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  • Deep Walkability

    Alex at WorldChanging has a post on pedestrian friendly urban design – Deep Walkability.

    Several pieces of Net flotsam today (local columnist Danny Westneat’s clueless call for more parking lots around Seattle’s new light rail stations; a NYT article on findings that walkable density appears to increase property values and buffer against real estate crashes), got me pondering again the nature of “walkability.”

    Walkability is clearly critical to bright green cities. You can’t advocate for car-free or car-sharing lives if people need cars to get around, and the enticement to walk is key to making density wonderful, to providing realistic transit options, to making smaller greener homes compelling and to growing the kind of digitally-suffused walksheds that post-ownership ideas seem to demand. So knowing how to define “walkable” is important.

    That said, I’m skeptical of most measurements of walkability. Though I’m a fan of efforts like WalkScore, I think it’s important to acknowledge their very real limitations. WalkScore, for instance, is a measurement not of walkability but proximity. If we’re going to make decisions based on algorithms, we’d better make sure we’re using the right formula.

    The big thing I think falls out of most walkability formulas is a quality critical to the actual experience of walkability, and that’s the extent to which the place in which you live is connected (by walking routes and easy transit) to other places worth walking to.

    Unfortunately, in North America many great neighborhoods are islands of comparative pedestrian friendliness in seas of sprawl and pedestrian hostility. They may offer a lot of services close by — you may be able to walk to buy a quart of milk or drink a cup of coffee in the cafe — but going anywhere else involves a choice of long walks through forbidding surroundings and along dangerous streets or unhappy waits for inconvenient and underfunded transit.

    To live in such a neighborhood is to understand the full impact of a half century of planning and public investment that treated a person walking as at best an afterthought, and very often as an inconvenience to cars that ought to be discouraged. No matter how great the cafes, sidewalks and street trees are in these ‘hoods, they are not actually truly walkable because unless you want to feel like a prisoner trapped within their boundaries, you still must own a car.

    The true test of walkability I think is this: Can you spend a pleasant half hour walking or on transit and end up at a variety of great places? The quality of having a feast of options available when you walk out your front door is what I’m starting to think of as “deep walkability.”

    It’s this deep walkability that ought to be the top priority driving urban design and development in our communities. We ought to be looking at how to knit our walkable communities together and how to make friendlier the unwalkable streets between them.

    In most cities, serious walkers (and bikers) share stories about the routes they’ve taken, hidden paths through the fractured landscape that let you walk safely and happily from one people-centered place to another. A killer urban ap would be one that revealed these urban songlines. A smart urban policy would be one that aimed to weave new walking routes through the whole urban fabric, until places walkers feared to tread were the exception rather than the expectation.


  • Recipe: Cara Cara Orange Curd

    2010-01-20-OrangeCurd2.jpgSoon after Elizabeth mentioned them, we spotted cara cara oranges at our local grocery. We ate a few for afternoon snacks, but then our thoughts quickly turned to dessert. Wouldn’t this sweet citrus make a great jam curd? Why, yes it would!

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  • Mobile Payments Startup Boku Lands $25 Million In Funding; Rebrands Service As Paymo

    Mobile payments for micro-transactions on the web are steadily gaining traction. This morning, the space received more validation as several prominent venture capital firms made a significant a investment in recently launched mobile payments startup, Boku. Boku has raised $25 million in Series C funding led by DAG Ventures with previous investors Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures participating in the round. This brings Boku’s total funding to $38 million since the startup’s launch in June. Boku’s marketing chief Ron Hirson tells me that the startup is also rebranding its consumer platform as Paymo, but will retain the name Boku on the merchant and publisher side.

    Boku, which acquired competitors Paymo and Mobillcash in June, doesn’t require users to have a credit card or bank account to make a micropayment. Users enter their cell phone number on the site, reply to a text message and then all virtual charges are automatically charged to the user’s monthly cell phone bill. As we’ve said in the past, it’s ridiculously easy. Because of its acquisition of Paymo and Mobillcash, systems that had significant international reach, Boku gained a strong base of users around the world.

    Today, Boku’s reach extends to 58 countries and 190 carriers, with two more countries (Latvia and Lithuania) being added by the end of the week. Carriers in Brazil and Argentina will also be added shortly and is expected to bring a large amount of users because of the high mobile phone usage stats in South America. Hirson says the new cash will be used to further the companies international growth and expand product offerings.

    The startup is also seeing success on the publisher side, announcing 12 new partnerships with online game developers in the past month. In fact, since June, the company has developed mobile payment relationships with over 1,000 game and app developers to help power payments for virtual goods and currencies on many of the top social networks, including Facebook and MySpace. The startup currently powers mobile micropayments for both Playdom and Playfish, which was acquired by Electronic Arts.

    One potential obstacle to mobile payments platforms is the high fees that mobile carriers charge to the payment systems (which are then passed on to the publisher). Boku told us last June that different cell phone carriers charge varying fees that range between 10% to 50% of the purchase price, which is a hefty amount in transaction fees. But it looks like Boku is on its way to remedying this problem. Hirson indicated to me that the company is in negotiations with carriers to bring fees. He said that carrier fees in parts of Europe will come down first and hopefully roll out to the Americas and remaining parts of the world.

    Of course, its worth mentioning Boku’s main rival in the mobile payments space, Zong, which struck a large deal last year with Facebook to pay for the social network’s virtual currency. Zong also recently launched an alternative payments system, called Zong+, which lets users bill microtransactions to credit, debit and prepaid cards.

    With $25 million in the bank, its hard not to imagine that Boku could snap up a few smaller players in the mobile payments and microtransaction space. When asked about the possibility of further buyouts down the line, Hirson said that while acquisitions aren’t currently part of Boku’s immediate strategy, he couldn’t rule out the possibility in the future.


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  • Report: Skype Now Accounts For 12% Of All International Calling Minutes

    VoIP services juggernaut Skype has seen its share of international calling minutes jump to 12% in 2009, a 50% increase compared to the year before. And as you can tell from the pie chart below, 54 billion minutes out of 406 billion in total were accumulated by users calling each other Skype-to-Skype last year. Are you listening, carriers?

    The numbers hail from a report published by TeleGeography, a benchmark research service for the international long-distance telephony industry.

    TeleGeography says international call volume from telephones has grown at an annual rate of 15 percent over the past 25 years, but that growth has been slowing for the past few years. In the past two years, specifically, international telephone traffic annual growth has reportedly slowed to a mere 8 percent, growing from 376 billion minutes in 2008 to an estimated 406 billion minutes last year.

    Skype’s traffic, however, has soared. The service’s on-net international traffic (between Skype users) grew 51 percent in 2008, and is projected to grow 63 percent in 2009, to 54 billion minutes.

    TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert refers to Skype’s estimated volume of traffic as “tremendous” and goes on to say that Skype is now by far the largest provider of cross-border communications in the world.

    Just yesterday, Skype Journal reported that the service has seen an all-time record number of concurrent logged on users: 22 million people signed in to Skype at the same time.

    Or what the disruption of an industry looks like in figures and charts.

    Tomorrow, eBay is set to release its latest quarter earnings, which means we’ll be able to match these traffic growth numbers with reported revenue figures. In October 2009, we reported on Skype hitting 521 million users and $185 million in quarterly revenue.

    (Via Skype blog)


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  • Quick Tip: Freeze Homemade Stock in Ice Cube Trays

    2010_01_19-chicken-stock.jpgThere’s nothing like homemade stock, but we hate waiting for a whole container of it to defrost. Especially when we’ve been out in the cold and are trying to defrost ourselves – we need soup, and fast! Freezing stock in ice cube trays allows for quick defrosting and won’t slow down dinner.

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  • Sunny Flower Solar Power

    ipetal.jpg
    Charging handheld devices with 100% solar power is rapidly becoming reality. This solar charger takes its inspiration from Mother Nature and the leaf arrangement used by flowers to soak up sunlight. The foldable panels make the versatile charger compact to transport, yet able to absorb maximum energy when fully opened. The charger can be spread out in a window, or with adhesive panels even stick to the glass. When not in use the petals close and you can plug in your gadget for easy recharging.

    Product designers are always on the lookout for trends. Another concept, inspired by the first, is the iPetals charger – designed specifically for use with the Apple iPhone. The charger also folds open to capture optimum sunlight, but when collapsed it forms a neat docking stand for the iPhone to sit in. With new solar powered cases and portable chargers on the market all the time, competition is driving innovation. The next generation of solar chargers promise to be even more affordable and efficient, not to mention stylish. You’ll never be stuck without a wall socket again.

    Written in association with WasteCare Waste Management

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    [Sunny Flower Charger And iPetals Charger]

  • KRAFT FOODS COMPANY: Recommended Final* Offer By Kraft Foods Inc. (“Kraft Foods”) For Cadbury Plc (“Cadbury”) Valuing Each Cadbury Share at 840 Pence

    Recommended Final* Offer By Kraft Foods Inc. (“Kraft Foods”) For Cadbury Plc (“Cadbury”) Valuing Each Cadbury Share at 840 Pence

    Recommended Final Offer terms

    • The board of Kraft Foods is pleased to announce the detailed terms of a recommended Final Offer for Cadbury and the board of Cadbury unanimously recommends Cadbury Securityholders to accept the terms of the Final Offer.
    • Under the terms of the Final Offer, Cadbury Securityholders will be entitled to receive:

    for each Cadbury Share

    500 pence in cash

    and

    0.1874 New Kraft Foods Shares

    for each Cadbury ADS

    2,000 pence in cash

    and

    0.7496 New Kraft Foods Shares

    representing, in aggregate, 840 pence per Cadbury Share and GBP 33.60 per Cadbury ADS.

    • In addition, Cadbury Shareholders will be entitled to receive 10 pence per Cadbury share by way of a Special Dividend following the date on which the Final Offer becomes or is declared unconditional.
    • The terms of the Final Offer reflect the strength of Cadbury’s business, its brands and the future potential for growth through the combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury.

    An attractive valuation and substantial long-term value creation potential as part of the Combined Group

    • Kraft Foods believes that the Final Offer represents a compelling opportunity for Cadbury Securityholders, providing the ability to receive approximately 60 per cent. of their consideration in cash and long-term value creation potential through a continued shareholding in the Combined Group.
    • The Final Offer represents an attractive multiple of 13.0 times Cadbury’s underlying 2009 EBITDA.
    • Kraft Foods believes a combination with Cadbury will provide the potential for meaningful cost savings and revenue synergies from which Cadbury Securityholders will benefit.

