Menswear takes the stage today in London for LFW’s dedicated Man Day. And few better places for it. “The menswear scene in London has exploded in the past few years,” says Style.com’s Tim Blanks, and now in association with www.thecorner.com and the British Fashion Council, he’s working to support some of the rising stars. Tomorrow, thecorner.com launches a mini-store online retail space to showcase designs from four emerging Brit menswear talents: Christopher Raeburn, J.W. Anderson, Christopher Shannon,Wholesale Abercrombie jeans, and James Long. In this Style.com exclusive video, Tim Blanks introduces a few of the guys to know.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) A senior International Monetary Fund official said on Monday that China was taking steps to reduce property bubble risks and said it has room to add fiscal stimulus if conditions worsen.

“China can move away from its reliance on external demand and needs to build up domestic demand,wholesale Ed hardy hats,” said Anoop Singh, the IMF director for Asia and the Pacific at a news conference. He said Beijing was working on measures to stimulate demand.

“We don’t see (a) hard-landing risk as likely,” Singh added, noting property prices were moderating and sales volumes declining.

“Our sense is that these risks are being addressed and our prediction is clear: that growth will remain above 8 percent at the baseline and that if there were to be greater risks externally China has sufficient fiscal space to respond.”

(Reporting By Glenn Somerville; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

MILAN (Reuters) Fashion designers brushed up capes, trench coats and pinstripe suits to enliven the wardrobes of businessmen who want to cut their way through the gloom.

Chinese buyers were again the top guests at the Milan menswear week ended Tuesday, confirming their influence on an industry relying on Asia to shield itself from European headwinds.

“The luxury industry is doing well because emerging markets are offsetting less encouraging results in the old continent,” Gianluca Brozzetti, chief executive of Roberto Cavalli, said.

Cavalli worked his traditional animal theme into new intricate prints for the winter season, while Italian brand Ermenegildo Zegna dressed relaxed travelers with alpaca parkas, natural-shouldered jackets and long, straight pants.

“Businessmen must go on a fiscal diet, but also keep on travelling around the world,” Chairman Paolo Zegna told Reuters.

It could be a reaction to the crisis, but designers showed new ideas, sometimes drawing inspiration from their archives.

Creative Director Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta printed classic suits in fabrics of different weight, from alpaca to cashmere. “It’s a very buttoned-up look, but with room for individual interpretation,” he said.

Gucci, like Bottega Veneta owned by French group PPR, proposed a romantic dandy with softly oversized pieces in floral prints and jackets reminiscent of the 70s.

STAR POWER

Overcoats returned at Prada, which played with power and palazzo intrigues in a star-studded show.

Trend-setter designer Miuccia Prada lined up a sensational group of actors including Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth and Emile Hirsch, who modeled in double-breasted coats adorned with medal-like brooches.

Coats and capes played again the leading role at Dolce & Gabbana, who boiled, aged and painted traditional pinstripe and Prince of Wales fabrics for their sartorial suits.

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said they used gold filigree threads for their Baroque-inspired evening suits, adding exclusivity to a collection that appeals to the wealthy.

Glitter also dominated at Versace, where denim-clad models wore golden studs and tuxedos encrusted with crystals.

Donatella Versace also pinned gold medals on jackets, giving a military allure also seen at Prada,wholesale Citizens of Humanity jeans, while pinstriped suits came in new geometric patterns.

Gold also shone on gloves and leather bags at the more traditional Burberry Prorsum’s show, where elegant country gentlemen carried umbrellas with owl-head handles.

English tweed returned at Giorgio Armani, who created four-dart trousers.

Soft velvet and wools dominated the collection of Salvatore Ferragamo, whose creative director Massimiliano Giornetti mixed coats and jackets in different lengths, often paired with oversized scarves.

Blue will be the main color next season, which will also play with contrasts and multi-layered clothes.

Large, soft bags were all the rage at the shows, while shoes ranged from evening slippers to high-heeled boots to satisfy all needs.

