For travellers who enjoy getting away from it all, online site for adventure travel iExplore has come up with a list of the world's top 10 hiking and trekking vacation spots.
10. Camino de Santiago, Spain
Hiking this 460 mile (740 km) pilgrimage footpath, a thousand year old tradition, leads to cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, the third holiest site in Christianity.
9. John Muir Trail, California
Named after the founder of the Sierra Club, you will traverse Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. Photographer Ansel Adams would be jealous.
8. Torres del Paine, Chile
Torres del Paine National Park in the far south of Chile is home to two legendary trails: The Loop and the W.
7. Overland Track, Australia
The 80km (50 mile) Overland Track in Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Clair National Park in Tasmania is often considered Australia's best.
6. West Coast Trail, British Columbia
A 75 mile (121 km) coastal hike on Vancouver Island's pristine wilderness includes views of caves, cliffs, coves, beaches, shipwrecks, and much more.
5. Tour de Mont Blanc, France/Italy/Switzerland
The 106-mile (171 km) trail near the highest peak in the Alps (15,780 feet or 4,810 metres) traverses three borders.
4. Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania
Apart from the snow-capped cone of Mount Kilimanjaro, the various routes take you through gorges and past Africa's amazing wildlife.
3. Santa Cruz Trek, Peru
It's a 4-day, 31 mile (50 km) hike through wildflower filled meadows, turquoise lakes, and near the highest snow capped peaks outside the Himalayas.
2. Appalachian Trail
Each year tens of thousands of people set off to complete the entire length of this 2,175 mile (3,500 km) trail that takes months to complete, while thousands of others hike just sections of the trail.
1. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
The 186.5 mile (300 km), three-week Annapurna circuit gets you up close to some of the highest mountains in the Himalayas, and is considered the best hike in the world by many.
credited to link and flickr users: berzosa, esse, andrew, marcos caceras, .pj, jesper bevensee, fiona in monbulk, yochus, usa.paul, alicam1204
10. Warp Core Breach - $29.50
Star Trek fans will love this themed drink made to resemble something that might be ordered on Deep Space 9. Made at Quark’s Bar in the Las Vegas Hilton this $29.50 drink has enough punch to make a Klingon dizzy. Made with 10 ounces of liquor from five different-flavored rums, Razzmatazz and fruit juices this drink is big enough to share. The drink comes in a Star Trek-like glass and a little dry ice ads to the ambiance by making this concoction bubble over and smoke.
9. Goddess Elixir Margarita - $99
From a place a little more down to earth but just across the border comes the next most extravagant cocktail, the Goddess Elixir available at Isla Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar in Treasure Island. This drink which is assembled table-side by your very own Tequila Goddess, is big enough to share with 3 of your closest friends. The Goddess Elixir comes with big chunks of pineapple and citrus buoyed by Herradura Selección Suprema, 100-year old Grand Marnier Centenaire, Cointreau and fresh citrus syrup.
8. Liquid Gold - $175
Fleur de Lys in Mandalay Bay offers Liquid Gold by the ounce for $175. Made with Grand Marnier Centenaire, Louis XIII Cognac, Krug Grand Cru Champagne, Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters and raw sugar garnished with 23-karat gold leafing and a burnt orange twist.
7. Seablue Martini - $275
What’s Las Vegas without martinis? The Seablue Restaurant at the MGM Grand has one of the best martinis in Vegas. Made with super-premium vodka and Beluga caviar this drink carries a price tag of $275.
6. Gotham Martini & High Roller Martini - $1,000
In order to order this drink, you really have to be doing well at the progressive slots. The Capital Grille at the Fashion Show Mall serves drinks made just for High Rollers. Each of these $1000 martinis come paired with a piece of Lagos jewelry. The Gotham Martini comes with a strand of pearls. The High Roller, named for the Vegas Strip, includes a diamond pave ring. For each cocktail sold, about $500 goes to Share our Strength, a charity that battles hunger around the globe. No word on what sorts of liquor are used to make these drinks, but it seems the value is really in the jewelry and the feeling of giving to a good cause.