    Combination creates a global leader in the global foods and confectionery sector

    • Kraft Foods believes a combination represents a strong and complementary strategic fit, creating a global confectionery leader with a portfolio of more than 40 confectionery brands each with annual sales in excess of USD 100 million.
    • Kraft Foods and Cadbury have a highly complementary geographic footprint, providing the Combined Group with a leading presence in attractive global markets.
    • The Combined Group will have a leading position in developing markets, including in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Mexico.
    • The Combined Group will benefit from important additional scale in the consolidating confectionery segments.
    • The Combined Group will have best-in-class infrastructure in both traditional and instant consumption routes to market.

    Management and employees

    • The combination will augment the world-class capabilities of both Kraft Foods and Cadbury by employing a “best of both” approach, from sales and marketing to distribution and management.
    • In particular, Kraft Foods believes that the global business network of the Combined Group will create opportunities for Cadbury employees and managers.
    • In addition, Kraft Foods has given assurances to Cadbury that, on the Final Offer becoming or being declared wholly unconditional, the existing contractual employment rights, including pension rights, of all employees will be fully safeguarded.

    Further details of the Final Offer

    • Kraft Foods also announces that it reserves the right to, and intends to, reduce the number of acceptances required to fulfil the Acceptance Condition from 90 per cent. to 50 per cent. plus one Cadbury Share on or after 26 January 2010.
    • The Final Offer does not require the approval of Kraft Foods Shareholders. Accordingly, the condition relating to such approval, as set out in the Original Offer Documents, is treated as satisfied for the purposes of the Final Offer.
    • Full acceptance of the Final Offer will result in the issue of 265 million New Kraft Foods Shares, representing approximately 18 per cent. of the existing issued share capital and 15 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of Kraft Foods.

    Commenting on the Offer, Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, said:

    “We have great respect for Cadbury’s brands, heritage and people. We believe they will thrive as part of Kraft Foods. This recommended offer represents a compelling opportunity for Cadbury Shareholders, providing both immediate value certainty and upside potential in the combined company. For Kraft Foods Shareholders it transforms the portfolio, accelerates long-term growth and delivers highly attractive returns, while maintaining financial discipline.”

    Commenting on the Offer, Roger Carr, Chairman of Cadbury, said:

    “We believe the offer represents good value for Cadbury shareholders and are pleased with the commitment that Kraft Foods has made to our heritage, values and people throughout the world. We will now work with the Kraft Foods’ management to ensure the continued success and growth of the business for the benefit of our customers, consumers and employees.”

    Cadbury Securityholders who have previously accepted the Original Offer (and have not withdrawn those acceptances) will automatically be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Final Offer by virtue of their prior acceptances and therefore need take no further action.

    Other Cadbury Securityholders who wish to accept the recommended Final Offer must take action to accept the Final Offer by 1.00 pm (London time) / 8.00 am (New York City time) on 2 February 2010. Details of the procedure for doing so will be set out in the Final Offer Documents (and, in the case of certificated Cadbury Shares and Cadbury ADSs, the Final Acceptance Forms) to be sent to Cadbury Securityholders as soon as practicable. The Final Offer Documents will also be available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/).

    This summary should be read in conjunction with the full text of the following announcement.

    * The Offer is final and will not be increased, except that Kraft Foods reserves the right to increase the Offer if there is an announcement on or after the date hereof of an offer or a possible offer for Cadbury by a third party offeror or potential offeror.

    Enquiries to Kraft Foods:






    Kraft Foods



    Perry Yeatman

    (Media)

    +1 847 646 4538

    Chris Jakubik

    (Investors)

    +1 847 646 5494




    Lazard (lead financial adviser)



    Jeffrey Rosen

    +1 212 632 6000

    Antonio Weiss

    +1 212 632 6000

    William Rucker


    +44 20 7187 2000

    Peter Kiernan


    +44 20 7187 2000




    Centerview Partners (financial adviser)



    Robert Pruzan


    +1 212 380 2650




    Citigroup (corporate broking)



    David James

    +44 20 7986 4000

    Deutsche Bank (corporate broking)



    James Agnew


    +44 20 7545 8000




    Brunswick Group (public relations)



    Richard Jacques

    +44 20 7404 5959

    Jonathan Glass


    +44 20 7404 5959




    Financial advisers:

    Citigroup



    Leon Kalvaria






    Deutsche Bank



    Nigel Meek



    Further information

    This announcement is being made available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/). Copies of the Original Offer Document, the Prospectus, supplementary prospectuses and the Original US Offer Document, as applicable, are also available on Kraft Foods’ website. The Final Offer Documents and the related supplementary prospectus will be available on Kraft Foods’ website as soon as practicable.

    The conditions to which the Offer is subject are set out in Appendix I to the Original Offer Document (Appendix A to the Original US Offer Document), and certain further terms of the Final Offer will be set out in the Final Offer Documents and the Final Acceptance Forms. Appendix I to this announcement sets out the sources and bases of certain financial and other information contained in this announcement. Appendix II to this announcement contains definitions of certain expressions and terms used in this announcement.

    Lazard & Co., Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the FSA, is acting as financial adviser to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Lazard & Co., Limited, nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Centerview Partners UK LLP, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the FSA, is acting as financial adviser to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Centerview Partners UK LLP, nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Citigroup Global Markets Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the FSA, is acting as financial adviser and corporate broker to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Citigroup Global Markets Limited, nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Deutsche Bank AG is authorised under German Banking Law (competent authority: BaFin – Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) and authorised and subject to limited regulation by the FSA. Details about the extent of Deutsche Bank AG’s authorisation and regulation by the FSA are available on request. Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (and its affiliates) are acting as financial adviser and corporate broker to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (or its affiliates), nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Each of Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited and UBS Investment Bank is acting exclusively for Cadbury and for no one else in connection to the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Cadbury for the providing the protections afforded to their respective clients nor for providing advice in relation to such matters.

    This announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to this announcement or otherwise. The Offer is being made by the Original Offer Documents, the Final Offer Documents and the accompanying documentation. This announcement is not a prospectus and investors should not subscribe for any New Kraft Foods Shares except on the basis of information in the Prospectus (including the supplementary prospectuses) or the Registration Statement (as appropriate) which have been published and/or filed and which are available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/) from time to time. The New Kraft Foods Shares are not being offered to the public by means of this announcement.

    This announcement has been prepared in accordance with English law and the Takeover Code and the information disclosed herein may not be the same as that which would have been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside England.

    The release, publication or distribution of this announcement and any other applicable Offer-related documentation in jurisdictions other than the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain, and the availability of the Offer to Cadbury Securityholders who are not resident in the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain, may be affected by the laws or regulations of relevant jurisdictions. Therefore, any persons who are subject to the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction other than the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain, or Cadbury Securityholders who are not resident in such jurisdictions should inform themselves of and observe any applicable requirements.

    The Offer is not being extended, and will not be extended, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of mails or any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, electronic mail, facsimile transmission, telex, telephone, internet or other forms of electronic communication) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or any facilities of a national securities exchange of, any jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this announcement are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed, transmitted or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction. Persons receiving this announcement (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees, and trustees) should observe these restrictions. Failure to observe these restrictions may render any purported acceptance of the Offer invalid.

    Kraft Foods reserves the right to elect, with the agreement of Cadbury and the consent of the Panel (where necessary), to implement the acquisition of Cadbury by way of a court-approved scheme of arrangement in accordance with Part 26 of the 2006 Act. In such event, the acquisition will be implemented on substantially the same terms, subject to appropriate amendments, as those which apply to the Offer.

    Notice to US investors

    This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, any offer for, or any solicitation of any offer for securities, nor is it a solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, nor will there be any purchase or transfer of the securities referred to in this announcement in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law or regulation.

    The Offer is being made pursuant to applicable US tender offer rules and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of the Takeover Code. Accordingly, the Offer is subject to disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, offer timetable, settlement procedures and timing of payments that may be different from those typically applicable under US domestic tender offer procedures and law.

    The receipt of cash and New Kraft Foods Shares pursuant to the Offer by a United States holder of Cadbury Shares may be a taxable transaction for United States federal income tax purposes and under applicable US state and local, as well as foreign and other tax laws. Each holder of Cadbury Shares is urged to consult his independent professional adviser regarding the tax consequences of acceptance of the Offer.

    Cadbury is incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. All or some of the directors of Cadbury are residents of countries other than the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for Cadbury US Shareholders to effect service of process within the United States upon Cadbury or such directors of Cadbury or to enforce against any of such directors judgements of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. It may not be possible to sue Cadbury or its officers or directors in a non-US court for violations of US securities laws.

    Forward-looking statements

    Certain statements contained or incorporated by reference in this announcement may constitute “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this announcement, other than those relating to historical information or current condition, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Kraft Foods, that could cause Kraft Foods’ actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, continued volatility of input costs, pricing actions, increased competition, Kraft Foods’ ability to differentiate its products from retailer brands, unanticipated expenses in connection with litigation, settlement of legal disputes, regulatory investigations or enforcement actions, Kraft Foods’ indebtedness and ability to pay its indebtedness, the shift in consumer preference to lower priced products, risks from operating outside the US, tax law changes, failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or required financing or to satisfy any of the other Conditions of the Offer, adverse effects on the market price of Kraft Foods Shares and on Kraft Foods’ operating results because of a failure to complete the proposed acquisition, failure to realise the expected benefits of the proposed acquisition, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities and general economic and business conditions that affect the Combined Group following the completion of the proposed acquisition. For more information on these and other factors that could affect Kraft Foods’ forward-looking statements, please also see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Prospectus or the Original US Offer Document, as applicable, and the risk factors in Kraft Foods’ filings with the SEC, including Kraft Foods’ most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Foods disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this announcement except as required by applicable law or regulation.

    Additional US-related information

    Kraft Foods has filed the Registration Statement and tender offer documents with the SEC, which will be amended to reflect the terms of the Final Offer, and Cadbury will file an amendment to its solicitation / recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 in connection with the Offer. Cadbury US Shareholders, Cadbury Canadian Shareholders and Cadbury ADS Holders, wherever located, should read those filings, and any other filings to be made by Kraft Foods and Cadbury with the SEC in connection with the Offer as they contain important information. Those documents, as well as Kraft Foods’ other public filings with the SEC may be obtained without charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and at Kraft Foods’ website at www.kraftfoodscompany.com. In this announcement, Kraft Foods has presented the Offer by referring to multiples of Cadbury’s underlying earnings per share and underlying EBITDA under IFRS. Underlying earnings per share and EBITDA are non-US GAAP measures for IFRS purposes. The Registration Statement includes a discussion of the reasons why Kraft Foods’ management believes that Kraft Foods’ presentation of multiples of Cadbury’s underlying earnings per share and underlying EBITDA under IFRS provides useful information to Cadbury Securityholders and disclosure of the limitations of underlying earnings per share and EBITDA as an analytical tool.

    NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION

    For Immediate Release

    19 January 2010

    RECOMMENDED FINAL(1) OFFER

    by

    KRAFT FOODS INC. (“KRAFT FOODS”)

    for

    CADBURY PLC (“CADBURY”)

    VALUING EACH CADBURY SHARE AT 840 PENCE

    1. Introduction

    The board of Kraft Foods is pleased to announce the detailed terms of a recommended Final(1) Offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Cadbury. The board of Cadbury unanimously recommends Cadbury Securityholders to accept the terms of the Final Offer.

    2. The Final(1) Offer

    Under the terms of the Final Offer, Cadbury Securityholders will be entitled to receive:

    for each Cadbury Share

    500 pence in cash

    and

    0.1874 New Kraft Foods Shares

    for each Cadbury ADS

    2,000 pence in cash

    and

    0.7496 New Kraft Foods Shares

    representing, in aggregate, 840 pence per Cadbury Share and GBP 33.60 per Cadbury ADS (based on the closing share price of USD 29.58 per Kraft Foods Share on 15 January 2010, the last trading day prior to the date of this announcement, and an exchange rate of USD 1.63 to GBP 1.00 as at 18 January 2010).

    In addition, Cadbury has advised Kraft Foods that Cadbury Shareholders will be receiving 10 pence per Cadbury Share by way of a Special Dividend. This will, in effect, enable Cadbury Shareholders to receive 10 pence out of the planned final dividend of 12.3 pence per share previously announced by Cadbury, subject to board and shareholder approval, which would otherwise not become payable.(2)

    Assuming the vesting and exercise of all share options and awards under the Cadbury Share Schemes:

    • the Final Offer values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Cadbury at approximately GBP 11.9 billion; and
    • 265 million New Kraft Foods Shares will be issued (assuming full acceptance of the Final Offer), representing approximately 18 per cent. of the existing share capital and 15 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of Kraft Foods.

    The terms of the Final Offer supersede those of the Original Offer. The terms of the Original Offer are no longer capable of acceptance. Further information in relation to the Final Offer is set out in sections 11 and 16 of this announcement.

    Mix and Match Facility

    Cadbury Securityholders who accept the Final Offer may make elections under the Mix and Match Facility. Under the Mix and Match Facility, accepting Cadbury Securityholders may elect to vary the proportions in which they receive New Kraft Foods Shares and cash consideration, subject to off-setting elections being made by other Cadbury Securityholders. To the extent that elections cannot be satisfied in full, they will be scaled down on a pro-rata basis.

    Reduction of Acceptance Condition

    Kraft Foods also announces that it reserves the right to, and intends to, reduce the number of acceptances required to fulfil the Acceptance Condition from 90 per cent. to 50 per cent. plus one Cadbury Share on or after 26 January 2010.

    If the Acceptance Condition is satisfied and all other Conditions have been satisfied, fulfilled or, to the extent permitted, waived, the Offer will be declared wholly unconditional at that time and withdrawal rights will terminate (except in limited circumstances). Cadbury Securityholders who have already accepted the Offer, but whose willingness to accept the Offer is affected by the reduction of the Acceptance Condition, may wish to consider withdrawing their acceptances with respect to such Cadbury Shares promptly.

    Condition regarding approval of Kraft Foods Shareholders

    The issue of New Kraft Foods Shares pursuant to the Final Offer does not require the approval of Kraft Foods Shareholders. Accordingly, the condition relating to such approvals is treated as satisfied for the purposes of the Final Offer.

    3. The creation of a global leader in the food and confectionery industry

    The board of Kraft Foods believes that a combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury represents a strong and complementary strategic fit, creating a global confectionery leader, with a portfolio including more than 40 confectionery brands, each with annual sales in excess of USD 100 million. Globally, the Combined Group would be number one in the chocolate and sugar confectionery segments and a strong number two in the high growth gum segment. Cadbury’s leading brands, such as Cadbury, Trident and Halls, are highly complementary to Kraft Foods’ portfolio and would benefit from Kraft Foods’ global scope, scale and array of proprietary technologies and processes. In addition, the acquisition of Cadbury will significantly enhance the strength of Kraft Foods’ presence in the confectionery sector, enabling Kraft Foods to leverage Cadbury’s product development capabilities.

    Kraft Foods believes that confectionery markets are consolidating and scale is becoming increasingly important, in part due to retailers’ increasing bargaining power, control of the supply chain and growing portfolio of their own retailer brands, which have benefited from the global economic climate. The combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury provides the Combined Group with important additional scale to compete even more effectively in the confectionery sector.

    Kraft Foods and Cadbury have highly complementary geographic footprints. Importantly, a combination would increase scale for both companies in developing markets such as Brazil, Russia and China, where Kraft Foods has a stronger presence, and India, Mexico and South Africa, where Cadbury holds leading positions. The Combined Group would also benefit from an improved position across Europe, including in France and Spain.

    Kraft Foods’ and Cadbury’s routes to market are also highly complementary. Kraft Foods is particularly strong in the grocery channel in North America and Western Europe, while Cadbury is well positioned in instant consumption channels, which have become increasingly important in both developed and developing markets. A combination provides an enhanced platform for the Combined Group to distribute both Cadbury’s and Kraft Foods’ products through both channels, creating an attractive opportunity for higher growth and margins.

    4. The Final Offer represents an attractive opportunity for Cadbury Securityholders

    The Final Offer equates to an enterprise value multiple of 13.0 times Cadbury’s underlying 2009 EBITDA(3), based on the closing share price of USD 29.58 per Kraft Foods Share on 15 January 2010, and an exchange rate of USD 1.63 to GBP 1.00 as at 18 January 2010. The enterprise value multiple is calculated assuming the exercise of all share options and vesting of all share awards held under the Cadbury Share Schemes.

    5. Substantial synergy benefits

    The combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury is expected to provide the potential for meaningful revenue synergies over time from investments in distribution, marketing and product development. In addition, it is expected that pre-tax cost savings of at least USD 675 million annually can be realised by the end of the third year following completion. Total one-off implementation cash costs of approximately USD 1.3 billion are expected to be incurred in the first three years following completion.(4)

    Both Kraft Foods and Cadbury have implemented extensive cost saving and operating efficiency programmes in recent years and have already delivered significant margin improvement and revenue growth improvements. These annual cost savings are still expected to be achieved over and above the current performance improvement plans at each of Kraft Foods and Cadbury (including Cadbury’s updated Vision into Action programme). While it is anticipated that these targeted savings will continue to be delivered, Kraft Foods believes that the Combined Group would be capable of achieving substantial further cost savings through economies of scale and procurement benefits, general and administrative cost savings and marketing and selling costs savings.

    Cadbury Securityholders are able to share in the synergies resulting from the combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury through the share component of the Offer.

    6. Recommendation

    The board of Cadbury, which has been so advised by Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited and UBS Investment Bank considers the terms of the Final Offer to be fair and reasonable. In providing their financial advice to the board of Cadbury, Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited and UBS Investment Bank have taken into account the board’s commercial assessments.

    Accordingly, the board of Cadbury unanimously recommends Cadbury Securityholders to accept the terms of the Final Offer.

    7. Financial effects of the transaction

    Kraft Foods believes that the Final Offer will deliver the following key benefits:

    • accretion to earnings per share in 2011 of approximately USD 0.05 on a cash basis; and(4)
    • a mid teens return on investment, well in excess of Kraft Foods’ cost of capital(4).

    • Kraft Foods believes that the Final Offer is consistent with its commitment to maintain a financially disciplined approach and is well within the key criteria outlined in Kraft Foods’ announcement of a possible offer for Cadbury on 7 September 2009:
    • accretion to earnings in the second year following completion on a cash basis(3) (which excludes the one-time costs to achieve synergies and expenses related to the transaction and the impact of non-cash items such as the amortisation of intangibles after acquisition);
    • a return on investment in excess of Kraft Foods’ cost of capital within an acceptable timeframe;(4)
    • retention of Kraft Foods’ investment-grade credit rating; and
    • maintenance of Kraft Foods’ dividend.

    Following the combination with Cadbury, Kraft Foods expects to revise its long-term growth targets to 5+ per cent. for revenue and 9-11 per cent. for earnings per share, from its previously announced 4+ per cent. and 7-9 per cent. respectively.(4)

    In addition, the acquisition is expected to enhance the quality of the Combined Group’s earnings, and create a business with strong discretionary cash flow generation and attractive revenue growth prospects across a diversified portfolio of brands and product groups worldwide.

    8. Financing the cash consideration

    Kraft Foods is providing the cash consideration payable by it under the Final Offer from its own resources, funds available from an amended bridge facility that has been arranged by a syndicate of banks and/or proceeds from alternative financing sources. A summary of the amended bridge facility will be included in the Final Offer Documents.

    Lazard & Co., Limited, Centerview Partners UK LLP, Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch are satisfied that sufficient resources are available to Kraft Foods to satisfy in full the cash consideration payable by it as a result of full acceptance of the Final Offer.

    9. Management, employees and locations

    Kraft Foods believes that the combination of Cadbury and Kraft Foods represents a strong, complementary fit and expects that the combination will enhance the Combined Group’s growth profile(3). The combination will augment the world-class capabilities of both Kraft Foods and Cadbury by employing a “best of both” approach, from sales and marketing to distribution and management. In particular, Kraft Foods believes that the global business network of the Combined Group will create opportunities for Cadbury employees and managers.

    In addition, Kraft Foods has given assurances to Cadbury that, on the Offer becoming or being declared wholly unconditional, the existing contractual employment rights, including pension rights, of all Cadbury Group employees will be fully safeguarded.

    10. Kraft Foods offers an excellent investment opportunity

    Kraft Foods believes that scale is important in the global food industry

    As the world’s second largest food company, with 2008 revenues of USD 41.9 billion, Kraft Foods has significant global scale, with operations in more than 70 countries. While the US is a key market and Kraft Foods is the number one food company there based on retail sales, Kraft Foods generated approximately half of its revenues from outside the US in 2008 and sells its products in approximately 150 countries around the world.

    Kraft Foods believes that its portfolio of leading brands is one of the strongest in the global food industry, with nine of its brands generating annual revenues exceeding USD 1 billion each. Kraft Foods’ objective is to be the category leader in its principal markets and it generates 80 per cent. of its revenues from categories in which it holds the number one position.