(Reporting by Antonella Ciancio)

Suphanburi Governor Somsak Phureesrisak told TPBS TV by telephone the three were killed as at least 20 houses burned down late Tuesday.

Somjate Promsuntorn, head of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, said at least 20 people were injured. A local hospital, however, told Springnews.tv that it had treated 57 people.

He told TV Channel 9 the celebration would continue but without any more fireworks.

The fireworks were part of an elaborate celebration led by former Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa. His political machine dominates prosperous rice-growing Suphanburi province.

BANGKOK Fireworks set off during an official Chinese New Year celebration have sparked a blaze that burned homes, killed three people and injured others in central Thailand.

Revenue grew 12 percent to $26.67 billion. Analysts expected $26.76 billion.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS Caremark Corp.’s third-quarter net income climbed 7 percent as a long-term contract and an acquisition gave it more pharmacy network claims to process.

The Woonsocket, R.I., drugstore operator on Thursday also raised the low end of its full-year profit forecast, saying the Caremark pharmacy benefits business performed better than the company expected during the quarter. Competitor Walgreen Co. also said its sales are being hurt by a contract dispute with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc., and CVS could be in position to pick up some of Walgreen’s sales.

Revenue from pharmacy services, including Caremark, climbed 26 percent helped by a new long-term contract with health insurer Aetna Inc. and the acquisition of Universal American Corp.’s Medicare prescription drug business. Pharmacy network claims processed during the quarter rose 40 percent to 179.2 million.

CVS Caremark runs the second-largest chain of drugstores in the U.S., after Walgreen. CVS had 7,304 stores at the end of the quarter, up from 7,152 a year ago. Its Caremark business is one of the largest pharmacy benefits managers, businesses that handle prescription drug benefits. Pharmacy benefits managers are paid to reduce costs for health plan sponsors and members. CVS Caremark handles hundreds of millions of prescriptions every year and uses its size to negotiate lower prices with manufacturers.

Walgreen reported its October sales on Thursday. Its sales at stores open at least a year grew 2.5 percent, but Walgreen said that comparison would have risen 3.1 percent if it were not losing clients because of a dispute with Express Scripts. Walgreen and Express Scripts are to stop doing business together at the end of 2011. Walgreen says Express Scripts is not paying it enough to fill prescriptions, and Express Scripts says Walgreen wants too much.

CVS Caremark reported net income of $868 million, or 65 cents per share, for the three months that ended Sept. 30. That compares with $809 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net income had slumped at Caremark in recent years with the loss of some contracts, but the company expects profit in the division to grow in 2012. On Jan. 1, Caremark began administering Aetna’s retail pharmacy network and managing purchasing and prescription filling for Aetna’s mail-order and specialty pharmacy businesses. The 12-year contract is still ramping up, but it is expected to bring CVS Caremark $8.2 billion in revenue in 2011.

“CVS appears to be benefiting from some marketplace disruption as well as attention to the execution, both in the front of the store and the PBM business. The company may just be in the right place at the right time,” Shove said.

During the third quarter Express Scripts and Medco, two of Caremark’s largest competitors, agreed to combine. If regulators approve that deal, the resulting company would be about twice the size of Caremark.

Tom Murphy contributed to this story from Indianapolis.

Total revenue from drugstores rose 4 percent to $14.69 billion. Revenue at stores open at least a year, a key measure of retailers’ health, grew 2.3 percent.

CVS Caremark now expects 2011 adjusted earnings of $2.77 to $2.81 per share, compared with its previous forecast of $2.75 to $2.81 per share. Analysts had expected $2.76.

Adjusted earnings, which exclude amortization tied to acquisitions, were 70 cents per share, above analyst expectations for 67 cents, according to FactSet.

CVS said it’s not being affected by the fallout, but that could change when the break-up is final. BMO Capital Markets analyst Dave Shove said uncertainty over the Scripts dispute and Express Scripts’ impending purchase of Medco Health Solution Inc. seem to be helping CVS.