5. King Richard’s Pride - $1,000
In Vegas why not be treated like royalty? King Richard’s Pride is a $1,000 a drink consisting of Hennessy Richard, Dom Perignon Rosé 1996 and Chambord Liqueur Royale de France, splashes of lime and cranberry juices and one orange slice, all served in a keepsake Baccarat cocktail glass. This drink can be found at BOA, located at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.
4. The Presidential - $1,000
The Body English Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino features a $1,000 martini called The Presidential. This drink includes Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac and Dom Perignon champagne.
3. Duvet Passion - $1,500
The Seablue Restaurant at the MGM Grand also has the 3rd most expensive cocktail. The Duvet Passion featuring a mix of rare aged cognacs and a mix of rare vintage champagnes garnished with a vanilla orchid petal can be purchased for a mere $1500. This passionate drink which was introduced on Valentine’s Day in 2005, is sure to get you some love.
2. High Limit Kir Royale - $2,200
Also at the MGM Grand, you can double down on the High Limit Kir Royale. This $2200 libation is only available at The Teatro Euro Bar. Louis Roederer Cristal Rose champagne, Hardy Perfection cognac, Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire and fresh muddled raspberries go into making this extravagant cocktail.
1. Ménage a Trois - $3,000
If you’re feeling a little frisky why not order a Ménage a Trois at Tryst at the 5 Diamond Award-winning Wynn Hotel. This sexy cocktail is made with Cristal Rosé, Hennessy Ellipse and Grand Marnier Cent-cinquantenaire. 23-karat gold flakes and liquid gold syrup decorate this decadent cocktail. For $3,000 you can sip this drink through a golden straw studded with a 9-point diamond — yours to keep of course.
Wondering what was the most expensive drink ever sold in Vegas? The most expensive Vegas Cocktail was served by Master Mixologist Francesco Lafranconi at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio on May 7th, 2003 . This drink which was sold at live auction for $8,000 to benefit Alzheimer’s Research during “One Cool Night”, was served in a Christofle Limited Edition Cocktail Glass by Adam D. Tihany. This outrageous cocktail was made up of a delicious blend of Hennessy Timeless harmoniously combined with Grand Marnier 150th Anniversary liqueur, topped with Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1973 vintage, garnished with 22-karat gold leaves, and stirred with a diamond swizzle. Unfortunately, this drink was a one-time deal, although if you’re looking to spend $8,000 for a drink be sure to ask your Maitre`di. In Las Vegas I’m sure they will be able to accommodate you.
credited to link
10. China Floods
Floods used to be a regular and catastrophic fact of life in wet southern China, where the mighty Yangtze River regularly burst its bounds in the spring. Anti-flood preparations and economic growth have helped limit the worst damage in recent years, but water won't be denied. This June days of drenching rain led to floods and landslides throughout southern China, including the prosperous manufacturing province of Guangdong. More than 60 people were killed and half a million were forced to flee their homes; economic damage was estimated at nearly $400 million.
9. Greece Forest Fires
This was the summer that Greece burned. Through June, July and August, vicious heat waves, with temperatures exceeding 105°F, and lengthy droughts turned the country into a tinderbox. The worst fires occurred in August, when a series of sudden firestorms in Peloponnese, Attica and Euboea left nearly 70 people dead. Residents in Olympia, site of the ancient Olympics, had to be evacuated, along with citizens throughout the south of the country. Altogether the infernos burned nearly half a million acres.
8. Earthquake in Peru
2007 was a light year for earthquakes, but not in Peru. An 8.0 magnitude temblor hit the central coast of the South American nation on Aug. 15, leaving more than 500 people dead and 1,366 injured, and more than 50,000 homes destroyed. Much of the worst damage occurred in the city of Pisco, which was 80% destroyed. As many as 430 people died, including over 100 who were killed when a cathedral they were praying in collapsed.