    Over the past three years, Kraft Foods’ management has successfully re-positioned the company for sustainable, profitable growth by reframing its categories, capitalising on its established sales capabilities and driving down costs without compromising its commitment to high quality. Kraft Foods’ strategy is centred on marketing and developing leading consumer brands and pursuing growth opportunities to deliver shareholder value. Kraft Foods remains confident in meeting its long-term performance targets.

    Kraft Foods has upgraded its EPS guidance

    On 12 January 2010, Kraft Foods increased its guidance for 2009 diluted earnings per share, to at least USD 2.00 (up approximately five per cent. from 2008) versus the previous expectation of at least USD 1.97(5). This increased guidance reflects strong operating gains as well as a significant increase in marketing investments versus the prior year. Kraft Foods expects to achieve this level of diluted earnings per share while continuing to increase investment behind its brands, with advertising and consumer marketing spending expected to grow to approximately 7 per cent. of sales in 2009 from 6.7 per cent. of sales in 2008.

    Kraft Foods’ share price

    Since the announcement of its possible offer for Cadbury on 7 September 2009, Kraft Foods believes its share price performance has been adversely affected by a number of factors of a short-term nature, including: (i) concern that it will not maintain financial discipline regarding an acquisition of Cadbury; (ii) concern that the issuance of Kraft Foods Shares to certain Cadbury Securityholders may result in “flowback” of such shares; and (iii) short selling activity. Kraft Foods believes that, following completion of its acquisition of Cadbury, these short-term pressures on its share price should dissipate.

    By way of illustration, Kraft Foods notes the following:

    • Kraft Foods has historically traded on a current year price earnings multiple broadly in line with that of the S&P 500 Index. Based on Kraft Foods’ own guidance for its 2009 diluted earnings per share of at least USD 2.00(5), Kraft Foods’ historical 2009 price earnings multiple is 14.8 times as at 15 January 2010 (the last trading day prior to the publication of this announcement). The historical 2009 price earnings multiple of the S&P 500 Index is 24.4 times as at the same date;
    • between 4 September 2009 (the last Business Day preceding the announcement of its possible offer for Cadbury) and 15 January 2010 (the last trading day prior to the publication of this announcement), the Kraft Foods Share price has increased by approximately 5.3 per cent. from USD 28.10 to USD 29.58. However, the S&P 500 Index has increased by approximately 11.8 per cent. over the same period;
    • analysts’ consensus price target for Kraft Foods Shares is USD 32.67 and 92 per cent. of Kraft Foods’ current analyst recommendations are either a “buy” or a “hold”; and
    • Kraft Foods Shares currently have a dividend yield of approximately 4 per cent.

    11. Further information on the Final Offer

    Cadbury Securityholders who have previously accepted the Original Offer (and have not withdrawn those acceptances) will automatically be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Final Offer by virtue of their prior acceptances and therefore need take no further action.

    Other Cadbury Securityholders who wish to accept the recommended Final Offer must take action to accept the Final Offer by 1.00 pm (London time) / 8.00 am (New York City time) on 2 February 2010. Details of the procedure for doing so will be set out in the Final Offer Documents (and, in the case of certificated Cadbury Shares and Cadbury ADSs, the Final Acceptance Forms) to be sent to Cadbury Securityholders as soon as practicable. The Final Offer Documents will also be available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/).

    In addition to offering the consideration made available under the terms of the Final Offer, Kraft Foods is continuing to provide: (a) accepting Cadbury Securityholders with the Mix and Match Facility, which Kraft Foods has determined will remain open until the end of the Subsequent Offer Period; (b) a facility under which accepting Cadbury Shareholders may elect to receive all cash consideration to which they are entitled in US dollars, if they do not wish to receive it in pounds sterling; (c) a facility under which accepting Cadbury ADS Holders may elect to receive all cash consideration to which they are entitled in pounds sterling, if they do not wish to receive it in US dollars; (d) a facility under which accepting Cadbury Shareholders will, subject to certain exceptions, receive New Kraft Foods Shares in the form of CDIs, which are capable of being held, transferred and settled in CREST; and (e) a designated UK agent to assist small shareholders resident in certain jurisdictions in holding, trading and managing their CDI interests in the New Kraft Foods Shares.

    Further details of the Mix and Match Facility, currency elections and Kraft Foods CDIs are set out in the Original Offer Documents and further details of the Final Offer will be set out in the Final Offer Documents which will be sent to Cadbury Securityholders as soon as practicable. The Final Offer Documents are also being made available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/) and, together with the Final Acceptance Forms, on request from the Receiving Agent or the US Information Agent (as applicable).

    12. Cadbury Share Schemes

    The Final Offer extends to any Cadbury Shares unconditionally allotted or issued before the Final Offer closes (or such earlier time as Kraft Foods may, subject to the rules of the Takeover Code, decide) as a result of the exercise of options or vesting of awards granted under any of the Cadbury Share Schemes. Appropriate proposals will be made in due course to holders of options and awards granted under the Cadbury Share Schemes.

    The benefit of Cadbury’s Special Dividend of 10 pence per share will be extended to participants in the Cadbury Share Schemes.

    13. Break fee arrangement

    Cadbury has agreed to pay an inducement fee of GBP 117.7 million in circumstances where a competing offer is announced and either is recommended by Cadbury or that offer or another third party offer becomes unconditional and the Final Offer lapses or is withdrawn, unless, prior to such announcement, Cadbury withdraws its recommendation for reasons demonstrably unrelated to such competing offer.

    14. Overseas shareholders

    The availability of the Final Offer and of the New Kraft Foods Shares to persons not resident in the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain may be affected by the laws or regulations of relevant jurisdictions. Such persons should inform themselves about and observe any applicable requirements. Further details in relation to overseas shareholders will be set out in the Final Offer Documents.

    15. Small Dealing Facility

    Subject to clarifying certain legal and regulatory considerations and with the agreement of the Panel, Kraft Foods has agreed to consider offering a free dealing facility to Cadbury Shareholders who own not more than 10,000 Cadbury Shares under which the New Kraft Foods Shares to which such Cadbury Shareholders become entitled under the Final Offer may be sold for their benefit at no cost. Details of such facility, if provided, will be communicated to Cadbury Shareholders in due course.

    16. General and documentation

    The Final Offer remains subject to the terms and conditions set out in Appendix I to the Original Offer Document (Appendix A to the Original US Offer Document) save that the Final Offer does not require the approval of Kraft Foods Shareholders and that European and US competition clearances have been obtained. The Final Offer also remains on and subject to the terms set out in the Original Offer Documents as such further terms have been revised in connection with the Final Offer as will be set out in the Final Offer Documents and Final Acceptance Forms. The relevant Final Offer Documents and Final Acceptance Forms will be sent to Cadbury Securityholders (other than to certain overseas shareholders) and, for information purposes, to persons with information rights and to participants in the Cadbury Share Schemes, as soon as practicable.

    The procedure for accepting the terms of the Final Offer will be set out in the Final Offer Documents which are also being made available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/) and, together with the Final Acceptance Forms, on request from the Receiving Agent or the US Information Agent (as applicable). The Prospectus and any supplementary prospectuses in respect of the New Kraft Foods Shares are or, where applicable, will also be available on Kraft Foods’ website.

    Appendix I to this announcement sets out the sources and bases of certain financial and other information contained in this announcement. Appendix II to this announcement contains definitions of certain expressions and terms used in this announcement.

    (1) The Offer is final and will not be increased, except that Kraft Foods reserves the right to increase the Offer if there is an announcement on or after the date hereof of an offer or a possible offer for Cadbury by a third party offeror or potential offeror.

    (2) The payment date for the Special Dividend will be 14 days following the date on which the Final Offer becomes or is declared wholly unconditional or such other date as Cadbury and Kraft Foods may agree. The payment of the Special Dividend will be conditional on the Final Offer becoming wholly unconditional.

    (3) Underlying EBITDA is as defined by Cadbury. Cadbury Annual Reports and Accounts state that underlying figures include adjustments for restructuring costs, non-trading items, amortisation and impairment of acquisition intangibles, derivative accounting and any associated tax effect.

    (4) Nothing in this announcement apart from the Profit Estimate is intended to be a profit forecast and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that the earnings per Kraft Foods Share for the current or future financial periods will necessarily be greater than those for the relevant preceding financial period.

    (5) The updated diluted earnings per share profit estimate was announced on 12 January 2010 and reported on for the purposes of the Takeover Code by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and by the Financial Advisers. The updated profit estimate and copies of the accompanying reports will be set out in the Final Offer Document.

    Kraft Enquiries:






    Kraft Foods



    Perry Yeatman

    (Media)

    +1 847 646 4538

    Chris Jakubik

    (Investors)

    +1 847 646 5494




    Lazard (lead financial adviser)



    Jeffrey Rosen

    +1 212 632 6000

    Antonio Weiss

    +1 212 632 6000

    William Rucker


    +44 20 7187 2000

    Peter Kiernan


    +44 20 7187 2000




    Centerview Partners (financial adviser)



    Robert Pruzan


    +1 212 380 2650




    Citigroup (corporate broking)



    David James

    +44 20 7986 4000

    Deutsche Bank (corporate broking)



    James Agnew


    +44 20 7545 8000




    Brunswick Group (public relations)



    Richard Jacques

    +44 20 7404 5959

    Jonathan Glass


    +44 20 7404 5959




    Financial advisers:

    Citigroup



    Leon Kalvaria






    Deutsche Bank



    Nigel Meek



    Further information

    This announcement is being made available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/). Copies of the Original Offer Document, the Prospectus, supplementary prospectuses and the Original US Offer Document, as applicable, are also available on Kraft Foods’ website. The Final Offer Documents and the related supplementary prospectus will be available on Kraft Foods’ website as soon as practicable.

    The conditions to which the Offer is subject are set out in Appendix I to the Original Offer Document (Appendix A to the Original US Offer Document), and certain further terms of the Final Offer will be set out in the Final Offer Documents and the Final Acceptance Forms. Appendix I to this announcement sets out the sources and bases of certain financial and other information contained in this announcement. Appendix II to this announcement contains definitions of certain expressions and terms used in this announcement.

    Lazard & Co., Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the FSA, is acting as financial adviser to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Lazard & Co., Limited, nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Centerview Partners UK LLP, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the FSA, is acting as financial adviser to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Centerview Partners UK LLP, nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Citigroup Global Markets Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the FSA, is acting as financial adviser and corporate broker to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Citigroup Global Markets Limited, nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Deutsche Bank AG is authorised under German Banking Law (competent authority: BaFin – Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) and authorised and subject to limited regulation by the FSA. Details about the extent of Deutsche Bank AG’s authorisation and regulation by the FSA are available on request. Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (and its affiliates) are acting as financial adviser and corporate broker to Kraft Foods and no one else in connection with the contents of this announcement and the Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than Kraft Foods for providing the protections afforded to clients of Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (or its affiliates), nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any matters referred to herein.