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CVS also expanded its Medicare Part D business by acquiring the Universal American unit at the end of April for $1.25 billion. It said that deal will bring $5.5 billion in additional revenue in 2012.

Shares of CVS Caremark rose $1.52, or 4.3 percent, to close Thursday at $37.29.

How will Alice Walton’s megalithic Crystal Bridges museum attract art aficionados to its scenic (read: backwoods) location of Bentonville, Arkansas? Well, making admission free is one strategy. A newly announced $20 million sponsorship gift from Walmart, a company founded and owned by the Walton family, will pay for all Crystal Bridges visitors, forever. Take that, MoMA and your new $25 ticket price!

The Arkansas Times reports that the gift might not be all that it appears, though. “There may be an additional charge for special exhibitions,” the paper reports. “General admission will be free. Museum members will receive complimentary or discounted admission to select exhibits and events.” So if the museum happens to be hosting a blockbuster show like the Met’s Alexander McQueen exhibition, for example, visitors will be on the hook for some extra money.

Few museums are as well endowed as Crystal Bridges has become, even before its public opening. The museum was the recipient of an $800 million gift from the Walton Family Foundation; in comparison, the Museum of Modern Art’s 2009 endowment was reported at $818 million. Crystal Bridges likely has little need for income from admission, which typically makes up less than 10 percent of a museum’s operating budget anyway.

The Walmart gift seems to be less about attracting tourists than about encouraging a local audience for the new museum. “The Northwest Arkansas community is so important to us” as a work and social center for the Arkansas-headquartered company’s employees, says Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke in a press release. “We are excited about the cultural opportunities Crystal Bridges is bringing to our area and even more excited that our families, friends, and neighbors will experience it at no cost.”

NEW YORK A bitter contract dispute has led to a lockout of musicians at the New York City Opera, a possible “death knell” for a company that’s nurtured such singers as Renee Fleming, Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills.

On Sunday, hours after talks broke down, the cash-strapped company canceled Monday rehearsals for a Feb. 12 opening production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” in Brooklyn.

“This is a very sad day for what once was a spectacular cultural icon and for the people who performed its music,” said Alan Gordon, national executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists representing the chorus, stage directors and principal singers.

Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians represents the orchestra. Both unions have been without a contract since the spring.

Gail Kruvand, chairwoman of the orchestra union’s negotiating committee and its assistant principal bass player, said union members “made a good-faith effort to say that, yes, we are willing to sacrifice for the sake of ensuring that the grand tradition of the City Opera lives on.”

But she said the company’s rejection of union proposals could be “the death knell for one of New York’s cultural treasures.”

City Opera is now operating on a shoestring, offering orchestra and chorus members minimum fees for an already abbreviated season. City Opera moved out of its longtime home at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts last year,wholesale Ed hardy underwear, citing financial troubles, and cut back its usual schedule of 12 to 16 operas per season, with a peak of about 130 performances.

In a statement, the company said it had “no choice but to lock out” union members because they rejected the company’s economic offer and had threatened to strike when performances began, according to a statement released Sunday. Both labor unions have passed strike-authorization votes.

City Opera General Manager George Steel said his company couldn’t enter rehearsals with a musician strike looming for performances scheduled in February at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, one of the various venues around New York booked for 16 shows of four productions.

However, “we have no intention of hiring replacement workers,” company spokeswoman Risa Heller said. She didn’t know whether that meant the season wouldn’t open next month.

The opera and the unions have been in talks with Allison Beck, deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, since mid-December. Those negotiations broke down Saturday night.

The musicians rejected the company’s offer, saying the financially diminished company doesn’t guarantee work or pay. Steel said the company, facing “economic constraints,” can only afford to pay people “for the work that they do.”f

Under a contract management proposed in early December, the musicians’ average annual income would drop from about $40,000 to as little as $5,000 for two productions. For decades, musicians were guaranteed at least 22 weeks’ work.

