Two to go

New Delhi: Sporting Clube-de-Goa had the woodwork to blame as they went down to Mahindra United 3-5 in a penalty shootout in the quarter-final of the Durand Cup football tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium yesterday.

Samananda Singh’s penalty kick came off the crossbar with all other efforts in the tie-breaker being on target. The result was a repeat of the one in the quarterfinals of the Federation Cup which also was decided in a similar fashion. Hundred and twenty minutes of open play saw no goal.

In the tie-breakers, Mahindra United’s NP Pradeep, Manjit Singh, Harpreet Singh, Mohammad Rafi and Ghanaian Yusuf Yakubu were successful.

Kenyan Bonface Ambani, Micky Fernandes and Bibiano Fernandes made it for Sporting with Samananda Singh missing.

As is the usual strategy, Mahindra brought on substitute keeper Subhashish Roychowdhury for the tie-breaker and the move paid dividends.

Salgaocar Through
Meanwhile, Salgaocar Sports Club beat JCT Mills (Phagwara) 2-1 to set up a semi-final encounter with Mahindra United.

Anil Kumar (seventh minute) and Shylo Malswamtlunga (31st) found the net for the Goan team while international Sunil Chettri (45+) reduced the margin for the team from Punjab.

Today’s semifinals are both Mumbai vs Goa affairs as Churchill Brothers take on Air India while Mahindra face Salgaocar.

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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Machine vs merchant: Full use of debit cards yet to pick up

Mumbai: People are generally using their debit cards to withdraw cash rather than to make payments directly while buying goods, says a study conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

“The use of debit cards for such payments (for normal purchases) has not yet picked up. Debit cards are used more for cash withdrawals as ATM cards,” said RBI’s review of payment and settlement systems in the country.

Although the number of debit cards far exceeds that of credit cards, “...for normal purchases, most modes of payments in India after currency have been credit cards,” it added.

With banks issuing 20 lakh cards every month, the number of total cards swelled to 9.8 crore as on March 31, 2007. These include 2.41 crore credit cards and 7.85 crore debit cards.

Despite a big difference in numbers, the value of transactions recorded through the credit card at Rs 41,361 crore during 2006-07 was five times ahead of the similar transactions conducted through debit cards.

However, the value of transactions through the debit cards increased to Rs 8,172 crore in 2006-07 from previous year’s Rs 5,897 crore, recording a growth of 39 per cent.

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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Get ready to spend Rs 200 every day!

New Delhi: Each consumer in India will spend over Rs 200 a day on an average by the year 2025, steered by a ten-fold increase in the country’s middle-class population and a three-fold jump in household income during this period, according to a study by leading research firm McKinsey Global Institute.

The study also states that the aggregate consumer spending could more than quadruple to Rs 70 trillion by 2025, from about Rs 17 trillion in 2005.

“The dramatic growth in India’s middle class, from 50 million to 583 million people, will power this growth,” the international consultancy major said.

“India’s rapid economic growth... that has lifted hundreds of millions of Indians out of desperate poverty, is creating a massive middle-class centred in the cities,” the study says. “If India continues its recent growth, average household incomes will triple over the next two decades and it will become the world’s fifth largest consumer economy by 2025, up from 12th now.”

Middle-class to grow eight times

McKinsey said that by 2025, the country’s middle class would grow from about 5 per cent of the population to more than 40 per cent which, along with rising private income, would drive a sharp surge in consumer spending.

Taking into account the estimated consumer population in the age group of 15-64 years – which is expected to rise to 950 million by 2025 – the spending per consumer would rise to about Rs 74,310 a year, over Rs 6,000 a month or Rs 206 a day.

Considering the population of the same age-group at about 700 million in 2005, McKinsey’s consumer spending estimate for that year was about Rs 24,300 per person in a year, about Rs 2,000 a month or just about Rs 67 a day.

Middle-class families are defined as those having a disposable income of Rs 1-2 lakh per year.

Most spending to be in cities

McKinsey also expects a shift in the spending power from the countryside to the cities, thus placing a bulk of India’s private consumption within easier reach of major companies.