    Each of Goldman Sachs International, Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited and UBS Investment Bank is acting exclusively for Cadbury and for no one else in connection to the matters referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Cadbury for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients nor for providing advice in relation to such matters.

    This announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to this announcement or otherwise. The Offer is being made by the Original Offer Documents, the Final Offer Documents and the accompanying documentation. This announcement is not a prospectus and investors should not subscribe for any New Kraft Foods Shares except on the basis of information in the Prospectus (including the supplementary prospectuses) or the Registration Statement (as appropriate) which have been published and/or filed and which are available on Kraft Foods’ website (www.transactioninfo.com/kraftfoods/) from time to time. The New Kraft Foods Shares are not being offered to the public by means of this announcement.

    This announcement has been prepared in accordance with English law and the Takeover Code and the information disclosed herein may not be the same as that which would have been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside England.

    The release, publication or distribution of this announcement and any other applicable Offer-related documentation in jurisdictions other than the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain, and the availability of the Offer to Cadbury Securityholders who are not resident in the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain, may be affected by the laws or regulations of relevant jurisdictions. Therefore, any persons who are subject to the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction other than the UK, the US, Canada, France, Ireland or Spain, or Cadbury Securityholders who are not resident in such jurisdictions should inform themselves of and observe any applicable requirements.

    The Offer is not being extended, and will not be extended, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of mails or any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, electronic mail, facsimile transmission, telex, telephone, internet or other forms of electronic communication) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or any facilities of a national securities exchange of, any jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws of that jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this announcement are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed, transmitted or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction. Persons receiving this announcement (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees, and trustees) should observe these restrictions. Failure to observe these restrictions may render any purported acceptance of the Offer invalid.

    Kraft Foods reserves the right to elect, with the agreement of Cadbury and the consent of the Panel (where necessary), to implement the acquisition of Cadbury by way of a court-approved scheme of arrangement in accordance with Part 26 of the 2006 Act. In such event, the acquisition will be implemented on substantially the same terms, subject to appropriate amendments, as those which apply to the Offer.

    Notice to US investors

    This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, any offer for, or any solicitation of any offer for securities, nor is it a solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, nor will there be any purchase or transfer of the securities referred to in this announcement in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law or regulation.

    The Offer is being made pursuant to applicable US tender offer rules and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of the Takeover Code. Accordingly, the Offer is subject to disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, offer timetable, settlement procedures and timing of payments that may be different from those typically applicable under US domestic tender offer procedures and law.

    The receipt of cash and New Kraft Foods Shares pursuant to the Offer by a United States holder of Cadbury Shares may be a taxable transaction for United States federal income tax purposes and under applicable US state and local, as well as foreign and other tax laws. Each holder of Cadbury Shares is urged to consult his independent professional adviser regarding the tax consequences of acceptance of the Offer.

    Cadbury is incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. All or some of the directors of Cadbury are residents of countries other than the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for Cadbury US Shareholders to effect service of process within the United States upon Cadbury or such directors of Cadbury or to enforce against any of such directors judgements of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. It may not be possible to sue Cadbury or its officers or directors in a non-US court for violations of US securities laws.

    Forward-looking statements

    Certain statements contained or incorporated by reference in this announcement may constitute “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this announcement, other than those relating to historical information or current condition, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Kraft Foods, that could cause Kraft Foods’ actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, continued volatility of input costs, pricing actions, increased competition, Kraft Foods’ ability to differentiate its products from retailer brands, unanticipated expenses in connection with litigation, settlement of legal disputes, regulatory investigations or enforcement actions, Kraft Foods’ indebtedness and ability to pay its indebtedness, the shift in consumer preference to lower priced products, risks from operating outside the US, tax law changes, failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or required financing or to satisfy any of the other Conditions of the Offer, adverse effects on the market price of Kraft Foods Shares and on Kraft Foods’ operating results because of a failure to complete the proposed acquisition, failure to realise the expected benefits of the proposed acquisition, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities and general economic and business conditions that affect the Combined Group following the completion of the proposed acquisition. For more information on these and other factors that could affect Kraft Foods’ forward-looking statements, please also see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Prospectus or in the Original US Offer Document, as applicable, and the risk factors in Kraft Foods’ filings with the SEC, including Kraft Foods’ most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Foods disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this announcement except as required by applicable law or regulation.

    Additional US-related information

    Kraft Foods has filed the Registration Statement and tender offer documents with the SEC, which will be amended to reflect the terms of the Offer, and Cadbury will file an amendment to its solicitation / recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 in connection with the Final Offer . Cadbury US Shareholders, Cadbury Canadian Shareholders and Cadbury ADS Holders, wherever located, should read those filings, and any other filings to be made by Kraft Foods and Cadbury with the SEC in connection with the Offer as they contain important information. Those documents, as well as Kraft Foods’ other public filings with the SEC may be obtained without charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and at Kraft Foods’ website at www.kraftfoodscompany.com. In this announcement, Kraft Foods has presented the Offer by referring to multiples of Cadbury’s underlying earnings per share and underlying EBITDA under IFRS. Underlying earnings per share and EBITDA are non-US GAAP measures for IFRS purposes. The Registration Statement includes a discussion of the reasons why Kraft Foods’ management believes that Kraft Foods’ presentation of multiples of Cadbury’s underlying earnings per share and underlying EBITDA under IFRS provides useful information to Cadbury Securityholders and disclosure of the limitations of underlying earnings per share and EBITDA as an analytical tool.

    APPENDIX I: SOURCES AND BASES

    (a)

    Unless otherwise stated, financial and other information concerning Cadbury and Kraft Foods has been extracted from published sources or from Kraft Foods’ management sources.

    (b)

    Cadbury’s issued and to be issued share capital is based upon 1,373,872,386 Cadbury Shares in issue as at 18 January 2010 as disclosed by Cadbury in its Regulatory Information Service announcement made in accordance with Rule 2.10 of the Takeover Code dated 18 January 2010 and 39,310,631 Cadbury Shares that could be issued to satisfy the exercise and vesting of options and awards under the Cadbury Share Schemes (assuming exercise and vesting of such options and awards in full) as at the close of business on 14 January 2010 based on the figure of 39,478,935 Cadbury Shares disclosed in the Cadbury Second Defence Document as updated by figures disclosed on behalf of Cadbury to Lazard & Co., Limited on 15 January 2010 for the purposes of Note 3 on Rule 10 of the Takeover Code.

    (c)

    The stated share prices of Cadbury are based on the closing middle-market prices as derived from the daily official list of the London Stock Exchange on any particular date.

    (d)

    The stated exchange rate of USD 1.63 to GBP 1.00 is as quoted by WM / Reuters on 18 January 2010.

    (e)

    The share prices of Kraft Foods are based on the closing prices provided by the NYSE on any particular date.

    (f)

    The Final Offer value per Cadbury Share is based on the cash value of 500 pence and 0.1874 New Kraft Foods Shares offered per Cadbury Share, the Kraft Foods closing share price of USD 29.58 as at 15 January 2010 and the exchange rate of USD 1.63 to GBP 1.00 (as quoted by the NYSE and WM / Reuters on 18 January 2010, the last trading day preceding this announcement).

    (g)

    The issuance of New Kraft Foods Shares and their value as a percentage of the existing and enlarged share capital is based on:

    (i) 1,413,183,017 Cadbury Shares in issue and to be issued as in (b) above;

    (ii) the number of New Kraft Foods Shares offered for each Cadbury Share pursuant

    to the Final Offer resulting in 264,830,497 Kraft Foods Shares in total being issued

    to Cadbury Securityholders;

    (iii) 1,478,590,016 Kraft Foods Shares in issue as announced by Kraft Foods on 18

    January 2010 for the purpose of Rule 2.10 of the Takeover Code; and

    (iv) the enlarged issued share capital of 1,743,420,513 Kraft Foods Shares (which is

    the sum of (g)(ii) and (h)(iii) above).

    (h)

    The stated Final Offer enterprise value to underlying 2009 EBITDA multiple of 13.0 times is based on:

    (i) Cadbury’s stated estimate of underlying 2009 EBITDA in the Cadbury Second

    Defence Document, where Cadbury states that its estimate comprises underlying

    profit and underlying depreciation and amortisation. Underlying is defined by

    Cadbury to mean adjusted for restructuring costs, non-trading items, amortisation

    and impairment of acquisition intangibles, derivative accounting and any associated

    tax effect; and

    (ii) an estimated enterprise value of GBP 13.3 billion, based on the sum of Cadbury’s

    net debt (excluding hedging instruments) of GBP 1,375 million minus adjustments

    of GBP 9 million for book value of associates, trade investments and minority

    interests as at 31 December 2009, plus GBP 141 million for the cost of the Special

    Dividend minus GBP 99 million which would be received from the exercise of options

    pursuant to the adjustment to the number of shares as stated in (b) if all options that

    Cadbury has disclosed as outstanding as at 14 January 2010 were exercised in full

    (the amount actually received by Cadbury will depend on the extent to which options

    vest and the extent to which vested options are exercised and is likely to be lower

    than the maximum amount) and an Offer value of GBP 11.9 billion (as justified by

    (b), (d) and (e) above).

    (i)

    The statement that Kraft Foods has historically traded on a current year price earnings multiple broadly in line with that of the S&P 500 Index is based on the average current year price earnings multiples over the five year period ended 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement) for Kraft Foods and the S&P 500 Index of 16.2 times and 15.7 times respectively as sourced from Factset.

    (j)

    The increase of approximately 5.3 per cent. in the price of Kraft Foods Shares from 4 September 2009 to 15 January 2010 is based on the closing share price of USD 28.10 per Kraft Foods Share on 4 September 2009 (the last Business Day preceding the announcement by Kraft Foods of a possible offer for Cadbury) and the closing share price of USD 29.58 per Kraft Foods Share on 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement).

    (k)

    The increase in the S&P 500 Index of approximately 11.8 per cent. from 4 September 2009 to 15 January 2010 is based on the closing S&P 500 Index value of 1,016 on 4 September 2009 (the last Business Day preceding the announcement by Kraft Foods of a possible offer for Cadbury) and the closing S&P 500 Index value of 1,136 on 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement) as sourced from Datastream.