City Opera’s troubles started about a decade ago with multimillion-dollar deficits, followed by the appointment of Belgian director Gerard Mortier as general manager and artistic director, effective as of the 2009-2010 season. Accustomed to staging expensive, cutting-edge extravaganzas in Europe, he insisted that City Opera’s theater be renovated, forcing the company to go dark for the 2008-2009 season, with only six unstaged performances elsewhere.

The economy’s free-fall was a last straw for the 69-year-old company that former New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia dubbed “the people’s opera.”

Income from ticket sales during the dark season plunged to about $186,000, down from $12 million. And the company raided its endowment to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

Mortier resigned from his position about six months before he was officially to start, on grounds that the operating budget had dwindled.

“We’re heartbroken, but we cannot save the company,” said Kruvand, the bass player.

She said City Opera has been “unable to sell tickets or attract donors” mostly because Steel abandoned the company’s longtime practice of staging surefire operas along with pioneering new works. Recently, the company has presented mostly 20th-century operas that are a box office challenge.

Kruvand noted that the current general manager still makes more than $300,000 after a 10 percent pay cut, while the musicians face about a 90 percent cut in earnings.

“We don’t feel George Steel is capable of running an opera company,” said Kruvand, adding that when the star soprano Sills became general manager in the 1980s, she led a company “that was a platform for nurturing careers.”

Speaking for Steel, Heller said that the unions “have repeatedly vilified George.”

But the negotiating process is “not about any one person,” she said. “This is about whether the unions will finally recognize that the City Opera needs to make fundamental changes in the way it operates so that it only pays people for work they perform.”

Gordon, the union leader, called the latest labor impasse “City Opera’s death.”

PASADENA, Calif. Comic Kathy Griffin is never shy about offering her opinions. Soon she’ll have a weekly outlet for them.

The Bravo network said Saturday that it will premiere “Kathy,” a once-a-week talk show hosted by Griffin sometime this spring. The network hasn’t decided when it will air regularly.

Bravo promised that “this will be the destination to get Griffin’s thoughts on everything pop culture as she rants on the week’s biggest headlines and tabloid gossip.” The show will also feature stand-up comedy,Cheap Juicy Couture, celebrity interviews and taped segments.

In addition, Griffin will perform two stand-up comedy specials on Bravo this year.

NEW YORK Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer has more juice than the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, but the lingerie-clad runway models trump Santa Claus.

It’s the holiday season, mixing in old and new traditions with typical prime-time television fare. Holiday specials can earn Nielsen ratings company bragging rights, too.

“Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer” was the most-watched special of last week, with more than 12 million viewers, with the advantage of being on CBS’ powerful Tuesday night. The Victoria’s Secret special, also on CBS on Tuesday, was second with 10.4 million viewers. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Rockefeller Center had 9.4 million viewers, one of NBC’s strongest shows for the week. Specials highlighting the Grinch and Santa Claus, both on ABC, each had fewer than 8 million viewers.

The most-watched prime-time show of the week wasn’t really a show. Fox calls it “The OT,” but it’s really just football highlights shown when Sunday’s late afternoon game runs long, and in this case it was a gripping finish between the New York Giants and the unbeaten Green Bay Packers. The Packers beat the Giants 38-35 on a last-second field goal to move to 12-0.

CBS won the post-Thanksgiving week, averaging 9 million viewers (5.6 rating,Cheap Juicy Couture, 9 share) in prime time.

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

Fox had 8.6 million viewers (5.1, 8), NBC had 7.3 million (4.6, 7), ABC had 6.5 million (4.0, 6), the CW had 1.6 million (1.1, 2) and ION Television had 1.2 million (0.8, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.4 million average in prime time (1.7, 3), Telemundo had 1.3 million (0.7, 1), TeleFutura had 630,000 (0.3, 1), Estrella had 260,000 (0.1, 0) and Azteca had 240,000 (also 0.1, 0).

NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.7 million viewers (6.4, 12). ABC’s “World News” was second with 8.1 million (5.4, 10), and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.6 million viewers (4.5, 8).