7. North Korea Floods
Life in North Korea is one long, man-made disaster, and the full magnitude of human suffering that goes on north of the DMZ may never be known. But the world received a glimpse of the precarious state of the hermit kingdom in August, when wide-scale flooding afflicted the southern part of the country. Details are patchwork, but more than 400 people were believed killed, and the damage was extensive enough that the Mass Games, Pyongyang's yearly and freaky athletic showcase, were postponed. Even worse than the immediate damage was the destruction wrought on the starving country's farmland — the World Food Programme estimated that 450,000 tons of grain production was lost.
6. South Asia Floods
Subject to the monsoon rains, home to billions, South Asia is forever teetering between too little water and too much of it. This summer it was the latter. A series of abnormal monsoon rains in northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh in July and August eventually led to what UNICEF called "the worst flood in living memory." By mid-August some 30 million people across the region had been displaced, and more than 2,000 would die in the floods. Damages were estimated to be at least $120 million, which was less a measure of the severity of the floods than the utter poverty of affected areas.
5. Indonesian Mud Volcano
It wasn't exactly an act of God — the blame should go to a poorly run natural gas drilling project — but the out-of-control mud flows near the Indonesian city of Surabaya certainly resembled something out of a disaster movie. The problem started in late May, when hot mud broke into a well that had been drilled without proper protective casing. When the company tried to stop up the mud with cement plugs, it eventually flowed to the surface and burst through the ground in a series of foul geysers. By October the mud was flowing at rate of about 170,000 cubic feet a day, utterly submerging neighboring villages and factories, and leaving over 10,000 people homeless.
4. Hurricane Felix
The U.S. got off lightly in the hurricane season of 2007, but not every country was so lucky. A Category 5 storm — the highest possible rating — Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua on Sept.4 with winds that ranged up to 160 mph. The storm also hit Honduras and grazed the Caribbean islands. Altogether Felix killed 101 people, and pulverized the impoverished coastal communities of Nicaragua. One bright side — the storm hit heavily forested areas, which blunted the force of the winds.
3. Mexico Floods
A natural disaster in a rich country like the United States can be an inconvenience. In an impoverished nation like Mexico, it is a human catastrophe. Massive floods that struck the southern Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas in late October and November left vast stretches of land completely submerged — an estimated 80% of Tabasco was under water at one point, and as many as one million residents were affected by the floods. Mexican President Felipe Calderon put it simply: "This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country."
2. Southeast U.S. Droughts
Water experts like to call drought the Rodney Dangerfield of natural disasters: It gets no respect. But the long dry that gripped much of the American Southeast this year is making everyone take notice. Normally verdant, Georgia and several neighboring states are suffering through their worst dry spell in recorded history. At one point the city of Atlanta, one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S., had just three months of water left. As the drought worsened, it triggered a nasty legal fight between Florida, Georgia and Alabama over declining water supplies. The chief legacy of the 2007 drought will be this: It could well be water, not energy or oil, which finally constrains American growth.
1. Bangladesh Cyclones
The sheer population density of Bangladesh — 2,639 people per square mile — guarantees that any natural disaster in that South Asian nation will take a severe human toll. When Cyclone Sidr struck southern Bangladesh on Nov. 15, it was no different. Packing winds of over 100 mph, the storm took out power lines and trees, and pulverized mud-and-thatch homes. The death toll was over 1,000, with more than half a million people forced to flee their homes. But by Bangladesh's sad standards, Sidr was nothing — a cyclone in 1991 killed an astounding 140,000 people.
credited to link
10. Virgin Money Bids for Northern Rock
The stolid English mortgage bank is deflowered by collateral damage from the subprime crisis. Although it's not a player in CDOs, it relies on short-term commercial paper for funding. So do CDOs. That market grinds to a halt. Result: a straight-out-of-the-Depression run on the bank, forcing the Bank of England to bail it out. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin's consortium offers to buy the Rock at a steep discount, diluting shareholders with a rights offering. Shareholders are not amused.
