Terror Vision

Below are the top 10 best-rated Leisure Services stocks, based on the percentage of positive ratings by brokerage analysts.

THE keys to Bolton One — the town’s new £30 million health facility — will be handed over on Monday.

The health, leisure and research centre, which is a partnership between Bolton Council, NHS Bolton, and the University of Bolton, is due to open on February 1.

The council is providing leisure facilities which include an eight- lane, 25-metre competition swimming pool, with seating for 250 spectators; a therapeutic hydrotherapy pool for people with
disabilities; a fitness suite; aerobics studio; and community gym in the leisure area. The pool will be managed by the council’s partners, Serco.

The leisure centre will be the first part of the complex to open next week after the keys have been officially handed over to the council by Eric Wright Construction.

The NHS will provide a range of outpatient services, among which will be breast screening, orthopaedics, rheumatology, thoracics, and radiological and therapy support. A GP practice will also be
based at Bolton One. The University of Bolton will provide a Centre of Excellence for Health and Wellbeing, which will include clinical skills
laboratory facilities; a rehabilitation suite, including rehabilitation clinics; sports injury and exercise and conditioning clinics; and teaching and seminar rooms. Building work started in October, 2009, and an official opening ceremony will be held in May.

RIVER Park leisure centre could be bulldozed and rebuilt under radical plans to improve leisure facilities in Winchester, it has
emerged.

The idea was revealed when Winchester City Council unveiled major building plans for the next three years.

The council’s cabinet earmarked £500,000 for repairs to River Park Leisure Centre, as part of a £53m programme of general budget spending at a meeting last week.

But councillors said they would consult officers over the next year on whether to build a new centre that would cost millions of pounds.

Cllr Keith Wood, portfolio holder for finance and estates, said: “We are looking at River Park Leisure Centre now.

“We have not come to a view yet, but we have asked officers to look more closely as to what River Park needs doing, and to consider how long that would keep the centre going, or whether it would be
more sensible to build a new leisure centre all together, and what partners we could attract to do that.”

The council scrapped plans to spend £4m repairing the centre in November due to financial constraints, but Cllr Wood said the issue would not be ignored.

“We are determined to keep leisure facilities in Winchester,” he said.

The news comes just weeks after calls to close the centre’s swimming pool.

Lib Dem councillor Margot Power said the pool was not available to those living outside the city due to the cost of getting there, and questioned the council’s continued support for the pool.

But Cllr Wood and council leader Cllr George Beckett backed the need for public swimming facilities in Winchester.

River Park was opened in 1974 and was subject to major repairs in 1987, after a fire gutted the swimming pool.

Meanwhile, the council is proposing to boost high speed Broadband throughout the district with help from government funding, the meeting heard.

Cllr Wood said: “Broadband is a very worthwhile thing and it means we can use a government grant and play our part.

“Broadband in the district is a real problem in some areas and anything we can do to help this is a good thing.”

But Cllr Kelsie Learney, leader of the opposing Lib Dems, warned the Conservative cabinet about funding such a plan.

She said: “We cannot continue going forward funding IT by selling assets or using increasingly scarce reserves.”

Cllr Beckett agreed the council would have to be careful about spending money on technology that could become outdated quickly, but said sharing the costs with other authorities would reduce
financial risk.

Other projects receiving money include a £23m fund for housing repairs, new street lighting in North Walls, and improved heating in Abbey House.

The plans will go to full council next month at the annual budget meeting.

New Yorkers are the rudest people in America, but they glower with glamour, according to the latest surveyof Travel amp; Leisure magazine readers, who ranked New York more boorish than Los Angeles — last years champ — but who also praised New Yorkers as the countrys most stylish jerks.

All that rude behavior clearly hasnt discouraged tourists from flocking to Gotham. The results of the annual survey coincided with New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs announcement that the city ended 2011 having hosted a record 50.5 million visitors, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year.

Travel experts say there are several factors that make New York the countrys biggest tourist destination: the weak dollar; an increase in budget hotels; its unrivaled energy. The not-so-sweet disposition of its residents apparently is not one of the citys draws. The roughly 40,000 people who responded to the Travel amp; Leisure online survey rated New York dead last of 35 metropolitan areas in friendliness.

As one might expect, New Yorkers asked about the survey by the local all-news channel, NY1, argued against the findings — if they bothered to respond at all. I think its wrong, said one man, adding that he always helps people who need directions. Thats all I do is give directions, he griped. Others said visitors mistook New Yorkers typically frenzied pace for unfriendliness.

The city also ranked last for affordability, cleanliness and noise levels, but the fashion center of the country was tops in style and diversity.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, which was rated the rudest last year, moved into a warmer spot at No. 32 in that category, proving itself also nicer than Miami and Washington, DC But its improved behavior apparently didnt do much for the citys fashion sense: It was ranked fifth in the style category.

And for travelers looking for a friendly place to visit, the survey ranked New Orleans at the top of that list, followed by San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Nashville.

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– Tina Susman in New York

Photo: Its not as mean as it looks. New York was ranked the rudest city in America in an online survey. Credit: Justin Lane / European Pressphoto Agency

ANYONE aged 14 and above is invited to take part in new basketball sessions.

Lucy Willets, who is the basketball development officer at Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, said the new Bourne Basketball Club at Bourne Leisure Centre, in Queens Road, is open to players of all ages and abilities.

She said: “If you’ve never played before but want to get fit in the new year, or if you want to get back into a sport you used to enjoy, come along and see if you like it.”

The sessions, which started yesterday, will run every Thursday for six weeks, thanks to funding from the national sports programme Sportivate.

Lincolnshire Basketball was awarded £742 to develop basketball across Lincolnshire, and this is one of four new sessions in the county.

