The Weather Channel:Winter Storm Brutus-Really?

Is The Weather Channel embarked on a serious effort or a publicity stunt by naming winter storms this season?So far,no one else is acknowledging the practice or the names.
The National Weather Service has forbidden its employees from using TWC names for winter weather systems.In a statement,the NWS said it has no opinion about private weather enterprise products and services.A winter storm's impact can vary from one location to another,and storms can weaken and redevelop,making it difficult to define where one ends and another begins.While the NWS does not name winter storms,we do rate major winter storms after the fact.
TWC competitor AccuWeather complained that we are concerned about the lack of strict criteria with naming winter storms.TWC lists its criteria as being 1.an event that involves snow and ice and/or extreme temperatures or wind;2.that significantly affects travel;3.and that the network thinks people need to know about.
TWC winter weather expert Tom Niziol said that an organized system of naming winter storms will raise public awareness of the weather system and make it easier to track its progress and plan ahead.If we can hashtag a storm with a name,that leads to a one-stop shop to exchange information about a storm.
He predicts 6-8 named winter weather events for the season.They have already named two storms,however,and it's only November-not even winter yet.
In Germany,naming storms has gone even further.There,people and companies pay for naming rights to weather systems.The Weather Channel's naming venture may seem more fiasco than forecasting to many observers.It will be interesting to see if the iconoclastic project makes them more the subject of ridicule than enhances their credibility as a leader in the field of meteorology.
The Weather Channel is co-owned by NBC Universal;Bain Capital;and The Blackstone Group,L.P.

The Business Climate:Confidence An Absolute Factor

Lakshman Achuthan,Research Director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute,thinks the global industrial growth rate is slowing.The question is,does the slowdown turn into an outright recession?Every time you have a slowdown,the risk of recession does go up.
Confidence absolutely factors into Mr.Achuthan's work.It is a large driver of the business cycle,both from the consumer and the corporate side.You have a giant era of pessimism following a crisis.That's exactly what you're seeing now,Mr.Achuthan believes.
Byron Wien,a Vice-President at The Blackstone Group,L.P.,notes that people aren't buying stocks because they're worried there's a structural impairment.We're deleveraging,and on that basis growth is gonna be slow.This is a fear trade.
Since 2000,there's been zero return on equities.One percent return on Treasuries is better than zero.Eighty percent of the time,the market does go up over the course of a decade,but the days of a 15% return over a 20 year period are not coming back,Mr.Wien cautioned.
Treasury yields have been pushed to record lows as investors distrustful of the recovery seek the traditional safe havens.
The Blackstone Group,L.P.(BX)

Hotel Chain Relocates

A holding of private equity firm The Blackstone Group,L.P.,Hilton Hotels,is moving its headquarters from pricey Beverly Hills,California,to Washington,D.C. suburb Tysons Corner,Virginia.Hilton has signed a lease for 100,000 square feet of a 300,000 square foot office building called Park Place II.The property is owned by B.F.Saul and is 17% leased.The move from Beverly Hills was announced in January,and should be accomplished by autumn 2009.Stephen Schwarzman is Blackstone co-founder and CEO.