9. Bank of America Sinks $2 Billion in Countrywide Financial
Better make that $1 billion — at least that's what B of A's investment was worth as of December 1. Bank of America thought it had picked an opportune time in August to invest in Countrywide's mortgage machine, but the mortgage mess hadn't bottomed out yet.
8. Citigroup Sells Cheap to Abu Dhabi
Citi needed cash in the worst way to shore up its leaky balance sheet in the aftermath of the subprime debacle that cost CEO Chuck Prince his job. And Citi got it. Petrodollar-rich Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought 4.9% of Citigroup for a cheap $7.5 billion — and Citi is paying out a stiff 11% coupon to the Middle Eastern investment fund. Some analysts say that's way too high a rate. Maybe Citi should have gone to a bank for a loan.
7. J.C. Flowers Reneges on Sallie Mae
Sensing a bargain, hotshot private equity billionaire, J. Christopher Flowers — along with partners Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe — made a $25 billion buyout offer in April for the nation's largest student-loan provider. Six months later the group publicly lowered its offer from $60 a share to $50, on the grounds that the credit crisis and new legislation reducing student-loan subsidies would cut Sallie Mae's earnings. Sallie immediately sued Flowers et al. for breach of contract. Analysts say Flowers has the edge: If he doesn't make good on his original offer, the most he'll owe Sallie is $900 million in termination fees — about two bucks a share.
6. KKR and Goldman Sachs Break Up with Harman
Private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group's private equity unit pulled out of their $8 billion offer to buy high-end audio equipment manufacturer Harman Industries International, claiming a "material adverse change" in Harman's business. Harman's stock plummeted more than 20%.
5. Cerberus Abandons United Rentals
Having agreed to a $4 billion takeover of the construction-equipment rental outfit in July, buyout firm Cerberus was shocked — shocked! — to discover that funding this high-priced deal might be a stretch, what with the credit market tightened like a noose around private equity's neck. Cerberus, which agreed to give United a $100 million break-up fee — a standard provision in such a deal — wants to pay the money and walk. United Rentals won't let Cerberus go. The parties are suing each other.
4. Microsoft Overpays for Facebook
Here we go again in technology land. Microsoft invests $240 million for a 1.6% stake in Facebook, plus the right to broker the social networking site's international ads. The deal gives Facebook an implied value of $15 billion, for a company expected to earn just $30 million in 2007 but is nonetheless considered the model website of the future. Er, wasn't that AOL a couple of years ago? Are we in 1999 again, or is Microsoft as prescient as it says it is?
3. DaimlerChrysler Pays to Unload Chrysler
The German company DaimlerChrysler offloaded 80.1% of Chrysler, its money-leaching American car brand, to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $7.4 billion. DaimlerChrysler — now renamed Daimler — jettisoned some $17 billion in healthcare and pension liabilities in the deal, but had to loan Cerberus $400 million to close the sale. It gets worse: Daimler saw only $1.4 billion of Cerberus' payment — $5 billion went to Chrysler's auto business and another billion to its financial services arm. And worse yet: After all the puts and takes of the transaction, Daimler actually ended up paying out nearly $2 billion to dispose of Chrysler. It was an expensive undoing of an expensive merger. In 1998, the German automaker, then called Daimler-Benz, bought Chrysler for more than $36 billion, a move that was designed to add a little German engineering spiffiness to the American auto, but ended up being a slow-motion collision of corporate cultures, management and manufacturing styles. Auf Wiedersehen, Dr. Z.
2. Bear Stearns Cancels Everquest Financial IPO
Call it the IP-No. When the market for collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) began to melt down in the spring, Bear Stearns found itself sitting on billions of dollars of the stuff. What to do? How about this: Package the toxic, untradeable CDOs (securities backed by subprime mortgages) into a public company — Everquest Financial — and unload it on the usual chumps. That had been the plan all along, but by the time Bear tried to float this lead balloon in June you had to be living under a rock in Siberia not to know this junk wasn't sellable. The IPO was withdrawn.