    (l)

    The stated historical 2009 price earnings ratio of Kraft Foods of 14.8 times is based on the closing share price of USD 29.58 per Kraft Foods Share as at 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement) and the Kraft Foods guidance for 2009 diluted earnings per share of at least USD 2.00(5). The historical 2009 price earnings multiple of the S&P 500 Index of 24.4 times is sourced from Factset as at 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement).

    (m)

    The quoted analyst consensus price target for Kraft Foods of USD 32.67 and percentage of “buy” or “hold” recommendations of 92 per cent. are sourced from Bloomberg as at 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement).

    (n)

    The stated dividend yield of approximately 4 per cent. for Kraft Foods is sourced from Bloomberg as at 15 January 2010 (the last trading day preceding this announcement).

    (o)

    The statement that Kraft Foods expects the Final Offer will be approximately USD 0.05 accretive to earnings per share on a cash basis in 2011 is based on Kraft Foods’ internal projections for the Kraft Foods Group and those of the Combined Group.

    (p)

    The statement that Kraft Foods expects the Final Offer will deliver a mid teens return on investment is based on Kraft Foods’ internal projections for the Kraft Foods Group and those of the Combined Group.

    APPENDIX II: DEFINITIONS

    In this announcement, the following definitions apply unless the context requires otherwise:

    “1985 Act”

    the Companies Act 1985 of the UK

    “2006 Act”

    the Companies Act 2006 of the UK

    “Acceptance Condition”

    the Condition set out in paragraph 1(a) of Appendix I to the Original Offer Document

    “Acceptance Forms”

    the Original Acceptance Forms and the Final Acceptance Forms

    “Business Day”

    any day on which banks are generally open in London for the transaction of general banking business, other than Saturday or Sunday or a public holiday

    “Cadbury”

    Cadbury plc, incorporated under the 1985 Act with registered number 06497379

    “Cadbury ADS Holders”

    holders of Cadbury ADSs

    “Cadbury ADSs”

    American Depositary Shares in respect of and each representing four Cadbury Shares (and, for the purposes of this announcement shall be deemed to include the Cadbury Shares represented thereby)

    “Cadbury Annual Report and Accounts”

    Cadbury’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2008

    “Cadbury Canadian Shareholder”

    a Cadbury Shareholder resident in Canada

    “Cadbury First Defence Document”

    the first defence document relating to the Original Offer published by Cadbury on 14 December 2009

    “Cadbury Group”

    Cadbury and its subsidiary undertakings and, where the context permits, each of them

    “Cadbury Half Yearly Report”

    the half yearly report issued by Cadbury on 29 July 2009

    “Cadbury Second Defence Document”

    the second defence document relating to the Original Offer published by Cadbury on 12 January 2010 and updated on 14 January 2010

    “Cadbury Securityholders”

    Cadbury Shareholders and/or Cadbury ADS Holders (as the context requires)

    “Cadbury Share Schemes”

    Cadbury Schweppes Savings-Related Share Option Scheme 1982, Cadbury plc 2008 Savings-Related Share Option Scheme, Cadbury Schweppes Share Option Plan 1994, Cadbury Schweppes Share Option Plan 2004, Cadbury Schweppes (New Issue) Share Option Plan 2004, Cadbury Schweppes Irish Savings Related Share Option Scheme, Cadbury plc 2008 Irish Savings-Related Share Option Scheme, Cadbury Schweppes Irish AVC Savings-Related Share Option Scheme, Cadbury plc 2008 Irish AVC Savings-Related Share Option Scheme, Cadbury Schweppes International Savings-Related Share Option Scheme 1998, Cadbury plc 2008 International Savings-Related Share Option Scheme, Cadbury Schweppes plc US Employees Share Option Plan 2005, Cadbury plc 2008 US Employees Share Option Plan, Cadbury Schweppes plc Americas Employee Share Option Plan 2005, Cadbury plc 2008 Americas Employee Share Option Plan, Cadbury Schweppes Long-term Incentive Plans 1997 and 2004, Cadbury Schweppes Bonus Share Retention Plan 2004, Cadbury Schweppes International Share Award Plan, Cadbury plc 2008 Bonus Share Retention Plan, Cadbury plc 2008 Long-term Incentive Plan, Cadbury plc 2008 International Share Award Plan and Cadbury plc 2008 Share Option Plan

    “Cadbury Shareholders”

    holders of Cadbury Shares

    “Cadbury Shares”

    the existing unconditionally allotted or issued and fully paid (or credited as fully paid) ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the capital of Cadbury (including those represented by Cadbury ADSs) and any further such shares which are unconditionally allotted or issued and fully paid (or credited as fully paid) before the Offer closes (or before such earlier time as Kraft Foods may, subject to the Takeover Code, decide), but excluding in both cases any such shares held or which become held in treasury

    “Cadbury US Shareholder”

    a US holder (within the meaning of Rule 14d-1(d) under the US Securities Exchange Act) of Cadbury Shares

    “CDI”

    a CREST depositary interest representing an entitlement to a share

    “Combined Group”

    the Cadbury Group and the Kraft Foods Group, following completion of the Final Offer

    “Conditions”

    the conditions of the Final Offer set out in Part A of Appendix I to the Original Offer Document and Part A of Appendix A to the Original US Offer Document and “Condition” means any one of them

    “CREST”

    the relevant system (as defined in the Regulations) in respect of which Euroclear is the operator (as defined in the Regulations)

    “Final Acceptance Forms”

    the Final Form of Acceptance, the Final ADS Letter of Transmittal and any other form to be issued by or on behalf of Kraft Foods in connection with the acceptance of the Final Offer

    “Final ADS Letter of Transmittal”

    the ADS Letter of Transmittal for use by Cadbury ADS Holders in connection with the acceptance of the Final Offer in respect of Cadbury Shares represented by Cadbury ADSs

    “Final Form of Acceptance”

    a revised Form of Acceptance to be issued in connection with the acceptance of the Final Offer

    “Financial Advisers”

    Lazard & Co., Limited, Centerview Partners UK LLP, Citigroup Global Markets and Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (and its affiliates)

    “Financial Services Authority” or “FSA”

    the UK Financial Services Authority

    “Final Offer”

    the Offer, as revised, and being made available to accepting Cadbury Securityholders as described in this announcement and on the terms to be set out in the Final Offer Documents

    “Final Offer Document”

    the revised offer document to be issued in connection with the Final Offer and containing the revised terms of the Final Offer and which will be sent to Cadbury Shareholders other than Cadbury US Shareholders, Cadbury Canadian Shareholders and Cadbury ADS Holders

    “Final Offer Documents”

    the Final Offer Document and the Final US Offer Document

    “Final US Offer Document”

    the prospectus/offer to exchange to be included in the Registration Statement after the date of this announcement which will be sent to Cadbury US Shareholders, Cadbury Canadian Shareholders and Cadbury ADS Holders, as such may be amended from time to time

    “Form of Acceptance”

    a form of acceptance, authority and election for use by Cadbury Shareholders in connection with acceptance of the Final Offer, or historically, the Original Offer

    “IFRS”

    international financial reporting standards and international accounting standards and interpretations thereof, approved or published by the International Accounting Standards Board and adopted by the European Union

    “Initial Offer Period”

    the period during which the Offer remains conditional, which commenced on 4 December 2009 and expires on the earliest of (i) the Offer lapsing (ii) the Offer becoming or being declared wholly unconditional in accordance with its terms and (iii) 1.00 p.m. (London time) / 8.00 am (New York City time) on 2 February 2010 (or such later date as agreed with the Panel)

    “Kraft Foods”

    Kraft Foods Inc.

    “Kraft Foods Board”

    the board of directors of Kraft Foods

    “Kraft Foods CDIs”

    dematerialised CREST depositary interests representing New Kraft Foods Shares

    “Kraft Foods Directors”

    the directors of Kraft Foods

    “Kraft Foods Group”

    Kraft Foods and its subsidiary undertakings and, where the context permits, each of them

    “Kraft Foods Shareholders”

    holders of Kraft Foods Shares

    “Kraft Foods Shares”

    shares of class A common stock of no par value in the capital of Kraft Foods

    “London Stock Exchange”

    London Stock Exchange plc or its successor

    “Mix and Match Facility”

    the mix and match facility under which Cadbury Securityholders are able to elect, subject to availability and off-setting elections, to vary the proportion of New Kraft Foods Shares and cash consideration they will receive pursuant to the Final Offer

    “Morgan Stanley”

    Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited

    “New Kraft Foods Shares”

    the new Kraft Foods Shares proposed to be issued in connection with the Final Offer

    “Offer”

    the offer made by Kraft Foods to acquire all the Cadbury Shares (including those represented by Cadbury ADSs) subject to the conditions set out in the Original Offer Documents, and on the terms set out in the Original Offer Documents, the Final Offer Documents and the Acceptance Forms (and, where the context so requires, any subsequent revision, variation, extension or renewal of such offer, including any election or alternative available in connection with it) and, unless the context otherwise requires, such term includes the Final Offer

    “Original Acceptance Forms”

    the Original Form of Acceptance and the Original ADS Letter of Transmittal or any other form issued by or on behalf of Kraft Foods prior to the date of this announcement in connection with the acceptance of the Original Offer and “Original Acceptance Form” means any of them

    “Original ADS Letter of Transmittal”

    the ADS Letter of Transmittal issued prior to the date of this announcement for use by Cadbury ADS Holders in connection with the acceptance of the Original Offer in respect of Cadbury Shares represented by Cadbury ADSs

    “Original Form of Acceptance”

    a form of acceptance, authority and election issued prior to the date of this announcement for use by Cadbury Shareholders in connection with the acceptance of the Original Offer

    “Original Offer”

    the Offer, as made by Kraft Foods on 4 December 2009 on the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the Original Offer Documents and the Original Acceptance Forms

    “Original Offer Document”

    the offer document dated 4 December 2009 in connection with the Original Offer, pursuant to which Kraft Foods made the Original Offer to Cadbury Shareholders other than Cadbury US Shareholders, Cadbury Canadian Shareholders and Cadbury ADS Holders

    “Original Offer Documents”

    the Original Offer Document and the Original US Offer Document

    “Original US Offer Document”

    the prospectus/offer to exchange, as amended prior to the date of this announcement, included in the Registration Statement and pursuant to which Kraft Foods made the Original Offer to Cadbury US Shareholders, Cadbury Canadian Shareholders and Cadbury ADS Holders

    “Panel”

    the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers

    “pounds sterling”, “sterling” or “GBP”

    UK pounds sterling, as the lawful currency of the UK (and any references to “pence” shall be construed accordingly)

