low after transport services in Mumbai were disrupted due to a nationwide strike called by opposition political parties to protest the recent hike in fuel prices by the federal government.

Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,614 to 1,238, while 119 stocks were unchanged.

A technical analysis by Dow Jones Newswires tips the Sensex between 16,900 and 17,800 this week.

"Volumes have been impacted (by the strike). Funds have not been active in the market," said Deven Choksey, managing director, K.R. Choksey Shares & Securities.

India's central bank late Friday raised its key policy rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year in an unscheduled move, accelerating its monetary tightening, and indicated that it is open to take further steps to tame rising prices. Post the hike, its borrowing rate, or the reverse repurchase rate, stands at 4.00% and its lending rate, or the repurchase rate, at 5.50%.

But economists call for further monetary tightening as the country is faced with double-digit inflation levels.

In a note to clients, HSBC said the rate hike was "a step in the right direction" and that it expects the RBI to increase rates by at least another 25 basis points at its July 27 policy review meeting. It added that inflation "isn't coming down quickly enough for officials to let down their guard."

Choksey said the rate hike "just came in a bit early," although it was widely expected. "We are in a yo-yo kind of a market now. It is unlikely that the market will move in either direction convincingly."

He added that while the uncertainty surrounding the global markets is keeping a lid on Indian shares, a recovery in the domestic economy has been providing a cushion against a downside.

Stocks on the Sensex traded mixed across sectors, with 18 of the 30 index constituents ending lower.

Despite the interest-rate hike, financial stocks were mostly higher. State Bank of India, which shed 1.6% last week, rose 0.3% to INR2,272.60, while private-sector lender ICICI Bank added 0.1% to INR841 after losing 2.0% last week.

Metals mostly fell with aluminum producer Hindalco Industries down 1.7% at INR141.60 and Tata Steel falling 0.7% to INR471.50.

Reliance Communications, which outperformed the Sensex by over 18% in the past one month, lost 2.9% at INR185.60 on profit-booking. However, Bharti Airtel gained 0.8% to INR267.

Among others, utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra rose 1.3% to INR610.30, but car maker Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.9% to INR1,395.05. Oil & Natural Gas Corp. slipped 1.5% to INR1,286.10 after gaining more than 10% in the past one month.

Beyond the Sensex, shares of Reliance Natural Resources, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, tanked 27.3% to end at INR46.30 after the firm Sunday said it will merge with group company Reliance Power in a deal under which one share of Reliance Power will be exchanged for every four shares of Reliance Natural.

Reliance Power, which is also not a Sensex component, closed up 3.6% at INR181.40.

Telecom Investors Await Call on 2G Fee

India’s telecom investors are watching and waiting for a key decision regarding a proposed fee on holders of 2G spectrum bandwidth.

AFP/Getty Images A pedestrian Peaks on a mobile phone in Srinagar, India, April 16, 2010.

A. Raja, telecom minister, is meeting the heads of leading telecom companies today. Many industry watchers speculate that a consensus is likely to be reached on the proposed one-time fee for 2G bandwidth that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had recommended for telecom companies.

Telecom stocks were active as a result with Bharti Airtel rising 2.0% by early afternoon and Idea Cellular losing 0.2%. Reliance Communications was up 2.7%, while the benchmark Sensex was down 0.5%.

TRAI in May recommended that GSM and CDMA operators with more than 6.2 megahertz and 5 Mhz of 2G bandwidth, respectively, should pay a one-time fee to keep the excess spectrum. It said the fee would be linked to the value of third-generation bandwidth at the government’s recent auction.

The recommendation was met with severe opposition from telecom companies, which already have shelled out huge amounts for the 3G and broadband wireless spectrum auctions recently. TRAI subsequently asked telecom companies for their views by June 15 and said it would consult with other experts too – a process it estimated would be completed by July 15.

“I doubt the fee will be entirely scrapped but perhaps a discount is possible. We are hoping for some kind of decision today,” one Mumbai-based analyst said.

If implemented on TRAI’s earlier recommendation, the fee would hurt players like Bharti and Idea the most, analysts say. The hit is less for Reliance Communications, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, as it owns less than 6.2 MHz of 2G spectrum in all circles except Bihar.

Some analysts say that with the expensive auctions out of the way, the sector may be on track to recovery and that it is likely a good time to buy the stocks.

“We believe that domestic wireless business is stabilizing, and the overhang from 3G and (Broadband Wireless Access) spectrum auctions are now behind us,” Anand Rathi Financial Services said, maintaining a ”Buy” rating on Bharti and Idea.

Others recommend investors take a cautious view, particularly because any disappointment over TRAI’s recommended fee is not priced into the stocks.

“In our view, there remains limited visibility if TRAI recommendations are accepted by the government in its current form. We consider this as a key overhang on Bharti/Idea shares,” Goldman Sachs said in a note Tuesday.

'Pretty Little Liars' sneak peek of episode 5 'Reality Bites Me'

"Pretty Little Liars" set a good stage for the fifth episode, titled "Reality Bites Me." When we last left the liars, they were gazing at a mirror covered in red lipstick that seemed to be Alison warning them it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of her.

Next week it looks like things are heating up for Toby and Emily -- some after school chemistry causes some, well, chemistry. And does Toby ask her out?! Brave man.












Meanwhile, things are becoming icy at the Montgomery house. But we're glad to see Byron get what he so richly deserves and we're excited to see more Holly Marie Combs! Check out these sneak peek clips and tell us what you think!

"Pretty Little Liars" airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC Family.