The sessions cost £2 each. For more information call 01522 585580.

CLEVELAND, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
AIRMALL USA, the leading airport concessions developer in North America and operator of the AIRMALL at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), is pleased to announce the addition of two concepts to the retail core of the concessions program (near the Concourse B security checkpoint):

Fans of the popular magazine Travel + Leisure will enjoy the new Travel + Leisure Travel Store, a one-stop travel shop created by the magazine and Hudson Group. The store offers a wide array of products aimed at enhancing the travel experience, such as luggage and travel accessories including, rolling luggage, duffle bags, travel blankets and pillows, and messenger bags.

Families traveling through CLE or parents looking for a gift to bring home after a business trip will be able to shop at the new Kidsworks, filled with imaginative toys and reading material. Kidsworks offers a broad selection of interesting and exciting educational toys, crafts, travel games and toys, electronic games, plush toys and dolls. The latest and greatest fad toys, other assorted toys, and children’s books are also featured.

“Specialty concepts such as the Travel + Leisure Travel Store and Kidworks help to make the AIRMALL at CLE a truly dynamic concessions program,” said Tina LaForte, vice president of AIRMALL Cleveland. “Travel + Leisure is sure to delight the enthusiastic traveler, and Kidworks will be a one-stop shop for parents looking for a unique gift or families hoping to keep their children entertained with an educational toy, game or book on-the-go.”

“The Travel + Leisure Store and Kidworks join several well-known concepts and Cleveland originals that are located in the airport’s Main Terminal,” said Airport Director Ricky Smith. “We’re pleased at how the concessions program at CLE continues to grow and transform, and we know passengers are responding favorably to the wide array of offerings now available.”

A project of AIRMALL USA, the AIRMALL at CLE officially opened in July 2010. The 76,000-square-foot concessions program features 57 distinct units.

For more information on AIRMALL USA, visit
www.airmallusa.com .

About AIRMALL® USAAIRMALL® USA is the developer and manager of the retail, food and beverage operations at Pittsburgh International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport (Terminals B and E), Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The leading airport concessions model in North America, AIRMALL USA continues to boast among the highest per-passenger spends on the continent and consistently receives accolades for innovation and customer service. AIRMALL USA is owned by Prospect Capital Corporation, a leading New York investment company founded in 1988. For more information on AIRMALL USA, visit
www.airmallusa.com .

Contact: Jeff DonaldsonFor AIRMALL USA412-642-7700jeff.donaldson@elias-savion.com

SOURCE AIRMALL USA

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

One of the best arguments against introducing a Food Security Bill is the mixed performance of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (or NREGA).

The logic is simple: without evaluating how money spent on a previous social security scheme is delivering the goods, one should not be pouring even more money into yet another scheme. The sensible things to do would be to study the old one, fix the flaws, and then think of new schemes.

So how has NREGA worked? The answer is mixed. While there is no doubt that it has improved rural incomes – as indicated by the sharp increase in rural wages in the sixth year of the scheme’s existence it appears to have generated as many problems as it had promised to solve.

And the most important piece of dissonance is this: it may be ruining work culture rather than enhancing people’s ability to earn more by working more. For a scheme whose purpose is the guarantee of employment, NREGA may be actually generating more leisure that employment.

The leisure pool at the National Sports Centre has reopened today (Saturday), after a period of closure for essential maintenance.

Theres a quiet session from 9.00 to 10.15am with no flumes or features, a fun session from 10.30am to 5pm, and another quiet session from 5.30 to 7pm.

There is also lane swimming from 10.30am to 7pm.

Get ready for Imperial Leisures next outrageous cava-drenched skank-a-thon across the UK in March and April. The tour will celebrate the release of Imperial Leisures latest fan-funded album Death To The One Trick Pony – a happy fusion of ska, punk, and hip hop featuring their cheeky lyrics and trademark high octane sound.

The Times

DRAGHI UNDER PRESSURE AS EU BANKS SEEK HELP

The ECB is under pressure to unveil new emergency loans to
the regions wilting banking sector on Thursday after its
figures revealed a frantic scramble for dollar funding.

SEVEN VON ESSEN HOTELS TO GO AT A HUGE DISCOUNT

The financial fallout from the collapse of Von Essen Hotels
is set to deepen as administrators prepare to announce the sale
of the package of seven of its hotels at a big discount to the
asking price.

The Telegraph

HSBC ACTS TO STEM MIS-SELLING FALLOUT

HSBC has taken a dramatic step to stem the growing
scandal over its mis-selling of long-term care bonds to elderly
customers by offering to compensate investors who bought NHFA
products long before the bank bought the scandal-hit investment
adviser.

EU COMES UNDER THREAT OF DOWNGRADE BY SP

Standard Poors, the rating agency that shocked markets by
threatening a mass downgrade of eurozone debt, has issued a
warning on European Union credit too.

POTENTIALLY WORTHLESS BLACKS LEISURE PUT UP FOR SALE

Camping and outdoor clothing retailer Blacks Leisure
saw its shares crash 50 percent on Wednesday after the
company admitted it was running out of options and had put
itself up for sale.

The Guardian

EU SUMMIT SIGNALS CRUNCH TIME FOR UK

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrives in Brussels on
Thursday night for a European summit, buffeted by the
conflicting pressures of a Eurosceptic cabinet rebellion over an
EU referendum and increasing isolation in key capitals across
Europe.

The Independent

OSBORNE SAYS EURO CRISIS IS A THREAT TO UK

British finance minister George Osborne admitted on
Wednesday his plans for Britains economic recovery could be
blown out of the water unless European leaders find a solution
to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.