    “Profit Estimate”

    the statements regarding diluted earnings per share for the year ended 31 December 2009 and contained in this announcement

    “Prospectus”

    the prospectus relating to Kraft Foods dated 4 December 2009 in respect of New Kraft Foods Shares issued in connection with the Offer

    “Receiving Agent”

    Computershare Investor Services PLC of 2nd Floor, Vintners’ Place, 68 Upper Thames Street, London EC4V 3BJ (tel: from inside the UK, 0870 889 3144 and from outside the UK, +44 870 889 3144)

    “Registration Statement”

    the Registration Statement on Form S-4 relating to New Kraft Foods Shares offered as consideration pursuant to the Offer, filed by Kraft Foods with the SEC under the US Securities Act on 4 December 2009, as such may be amended from time to time

    “Regulations”

    the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 of the UK

    “Restricted Jurisdiction”

    any jurisdiction where the extension or acceptance of the Offer or where sending or making available information concerning the Offer to Cadbury Securityholders in such jurisdiction would violate the laws of that jurisdiction or would require registration of the New Kraft Foods Shares (except the US)

    “SEC”

    the US Securities and Exchange Commission

    “Subsequent Offer Period”

    the period commencing immediately after the end of the Initial Offer Period during which the Offer will remain open for acceptance

    “Special Dividend”

    the dividend of 10 pence per Cadbury Share

    “subsidiary undertaking” and “undertaking”

    shall be construed in accordance with the 2006 Act

    “Takeover Code”

    The UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers

    “UBS” or “UBS Investment Bank”

    UBS Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 2035362

    “UK” or “United Kingdom”

    the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

    “US” or “United States”

    the United States of America, its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia

    “US GAAP”

    generally accepted accounting principles in the US

    “US Information Agent”

    Georgeson, Inc. of 199 Water Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10038-3560 (tel: from outside the US, +1 212 806 6859 and from inside the US, 800 868 1391)

    “US Securities Act”

    the US Securities Act of 1933, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder

    “US Securities Exchange Act”

    the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder

    “USD”, “dollars”, “US dollars” or “$”

    US dollars, as the lawful currency of the United States (and any references to cents shall be construed accordingly)

    All times referred to are London time unless otherwise stated.

    All references to legislation in this announcement are to the legislation of England and Wales unless the contrary is indicated. Any reference to any provision of any legislation shall include any amendment, modification, re-enactment or extension thereof.

    Words importing the singular shall include the plural and vice versa, and words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine or neutral gender.

    (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090420/KRAFTLOGO)

    SOURCE Kraft Foods

    RELATED LINKS
    http://www.kraft.com

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  • Honda’s NSX supercar, made out of recycled cardboard and paper

    Honda_NSX_supercar.jpg
    We all love cars that can go fast. And if their green and energy efficient, we’re bound to love them more. Well, a car made out of cardboard and paper sounds incredibly… light and weird, doesn’t it? Honda made sure they turned visitors heads right round at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2010 this time with their life size model of the Epson Nakajima Racing Honda NSX. So what’s so special about this car? It looks fast, and is sure to make you drool, and is made entirely out of recycled cardboard and paper! Now that renders the car un-drivable, and its obviously meant to be just a showpiece and a model, but this real life-like car is sure to win the hearts of Honda fans all over the globe who love the environment and support the use of recycled products like cardboard. And as a postscript, no trees were cut to make this supercar!
    Honda_NSX_supercar2.jpg

    Honda_NSX_supercar3.jpg

    Honda_NSX_supercar4.jpg

    [Carscoop]

  • Recipe: Beef-Free Bean Burger

    011909-beeflessburgers.jpg Just because we’re eating a little lighter this month, doesn’t mean we don’t have the craving for a fat, tasty burger. This meatless version is flavorful enough, you don’t even miss your usual source of proteins. A quick and tasty, homemade option for sure!

    Read Full Post


  • Swedish ISP Stands Up to Media Companies, Refuses to Give Up User Data

    Sweden has been one of the leading countries when it comes to anything having to do with the Internet. It is one of the countries with best broadband deployment in the world and its citizens as well as the authorities have had quite a progressive view on how to handle the inherent changes brought by the web. Last year though… (read more)

  • Suck Up Your Desk Debris With The Zamboni Vacuum [Vacuum]

    It’s been so snowy in both the UK and US in recent weeks, making this Zamboni ice resurfacer truck vacuum the perfect desk accompaniment for sucking up all the crisp crumbs. On sale soon. [UrbanTrendHK]






  • The Five Sexiest Starlets of the Golden Globes

    81D45CA9-E47E-40C9-929A-4947A3A82917.jpg

    Some blogs rank Hollywood celebs by how fashionable they look on the red carpet. We just rate them by how hot they look, damn the fashion.

    The annual Golden Globes award show – which was held Sunday – is always a great venue for spotting the hottest starlets in the sexiest outfits. Unlike the Oscars, where the stars try to look classy, there’s always lots of boob and leg shown off at the Globes.

    Here are the five sexiest starlets from this year’s 2010 Golden Globes:

    5. Salma Hayek. Salma shows off her golden globes in a low cut number:

    463FF73E-95ED-4978-A983-FC73062DF5BA.jpg

    4. Halle Berry. Halle was another star not afraid to flash the flesh in a racy number that showed off her stunning front and backside:

    0EE8CD7E-82B8-4DE4-88BE-9A82B930E59D.jpg

    3. Penelope Cruz. The lovely Penelope showed off her figure without giving away the store:

    cruz.png

    2. Olivia Wilde. The House star looks like a sex kitten in this plunging, glittery dress. We’ve got even more sexy Olivia Wilde photos.

    Screen shot 2010-01-18 at 2.50.14 PM.png

    1. Jennifer Aniston. How is it possible that Jennifer Aniston keeps getting hotter the older she gets? Giving new meaning to stepping out on the red carpet, Jennifer showed off her toned legs in a super sexy black gown:

    3E492568-9033-4758-914D-D15975683150.jpg

    Related posts:

    1. The World’s 20 Sexiest Nerds
    2. The Sexiest Rolling Stone Covers Ever
    3. This is Why Olivia Wilde is the Hottest Woman Around

  • The dream life of children

    Photo by Flickr user Grace. Click for sourceWhile we may have an elaborate dream life as adults, it seems we develop the ability to have rich and vivid dreams as we grow – children start off having relatively simple dreams that become more complex throughout childhood.

    Below is an excerpt from a scientific review article on ‘dreaming and the brain’, shortly to be published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, that addresses how our dream life changes and develops during our early years.

    One of the criticisms of these findings might be that dreams seem less complex in younger children because their language isn’t rich enough to describe them fully. However, there is good evidence against this idea – the complexity of dreams is not strongly related to verbal ability, although it is to the vividness of the child’s mental imagery.

    When do children start dreaming, and what kind of dreams do they have? Given that children often show signs of emotion in sleep, many assume that they dream a great deal. However, a series of studies by David Foulkes showed that children under the age of 7 reported dreaming only 20% of the time when awakened from REM sleep, compared with 80–90% in adults.

    Preschoolers’ dreams are often static and plain, such as seeing an animal or thinking about eating. There are no characters that move, no social interactions, little feeling, and they do not include the dreamer as an active character. There are also no autobiographic, episodic memories, perhaps because children have trouble with conscious episodic recollection in general, as suggested by the phenomenon of infantile amnesia.

    Preschoolers do not report fear in dreams, and there are few aggressions, misfortunes and negative emotions. Children who have night terrors, in which they awaken early during the night from SWS [slow-wave sleep] and display intense fear and agitation, are probably terrorized by disorientation owing to incomplete awakening rather than by a dream. Thus, although children of age 2–5 years can see and speak of everyday people, objects and events, they apparently cannot dream of them.

    Between the ages of 5–7 years, dream reports become longer, although they are still infrequent. Dreams might contain sequences of events in which characters move about and interact, but narratives are not well developed. At around 7 years of age, dream reports become longer and more frequent, contain thoughts and feelings, the child’s self becomes an actual participant in the dream, and dreams begin to acquire a narrative structure and to reflect autobiographic, episodic memories.

    It could be argued that perhaps all children dream, but some do not yet realize that they are dreaming, do not remember their dreams, or cannot report them because of poor verbal skills. Contrary to these intuitive suggestions, dream recall was found to correlate best with abilities of mental imagery rather than with language proficiency… Put simply, it is children with the most developed mental imagery and visuo-spatial skills (rather than verbal or memory capabilities) that report the most dreams, suggesting a real difference in dream experience.

    I’ve removed the numeric references for ease of reading, but you can find the full research sources in the original article.

    Link to PubMed entry for article.
    Link to DOI entry for same.

  • Vegetable Garden Dreams

    three open pea podsI’ve got a serious case of cabin fever. I’m exhibiting all the classic signs – flannel PJ’s, making soup, organizing, re-arranging furniture and seed shopping. There’s something comforting about looking through garden catalogs with their beautiful photos of people working in the garden, bountiful harvests, and flowers in bloom. I want my garden to be green and bountiful too!

    I love to play in the dirt, I love fresh vegetables, and I can’t wait to start planting. Last night I had a hard time putting the seed catalog down. I couldn’t decide what variety of butternut squash to plant. My husband would prefer no squash, but it won’t kill him to eat a few – in fact, it’ll be good for him.

    I have two catalogs that I order from every year where I can find heirloom and organic seeds. There are so many sources for seeds, and I’m always on the lookout for new sources of seeds and plants, so if you’ve got any great suggestions let me know. There’s still time for me to get my hands on a catalog.

  • BUSINESSWEEK: Wells Fargo May Post Profit as Economic Growth Curtails Losses

    January 19, 2010, 06:31 AM EST

    By Dakin Campbell

    Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Wells Fargo & Co., one of the two biggest U.S. home lenders in 2009, may report its fourth straight quarter of improved results as the economy expanded and pressure to build reserves abated.

    The bank probably swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $1.62 billion, or 9 cents a share, from a loss of $2.55 billion, or 79 cents, a year earlier, according to the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Earnings per share may have been curtailed by the San Francisco-based bank’s $12.25 billion sale of stock to repay the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Wells Fargo’s results are due tomorrow.

    Banks benefited from a resumption of U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter, which Wells Fargo estimated at 5.3 percent annualized. Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf has said his firm will save $5 billion on expenses after absorbing Wachovia Corp., acquired in 2008, and losses tied to adjustable- rate mortgages may be less than budgeted.

    “I would expect that they would have generated another healthy set of results if it weren’t for that TARP repayment,” said Richard Staite, a London-based analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP, who has an “overweight” rating on the shares. “As they integrate Wachovia, we will see stronger revenues come through that business.”