1. The Public Invests in Blackstone Group
It was only a matter of time before the private equity firms let the public in on the game — for an inflated price. Blackstone boss Stephen Schwarzman pocketed half a billion dollars on the firm's $4 billion IPO. Since the IPO debuted, the credit markets seized up and so has the deal flow. After closing at $35.06 on its first day of trading, the stock has slipped 38%. A classic case of selling at the top to the suckers, which would be us — oh, and China too, which invested $3 billion in Blackstone at the height of the leveraged-buyout frenzy. Other private equity IPOs, such as Fortress Investment Group and Och-Ziff Capital Management, took the same route.
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Top 1 Most Expensive Las Vegas Cocktails
Whether you’re celebrating your big wins at the Craps table, or drowning in your sorrows after losing your house on Blackjack, Las Vegas has a drink that’s perfect for you. Make sure to bring your American Express Black Card though, some of the world’s most expensive cocktails can be found on the Las Vegas strip. From whimsical to decadent, here’s a top 10 list of Las Vegas’ Most extravagant and expensive Cocktails…
10. Warp Core Breach - $29.50Star Trek fans will love this themed drink made to resemble something that might be ordered on Deep Space 9. Made at Quark’s Bar in the Las Vegas Hilton this $29.50 drink has enough punch to make a Klingon dizzy. Made with 10 ounces of liquor from five different-flavored rums, Razzmatazz and fruit juices this drink is big enough to share. The drink comes in a Star Trek-like glass and a little dry ice ads to the ambiance by making this concoction bubble over and smoke.
9. Goddess Elixir Margarita - $99From a place a little more down to earth but just across the border comes the next most extravagant cocktail, the Goddess Elixir available at Isla Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar in Treasure Island. This drink which is assembled table-side by your very own Tequila Goddess, is big enough to share with 3 of your closest friends. The Goddess Elixir comes with big chunks of pineapple and citrus buoyed by Herradura Selección Suprema, 100-year old Grand Marnier Centenaire, Cointreau and fresh citrus syrup.
8. Liquid Gold - $175
Fleur de Lys in Mandalay Bay offers Liquid Gold by the ounce for $175. Made with Grand Marnier Centenaire, Louis XIII Cognac, Krug Grand Cru Champagne, Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters and raw sugar garnished with 23-karat gold leafing and a burnt orange twist.
7. Seablue Martini - $275
What’s Las Vegas without martinis? The Seablue Restaurant at the MGM Grand has one of the best martinis in Vegas. Made with super-premium vodka and Beluga caviar this drink carries a price tag of $275.
6. Gotham Martini & High Roller Martini - $1,000
In order to order this drink, you really have to be doing well at the progressive slots. The Capital Grille at the Fashion Show Mall serves drinks made just for High Rollers. Each of these $1000 martinis come paired with a piece of Lagos jewelry. The Gotham Martini comes with a strand of pearls. The High Roller, named for the Vegas Strip, includes a diamond pave ring. For each cocktail sold, about $500 goes to Share our Strength, a charity that battles hunger around the globe. No word on what sorts of liquor are used to make these drinks, but it seems the value is really in the jewelry and the feeling of giving to a good cause.
5. King Richard’s Pride - $1,000In Vegas why not be treated like royalty? King Richard’s Pride is a $1,000 a drink consisting of Hennessy Richard, Dom Perignon Rosé 1996 and Chambord Liqueur Royale de France, splashes of lime and cranberry juices and one orange slice, all served in a keepsake Baccarat cocktail glass. This drink can be found at BOA, located at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.
4. The Presidential - $1,000
The Body English Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino features a $1,000 martini called The Presidential. This drink includes Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac and Dom Perignon champagne.