For the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “The OT,” Fox, 19.39 million; NFL Football: Detroit at New Orleans, NBC, 18.9 million; “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 14.79 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 13.37 million; “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer,” CBS, 12.64 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 11.88 million; “Football Night in America,” NBC, 11.21 million; “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 11.052 million; “Survivor: South Pacific,” CBS, 11.047 million; “The X-Factor” (Wednesday), Fox, 11.045 million.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

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Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

WASHINGTON An Education Department official on Wednesday admonished Hawaii for its “unsatisfactory” performance under a $75 million federal grant the state won last year in a high profile competition and said it was placing it under “high risk” status. That means the state is in danger of losing the money if it doesn’t make improvements.

This is the first time the department has placed under such a status a state that won dollars distributed in the competition known as “Race to the Top.” The contest is a signature education initiative under the Obama administration, which has used it to encourage states to enact changes it supports.

Hawaii was one of 11 states and the District of Columbia to win more than $4 billion in Race to the Top grants last year. The Hawaii Department of Education is the nation’s 10th largest school system and the only statewide district in the country.

The education community has been watching closely to see how aggressively the department will enforce the terms of the competition.

Hawaii still has about $72 million of its four-year, $75 million grant left to spend. The state has been well over a year behind in implementing many aspects of its plan to improve low-performing schools, and has struggled to roll out a teacher evaluation system tied to teacher performance that it promised.

“The department is concerned about the state’s ability to fulfill its commitments within the grant period,” Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie was told in a letter dated Wednesday and signed by Education Department official Ann Whalen.

Because the state is now a high-risk grantee, it will be required to get pre-approval before funds are spent and will be subjected to a thorough on-site review, the letter said.

“Please note that failure to comply with the high-risk conditions may constitute a material failure to comply with the requirements of the grant,” the letter said.

Abercrombie said he found the implications of the letter “disturbing.”

“I am willing to do everything that’s necessary to proceed with Race to the Top and am calling on the responsible parties to immediately address the areas that need resolution,” he said in an emailed statement late Wednesday.

“It’s really apparent from the letter that everyone involved in education in Hawaii is going to have to step up,wholesale Ed hardy shoes,” Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said in a separate statement. “We acknowledge there’s work to be done.”

Stephen Schatz, Hawaii’s assistant superintendent for strategic reform who is overseeing the Race to the Top effort, last week told The Associated Press that the state was making progress on reforms it promised, although he said there have been roadblocks.

Schatz said the state’s ability to move forward has been slowed down by complications with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the union representing public school teachers across the islands.

The two sides had reached a conceptual agreement before Hawaii was announced as a winner to tie half of a teacher’s evaluation to education gains made by students. But the union currently is embroiled in a prohibited practice complaint it lodged with the state labor relations board against the state. The union claims the state violated members’ rights by implementing its “last, best and final” contract offer over the summer.

“We’re still wholeheartedly committed to the reforms in the race. Whatever impediments that we may face we intend to get through them,” Schatz said. “We’re making progress on every project in our scope of work.”

Abercrombie said he would ask the labor relations board to expedite its process. He also plans to appeal to the Legislature for support and ask the superintendent, Board of Education and those working on Race to the Top to address the changes noted by the Education Department.

“It is clear on what actions need to take place and it is time to get this done now,” he said.

Union President Wil Okabe said Wednesday he’s not surprised Hawaii has been placed on high risk status, but that state officials should have recognized the risk to the grant when imposing the contract offer on teachers.

“Once they implemented this thing, it had ramifications on everything,” he said, adding that it’s unfair to blame the union for the position the state is in.

The letter to Abercrombie comes as President Barack Obama attempts to leave for Hawaii for his family’s annual Christmas vacation. The president’s wife and daughters are already in Hawaii, but his travel plans are up in the air because Congress has been unable to reach agreement over extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits due to expire at the end of the year.

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Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling

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Kelleher reported from Honolulu.

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Online:

Education Department: http://www.ed.gov/

Hawaii Public Schools: http://doe.k12.hi.us/