| Eu Yan Sang’s tonic for success
In this series that appears once in three weeks, StarBiz takes a look at some of the companies that started during that era, and traces their history to the present day. We kick off this series with a profile on 103-year-old Chinese medical chain Eu Yan Sang. .
Brain part may affect foreign language skills
Just can't manage to nail down the subjunctive tense in French or the difference between the Spanish verbs for "to be"? Blame your Heschl's gyrus - or at least your left one, anyway. That is a tiny part of the brain that appears to play an important role in how well adults can learn another language, a new study finds. Writing online in the journal Cerebral Cortex, researchers said people who had a larger left Heschl's gyrus seemed to have an easier time picking up foreign languages. For this study, the researchers, led by Patrick Wong of Northwestern University in Illinois, were focusing on the ability to discern pitch, a key element of tonal languages, not vocabulary. In tonal languages like Chinese, which are spoken by most of the world's population, the same word can have different meanings, depending on how it is inflected.
Merv Griffin, 82; entertainer, 'Jeopardy!' creator and entrepreneur
Both shows originally aired on NBC and, beginning in the 1980s, became the two most popular syndicated game shows in television history.
Both programs were included in the 1986 sale of Merv Griffin Enterprises. But Griffin wrote the theme music for "Wheel of Fortune" and the famous "thinking music" played in the final round of "Jeopardy," which continued to provide him with millions of dollars in royalties.
"I have to say that the ongoing success of 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel' is my biggest thrill," Griffin, a self-described "word and puzzle freak," told the Hollywood Reporter in 2005. "I mean, they're still right there at the top of the ratings -- they've never slipped. They're timeless and ageless, and in the history of TV there has never been anything like them."
In a statement Sunday, former First Lady Nancy Reagan called the news of Griffin's death "heartbreaking" and remembered Griffin's friendship and support during President Reagan's battle with Alzheimer's disease.
US poised to lift Palestinian embargo
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to announce the new U.S. policy early this week, a senior U.S. official said Sunday. That announcement will coincide with a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is holding talks in Washington beginning Monday. The White House declined to comment on Sunday, but Jacob Walles, the U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, said Saturday that the international aid embargo imposed after Hamas won parliamentary elections last year will no longer apply to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government, and that he expected it to be lifted this week. The senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions, said that any U.S. gestures toward Abbas will be made independently of Israel.
Away From Home
"Modernism in American Silver: 20th Century Design""Modernism in American Silver: 20th-Century Design," a groundbreaking exhibition that explores the cultural significance of modern silver design in America between 1925 and 2000, remains on show through Sunday at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tenn. Information: (901) 761-5250.The Morning News "Away From Home" calendar will spotlight home and garden events and exhibits in Northwest Arkansas and around the state, in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. For further information on the events, please call the numbers or visit the Web sites listed.Northwest Arkansas* July 14: Environmental Day, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Frisco Park in Rogers. Information: 936-5487.Dallas .
China On Food Safety Scares: Who, Me?
Chinese officials on Thursday defended their nation's medical and food safety record and declined to take full responsibility for the presence of deadly chemicals found in cough syrup and toothpaste sold abroad. The comments come as China faces mounting pressure after a recent series of healthrelated scandals that set off alarm bells around a world that is increasingly reliant on Chinese exports. One of the most serious cases involves the use of an industrial solvent in cold medicines that is believed to have killed at least 51 people last year in Panama. That, the Chinese say, is not entirely their fault. According to the results of a government investigation, two Chinese companies sold a chemical laced with diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent sometimes used in paint and antifreeze, to a business in Spain.
Has boom become doom for the buyout barons?
For years the stock market has been riding a wave of speculation as investors bet on where next private equity would strike, buying out companies at a handsome premium to stock market values. Big British employers to have fallen into the hands of these groups included Gala Coral, New Look, Saga, Travelodge and many, many more. Two months ago the US private equity firm KKR signalled the industry's seemingly insatiable appetite for taking over listed companies with its £11bn acquisition of Alliance Boots. The chemist group became the first FTSE 100 group to fall in what was the largest private-equity deal in Europe. Many, including the Financial Services Authority, predicted this blaze of acquisitions would leave a trail of businesses struggling under potentially onerous debt burdens.
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