3. Duvet Passion - $1,500
The Seablue Restaurant at the MGM Grand also has the 3rd most expensive cocktail. The Duvet Passion featuring a mix of rare aged cognacs and a mix of rare vintage champagnes garnished with a vanilla orchid petal can be purchased for a mere $1500. This passionate drink which was introduced on Valentine’s Day in 2005, is sure to get you some love.
2. High Limit Kir Royale - $2,200
Also at the MGM Grand, you can double down on the High Limit Kir Royale. This $2200 libation is only available at The Teatro Euro Bar. Louis Roederer Cristal Rose champagne, Hardy Perfection cognac, Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire and fresh muddled raspberries go into making this extravagant cocktail.
1. Ménage a Trois - $3,000If you’re feeling a little frisky why not order a Ménage a Trois at Tryst at the 5 Diamond Award-winning Wynn Hotel. This sexy cocktail is made with Cristal Rosé, Hennessy Ellipse and Grand Marnier Cent-cinquantenaire. 23-karat gold flakes and liquid gold syrup decorate this decadent cocktail. For $3,000 you can sip this drink through a golden straw studded with a 9-point diamond — yours to keep of course.
Wondering what was the most expensive drink ever sold in Vegas? The most expensive Vegas Cocktail was served by Master Mixologist Francesco Lafranconi at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio on May 7th, 2003 . This drink which was sold at live auction for $8,000 to benefit Alzheimer’s Research during “One Cool Night”, was served in a Christofle Limited Edition Cocktail Glass by Adam D. Tihany. This outrageous cocktail was made up of a delicious blend of Hennessy Timeless harmoniously combined with Grand Marnier 150th Anniversary liqueur, topped with Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1973 vintage, garnished with 22-karat gold leaves, and stirred with a diamond swizzle. Unfortunately, this drink was a one-time deal, although if you’re looking to spend $8,000 for a drink be sure to ask your Maitre`di. In Las Vegas I’m sure they will be able to accommodate you.
credited to link
Top 1 Natural Disasters of 2007
10. China Floods Floods used to be a regular and catastrophic fact of life in wet southern China, where the mighty Yangtze River regularly burst its bounds in the spring. Anti-flood preparations and economic growth have helped limit the worst damage in recent years, but water won't be denied. This June days of drenching rain led to floods and landslides throughout southern China, including the prosperous manufacturing province of Guangdong. More than 60 people were killed and half a million were forced to flee their homes; economic damage was estimated at nearly $400 million.
9. Greece Forest Fires This was the summer that Greece burned. Through June, July and August, vicious heat waves, with temperatures exceeding 105°F, and lengthy droughts turned the country into a tinderbox. The worst fires occurred in August, when a series of sudden firestorms in Peloponnese, Attica and Euboea left nearly 70 people dead. Residents in Olympia, site of the ancient Olympics, had to be evacuated, along with citizens throughout the south of the country. Altogether the infernos burned nearly half a million acres.
8. Earthquake in Peru 2007 was a light year for earthquakes, but not in Peru. An 8.0 magnitude temblor hit the central coast of the South American nation on Aug. 15, leaving more than 500 people dead and 1,366 injured, and more than 50,000 homes destroyed. Much of the worst damage occurred in the city of Pisco, which was 80% destroyed. As many as 430 people died, including over 100 who were killed when a cathedral they were praying in collapsed.
7. North Korea Floods Life in North Korea is one long, man-made disaster, and the full magnitude of human suffering that goes on north of the DMZ may never be known. But the world received a glimpse of the precarious state of the hermit kingdom in August, when wide-scale flooding afflicted the southern part of the country. Details are patchwork, but more than 400 people were believed killed, and the damage was extensive enough that the Mass Games, Pyongyang's yearly and freaky athletic showcase, were postponed. Even worse than the immediate damage was the destruction wrought on the starving country's farmland — the World Food Programme estimated that 450,000 tons of grain production was lost.