“Today, 57 per cent of private spending is spread across rural areas,” McKinsey said. “But, by 2025, cities will command 62 per cent of the country’s spending power.”

Source: mumbaimirror.com

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Katie calling it quits?

Katie Holmes may have given hubby Tom Cruise all her support as he celebrated the world premieres of his new movie Lions for Lambs, but, reportedly, on the home front, things are not the same.

An insider has revealed that the couple often sleeps in separate beds after lights are turned out. “There are plenty of times when they have a romantic evening together and then go their separate ways when it’s time to turn out the lights,” a newspaper quoted the insider, as saying. However, of his wife, Cruise recently said he was “lucky to have found her.”

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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If the ‘Governator’ were president...

The 60-year-old Governor of California — who is currently ineligible for the position because he was born outside of the US — admits he would love the challenge of being one of the most powerful leaders in the world.

He told a British magazine: “If the law was changed I would think about running for president, yes. And I would go after it. I am always interested in challenges and risks. The risk of losing always makes you perform better.

When you come from an athletic, competitive background you learn to enjoy taking risks to reach your goals. Other people prefer not taking risks, and having calmer lives. That is not for me.”

The Austrian-born star quit his movie career for politics in 2003 when he successfully ran for Governor of California. Arnold — who is a Republican — is married to Maria Shriver, the niece of legendary Democrat US President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. The pair have four children — Katherine, 17, Christina, 16, Patrick, 14 and Christopher, 10.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Salt and heart disease not related

LONDON: If you think you can lower the risk of heart disease by cutting down on salt, you're wrong if researchers are right.

British researchers have carried out a study and found no conclusive proof of a link between salt and heart disease, which dismisses the theory that salt can cause strokes and cardiovascular problems as "an argument of hope over reason".

"The evidence that salt is bad for you is non-existent. The fact that some foods, such as crisps or pizza, have a high salt content is no reason not to eat them. It will make no difference to your health or to how long you live," according to lead researcher Dr Joel Dunning.

In fact, Dr Dunning and his team at the James Cook University Hospital came to the conclusion after studying 462 research papers from around the world.

The researchers found that it was impossible to prove a connection between salt and heart disease because of a "lack of adequately powered randomised trials or observational studies conducted with sufficient rigour".

However, they support the view that eating less salt may benefit people with "abnormally" high blood pressure -- the findings have been published in the latest edition of the 'Journal Of Interactive Cardiovascular And Thoracic Surgery'.

Dr Dunning's conclusions were also supported by other researchers in this field.

"Even the most supposedly compelling evidence, published by researchers in the US earlier this year, was wholly unconvincing for anyone taking a dispassionate view of this issue," Robert Matthews of Aston University told the Daily Mail .

So, you can keep eating the butties.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Ozzy angered by ND sheriff's sting

FARGO, N.D. - Ozzy Osbourne wants an apology from the Cass County sheriff for staging a sting operation in the rocker's name without his permission.

Osbourne claims his reputation was tarnished when Sheriff Paul Laney invited 500 people with outstanding warrants to a phony party at a Fargo nightclub before the rocker's concert with Rob Zombie at a nearby arena. More than 30 showed up and were arrested.

"Instead of holding a press conference to pat himself on the back, Sheriff Laney should be apologizing to me for using my name in connection with these arrests," Osbourne said in a statement.

"It is insulting to me and to my audience and it shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job," Osbourne said.

Laney said Friday that it's his job to arrest people with outstanding warrants.

"We meant no disrespect toward Mr. Osbourne or his show," Laney said. "What we did was a very creative law enforcement technique to lure individuals who had active criminal warrants to come to us."

He said mentioning Osbourne's name in the invitations was no different than a bar advertising a Super Bowl party by mentioning the teams playing in the game.

Laney said Monday's sting was done to let the community know his office was doing its best to serve about 3,000 outstanding warrants it must deal with.

"They get very creative in how they abscond from the law," the sheriff said of the wanted individuals. "We just got real creative in how we reeled them in," Laney said.

Not everyone is taking the sting personally, Laney said.

"Three people called to say, 'I got one of those letters. Since you're being so creative, I'm turning myself in. Give me a court date,'" Laney said.

Source: news.yahoo.com

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