    The bank dropped 91 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $28.08 last week in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The lender, whose biggest investor is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., declined 2.5 percent last year.

    TARP Repayment

    Wells Fargo is the last of the four biggest U.S. banks to report results. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, said fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled to $3.28 billion, or 74 cents a share, on higher revenue from investment-banking fees. New York-based Citigroup Inc. reports today, while Bank of America Corp. is scheduled to report tomorrow, about an hour before Wells Fargo.

    Wells Fargo caught up last month with Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America and JPMorgan, based in New York, by repaying its $25 billion in government bailout funds. The repayment reduced income for common shareholders by $2 billion during the quarter, according to the company, while saving $1.25 billion a year in TARP dividend payments.

    “The $2 billion will bring down overall earnings but I think people will look through that as a non-core number,” said Jennifer Thompson, whose recommendations at New York-based Portales Partners LLC returned 27 percent in the past year, the best showing among analysts who cover Wells Fargo. “There is a good chance that the reserve-building will come down.” She has a hold rating on the shares.

    Building Reserves

    The bank added $1 billion to reserves in the third quarter, bringing the total allowance for loan losses to $24 billion, or 3 percent of total loans. Consumer loan losses will peak in the first half of this year, while commercial loan losses will top out in the second half, the company predicted in October.

    “Wells Fargo remains among the healthiest of the large banks because of its strong core earnings power,” Oppenheimer & Co. analysts led by Chris Kotowski wrote in a Dec. 18 report. Still, earnings won’t be as high as the second and third quarters, “mainly because of a projected decrease of $1.6 billion in mortgage banking revenues from what we viewed as unsustainably high levels,” they wrote.

    Wells Fargo has been dueling Bank of America for the No. 1 ranking among U.S. home lenders, with the lead changing hands at least twice in 2009. Mortgage banking revenue at Wells Fargo climbed to $3.1 billion in the third quarter and probably fell to $1.5 billion in the fourth, Oppenheimer analysts said. Credit Suisse Group AG analysts led by Moshe Orenbuch expect mortgage revenue of $2.2 billion, according to a Jan. 7 report.

    Home Lending

    Mortgage applications in the U.S. fell 29 percent in the fourth quarter over the preceding three months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as rising interest rates discouraged homeowners from refinancing.

    Wachovia specialized in option-ARM mortgages, which allow homeowners to defer some payments on their adjustable-rate home loans and add them to the principal. Home prices in some of the largest urban areas in California have dropped about 38 percent from their peak in 2005 and 2006, according to S&P/Case-Shiller home price indexes, and that left borrowers owing more than their homes are worth.

    “They have been optimistic that the option-ARM mortgages from Wachovia have been slightly better than original expectations,” Staite said. “If that is the case, they can release some of those reserves through the net interest income line.”

    Exiting TARP allowed Wells Fargo to escape government oversight on executive pay. At the end of December, the lender awarded “retention performance shares” to the top four executives, with Stumpf getting stock valued at $10 million. The bonus pushed Stumpf’s 2009 compensation to $18.4 million.

    –Editors: Rick Green, Dan Kraut

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  • Google Voice Was So Very Close To Working

    I hate the telephone.  I hate voice mail.  I’ve tried hard to simplify how this works in my world.  I only have two phone numbers (my cell phone and my work phone, which is an IP phone that rings in all the different houses / offices that I have), schedule all phone calls, and use PhoneTag as my voicemail transcription service (both my cell phone and my desk phone forward to it when I don’t answer.)  I never listen to voice mails (everything is an email), rarely get phone calls during the day, and have done a pretty good job of getting rid of phone interruptions in my life given how busy I am.

    Even though I’m in a reasonable stable state, I have one thing that bothers me.  I still have two phone numbers – one for my cell phone and one for my desk phone.  When my assistant Kelly schedules a call, she does a pretty good job of using my cell phone when I’m on the road and my desk phone when I’m in my office or at home (my cell phone doesn’t work in my house in Eldorado Springs at all and barely works in Keystone – thanks AT&T).  However, she still has to do the manual translation of my location to phone number (blech) and I occasionally (well – regularly) end up somewhere other than expected.

    I thought Google Voice might be the solution.  However, I don’t want to have to tell the world a new phone number.  Plus, a lot of people call me back via caller ID so when I call on various phones they just call me back on that phone.  So I came up with a hack to try.  I’d forward my desk phone (call it 4) to my Google Voice number.  Then I’d give out my desk phone to everyone going forward.  Google Voice would then ring all of my other phone numbers, including my cell number.  On no answer, Google Voice would transcribe my message and email it to me.

    Problem #1 happened when Amy emailed me from Keystone (when I was in my office in Boulder) and said “your phone is ringing off the hook today – make it stop.”)  I have an extension 4 phone in Keystone.  Easy fix – I changed my IP phones so Keystone was 1, Eldo was 2, my office was 3, and the 4 just forwarded to Google Voice.  I then set up groups in Google voice to easily forward only to the phones where I was (e.g. when I wasn’t in Keystone, 1 didn’t ring).  Problem #1 solved.

    Problem #2 happened the next day when I got an email from a regular caller saying the phone “just rang and rang” and voice mail never picked up.  I heard of this from a few more people – the only thing I could come up with was that Google Voice wasn’t answering every now and then or there was some kind of forwarding black hole that I hadn’t figured out.  I’ll give Google Voice the benefit of the doubt on this one, but I still couldn’t figure out the black hole.

    Problem #3 was a delay that I was starting to notice when talking on my cell phone.  The forwarding from my desk phone (4) to Google Voice to my cell phone was introducing enough of an IP delay to be noticeable.  I tried to mentally adjust for it but it was unpredictable.  This gave me a headache (a physical one, not a virtual one).

    Problem #4 was caller ID wasn’t coming through correctly.  Again, I’ll give Google Voice benefit of the doubt – I think I probably could have figured out how to hack our phone system to forward to caller ID to Google Voice which would then forward it on.  But I didn’t.  And the Google Voice intro that announced the caller often was either blank (presumably the caller didn’t say anything), it was cut off (possibly due to the forwarding), or it was hard to understand.  Regardless, I found myself feeling less comfortable that I knew who was calling.

    Problem #5 was the Google Voice transcriptions were unreadable.  I find the PhoneTag emails to often be entertaining, but they are never incomprehensible.  In contrast, I found myself having to listen to three out of four of the Google Voice messages because the transcriptions made no sense.

    But Problem #6 sunk me.  Suddenly, I was getting a lot more phone calls!  My previously silent phone was ringing more often.  I hadn’t really thought this through but in hindsight it was obvious since I was generating so many more ring points.

    At some level, I could bit the bullet and just try giving out the Google Voice number and see what happens.  But, after a week of being back in my old routine, where my phone rarely rings and when I get a PhoneTag email message I can quickly see who called and why, I’m sticking with the old way for now.


  • Nicole Scherzinger Bond Girl Ambition

    Nicole Scherzinger wants to be a Bond Girl.

    The Pussycat Dolls frontwoman recently split from Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton after almost two years of dating to focus on furthering her acting career, and Nicole has set her sights on taking on the lead female role opposite Daniel Craig in the next movie 007 epic.

    A Scherzinger source revealed to Hello!: “She has lined up some meetings in Hollywood. Nicole is very athletic and sees herself in action movies. She has even said her ideal role would be to star as the next Bond girl. Why not? She has the looks and the physique for it.”

    The 31-year-old beauty hasn’t turned her back on the music industry; she is currently writing a number of songs for her solo album, as well as a new LP with The Dolls.


  • Jordan explorer to tap 7-tonne Sudan gold site

    Jordan explorer to tap 7-tonne Sudan gold site

    January 19, 2010, 11:30 am

    KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Jordanian gold explorer Brinsley Enterprises has found an estimated 7 tonnes of reserves on a site in northeast Sudan and will start commercial production next year, Sudanese state media reported. The company’s general manager told Sudan’s state Suna news agency that Brinsley had found indications of another 10 to 15 tonnes of gold while exploring 14 other sites in Africa’s largest country. Suna said late on Monday that production would start on Brinsley’s concession in Sudan’s Red Sea state in mid-2011. Sudan’s energy and mining minister Al-Zubeir Ahmed al-Hassan told Reuters in October the country was witnessing a "gold rush" with an explosion of small-time prospecting and commercial concessions going to new companies. The minister said Sudan had also been handing out mining concessions in its Nile, Northern and Southern Kordofan states, adding one field alone had proven reserves of 30 tonnes.

  • Online Reservations Only for Anniversary Suzuki GSX-R750

    Suzuki’s British division recently announced that a new online-only reservation process for the limited edition 25th anniversary GSX-R750 will kick-off on January 23, 2010, following the machine’s unveiling at the International Motorcycle and Scooter show last November.

    There are only 25 machines available and all reservations will be handled exclusively through www.imgsx-r.com from mid-day on the 23rd January and operated on a first come, first served basis. The reservation system will be op… (read more)

  • Electric Avenue

    The SMH has a look at the electric section of the Detroit Motor Show – Clooney’s electric new wheels.

    With a curiously squashed body, the Tango electrically powered car is as nippy as a motorbike and can reach a speed of 200km/h. Satisfied customers include the actor George Clooney and its inventor describes the bizarre vehicle as a “chick magnet”.

    The Tango is among the quirkier exhibits on Electric Avenue, a corner of the Detroit motor show devoted to electrically powered vehicles. Every manufacturer of any note, from General Motors to Toyota, Mitsubishi and Hyundai, has a plug-in car or, at the very least, a petrol-electric hybrid on display.

    The future of motoring, according to political and environmental enthusiasts, is electric. But barely 1 per cent of industry sales last year were hybrid or electrically powered vehicles. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ automotive institute expects to see a small rise to 4 per cent by 2015. “What’s holding them back?” asks Anthony Pratt, an analyst from PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Cost.”

    Typically buying an eco-friendly car involves a price premium and the recession has not helped. Toyota this week unveiled a smaller, cheaper version of the Prius called the FT-CH concept.

    Its Japanese rival, Nissan, displayed a pure electric plug-in car called the Leaf, which has a socket in its bonnet and needs to be recharged every 160 kilometres. Mitsubishi has a similar model, the MiEV prototype (short for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle). But until somebody builds a network of electric charging stations, they are awkward for longer trips.

    The most keenly awaited “green” launch will be GM’s Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid that can go 64 kilometres on a single electric charge but also harness power from its engine to generate more electricity on the go. This means it can cover hundreds of kilometres on one tank of petrol.