6. South Asia Floods Subject to the monsoon rains, home to billions, South Asia is forever teetering between too little water and too much of it. This summer it was the latter. A series of abnormal monsoon rains in northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh in July and August eventually led to what UNICEF called "the worst flood in living memory." By mid-August some 30 million people across the region had been displaced, and more than 2,000 would die in the floods. Damages were estimated to be at least $120 million, which was less a measure of the severity of the floods than the utter poverty of affected areas.
5. Indonesian Mud Volcano It wasn't exactly an act of God — the blame should go to a poorly run natural gas drilling project — but the out-of-control mud flows near the Indonesian city of Surabaya certainly resembled something out of a disaster movie. The problem started in late May, when hot mud broke into a well that had been drilled without proper protective casing. When the company tried to stop up the mud with cement plugs, it eventually flowed to the surface and burst through the ground in a series of foul geysers. By October the mud was flowing at rate of about 170,000 cubic feet a day, utterly submerging neighboring villages and factories, and leaving over 10,000 people homeless.
4. Hurricane Felix The U.S. got off lightly in the hurricane season of 2007, but not every country was so lucky. A Category 5 storm — the highest possible rating — Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua on Sept.4 with winds that ranged up to 160 mph. The storm also hit Honduras and grazed the Caribbean islands. Altogether Felix killed 101 people, and pulverized the impoverished coastal communities of Nicaragua. One bright side — the storm hit heavily forested areas, which blunted the force of the winds.
3. Mexico Floods A natural disaster in a rich country like the United States can be an inconvenience. In an impoverished nation like Mexico, it is a human catastrophe. Massive floods that struck the southern Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas in late October and November left vast stretches of land completely submerged — an estimated 80% of Tabasco was under water at one point, and as many as one million residents were affected by the floods. Mexican President Felipe Calderon put it simply: "This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country."
2. Southeast U.S. Droughts Water experts like to call drought the Rodney Dangerfield of natural disasters: It gets no respect. But the long dry that gripped much of the American Southeast this year is making everyone take notice. Normally verdant, Georgia and several neighboring states are suffering through their worst dry spell in recorded history. At one point the city of Atlanta, one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S., had just three months of water left. As the drought worsened, it triggered a nasty legal fight between Florida, Georgia and Alabama over declining water supplies. The chief legacy of the 2007 drought will be this: It could well be water, not energy or oil, which finally constrains American growth.
1. Bangladesh Cyclones The sheer population density of Bangladesh — 2,639 people per square mile — guarantees that any natural disaster in that South Asian nation will take a severe human toll. When Cyclone Sidr struck southern Bangladesh on Nov. 15, it was no different. Packing winds of over 100 mph, the storm took out power lines and trees, and pulverized mud-and-thatch homes. The death toll was over 1,000, with more than half a million people forced to flee their homes. But by Bangladesh's sad standards, Sidr was nothing — a cyclone in 1991 killed an astounding 140,000 people.
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Top 1 Worst Biz Deals in 2007
10. Virgin Money Bids for Northern Rock The stolid English mortgage bank is deflowered by collateral damage from the subprime crisis. Although it's not a player in CDOs, it relies on short-term commercial paper for funding. So do CDOs. That market grinds to a halt. Result: a straight-out-of-the-Depression run on the bank, forcing the Bank of England to bail it out. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin's consortium offers to buy the Rock at a steep discount, diluting shareholders with a rights offering. Shareholders are not amused.
9. Bank of America Sinks $2 Billion in Countrywide Financial Better make that $1 billion — at least that's what B of A's investment was worth as of December 1. Bank of America thought it had picked an opportune time in August to invest in Countrywide's mortgage machine, but the mortgage mess hadn't bottomed out yet.
8. Citigroup Sells Cheap to Abu Dhabi Citi needed cash in the worst way to shore up its leaky balance sheet in the aftermath of the subprime debacle that cost CEO Chuck Prince his job. And Citi got it. Petrodollar-rich Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought 4.9% of Citigroup for a cheap $7.5 billion — and Citi is paying out a stiff 11% coupon to the Middle Eastern investment fund. Some analysts say that's way too high a rate. Maybe Citi should have gone to a bank for a loan.
7. J.C. Flowers Reneges on Sallie Mae Sensing a bargain, hotshot private equity billionaire, J. Christopher Flowers — along with partners Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe — made a $25 billion buyout offer in April for the nation's largest student-loan provider. Six months later the group publicly lowered its offer from $60 a share to $50, on the grounds that the credit crisis and new legislation reducing student-loan subsidies would cut Sallie Mae's earnings. Sallie immediately sued Flowers et al. for breach of contract. Analysts say Flowers has the edge: If he doesn't make good on his original offer, the most he'll owe Sallie is $900 million in termination fees — about two bucks a share.
6. KKR and Goldman Sachs Break Up with Harman Private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group's private equity unit pulled out of their $8 billion offer to buy high-end audio equipment manufacturer Harman Industries International, claiming a "material adverse change" in Harman's business. Harman's stock plummeted more than 20%.
5. Cerberus Abandons United Rentals Having agreed to a $4 billion takeover of the construction-equipment rental outfit in July, buyout firm Cerberus was shocked — shocked! — to discover that funding this high-priced deal might be a stretch, what with the credit market tightened like a noose around private equity's neck. Cerberus, which agreed to give United a $100 million break-up fee — a standard provision in such a deal — wants to pay the money and walk. United Rentals won't let Cerberus go. The parties are suing each other.
4. Microsoft Overpays for Facebook Here we go again in technology land. Microsoft invests $240 million for a 1.6% stake in Facebook, plus the right to broker the social networking site's international ads. The deal gives Facebook an implied value of $15 billion, for a company expected to earn just $30 million in 2007 but is nonetheless considered the model website of the future. Er, wasn't that AOL a couple of years ago? Are we in 1999 again, or is Microsoft as prescient as it says it is?
3. DaimlerChrysler Pays to Unload Chrysler The German company DaimlerChrysler offloaded 80.1% of Chrysler, its money-leaching American car brand, to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $7.4 billion. DaimlerChrysler — now renamed Daimler — jettisoned some $17 billion in healthcare and pension liabilities in the deal, but had to loan Cerberus $400 million to close the sale. It gets worse: Daimler saw only $1.4 billion of Cerberus' payment — $5 billion went to Chrysler's auto business and another billion to its financial services arm. And worse yet: After all the puts and takes of the transaction, Daimler actually ended up paying out nearly $2 billion to dispose of Chrysler. It was an expensive undoing of an expensive merger. In 1998, the German automaker, then called Daimler-Benz, bought Chrysler for more than $36 billion, a move that was designed to add a little German engineering spiffiness to the American auto, but ended up being a slow-motion collision of corporate cultures, management and manufacturing styles. Auf Wiedersehen, Dr. Z.
2. Bear Stearns Cancels Everquest Financial IPO Call it the IP-No. When the market for collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) began to melt down in the spring, Bear Stearns found itself sitting on billions of dollars of the stuff. What to do? How about this: Package the toxic, untradeable CDOs (securities backed by subprime mortgages) into a public company — Everquest Financial — and unload it on the usual chumps. That had been the plan all along, but by the time Bear tried to float this lead balloon in June you had to be living under a rock in Siberia not to know this junk wasn't sellable. The IPO was withdrawn.
1. The Public Invests in Blackstone Group It was only a matter of time before the private equity firms let the public in on the game — for an inflated price. Blackstone boss Stephen Schwarzman pocketed half a billion dollars on the firm's $4 billion IPO. Since the IPO debuted, the credit markets seized up and so has the deal flow. After closing at $35.06 on its first day of trading, the stock has slipped 38%. A classic case of selling at the top to the suckers, which would be us — oh, and China too, which invested $3 billion in Blackstone at the height of the leveraged-buyout frenzy. Other private equity IPOs, such as Fortress Investment Group and Och-Ziff Capital Management, took the same route.
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