Is Abby Elliott Dating SNL Co-Star Fred Armisen?

Is Saturday Night Live’s Abby Elliott dating her SNL co-star Fred Armisen? Last week we learned that Armisen and wife, Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss, had split up.

Now comes word that Abby Elliott is the new lady in his life, according to a report from Life & Style.

Who is Abby Elliot? Abby Elliott joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2008. She is the daughter of actor Chris Elliott. And there’s quite an age difference too – Abby is 23, while Fred is 43. Armisen has been on SNL since 2001.

Fred Armisen and Elisabeth Moss had been married for seven months before calling it quits in May (although word just hit the street last week). That was Armisen’s second marriage, for anyone keeping score. … Continue Reading

Stephen Strasburg has strong words for No. 1 pick Bryce …

The Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg had some pointed words for fellow No. 1 draft pick Bryce Harper: “If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here.”

Just like Strasburg a year ago, it appears that Harper and the Nationals will come down to the midnight Monday deadline in an attempt to reach a contract agreement. Harper, a 17-year-old slugger, is represented by Scott Boras, who is known for playing hardball during negotiations.

“If [Harper] wants to play here, he’s going to play here,” Strasburg said Sunday, after pitching five innings in the Nationals’ win over Arizona. “He doesn’t need advice from anybody to convince him otherwise. If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here.” … Continue Reading

Former US figure skating champ Nicole Bobek gets five years …

Former U.S. Figure skating champion Nicole Bobek (r.) was sentenced to five years on probation for her role in a N.J. methamphetamine ring.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Former U.S. figure skating champion Nicole Bobek was ordered to spend five years on probation for her role in a New Jersey methamphetamine ring, a sentence that she said would give her a chance to get her life back on track.

“Nothing but positive things can come out of this,” Bobek said outside the Jersey City courtroom where she was sentenced Monday. “It’s been a long 1 1/2 years. I’m looking to get back onto that ice.”

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty in June to a charge of conspiring to distribute crystal meth. She was among 28 people accused last year of running a network that allegedly distributed $10,000 worth of methamphetamine per week. … Continue Reading

GM CEO steps down on cusp of IPO filing

General Motors Co Chief Executive Ed Whitacre resigned on Thursday in an abrupt move that renewed questions about leadership at the automaker as it readied a stock offering critical to paying back its controversial U.S. government bailout.

Dan Akerson, 61, a veteran private equity investor little known in auto circles, replaces Whitacre, 68, as of September. Akerson had been appointed by the Obama administration as one of the directors meant to safeguard the government’s $50 billion financing to restructure GM.

Whitacre’s departure had been expected, but the timing of his announcement caught even GM insiders off guard, just a day before GM was expected to file the paperwork for a landmark stock offering that would mark its reemergence as a publicly traded company a year after bankruptcy. … Continue Reading

Frankfurt stock market bids for China listings

FRANKFURT (AFP) – More and more small- and medium-sized Chinese enterprises (SME) are listing shares on foreign stock exchanges like Frankfurt, which seeks to attract companies from Asia.

Like many Chinese businessmen, Zhang Yu does not speak English or German.

But that did not stop the clothing designer and manufacturer from launching an initial public offer (IPO) of shares in his company Kinghero last week and raising 15 million euros (20 million dollars) in the process.

A smartly-dressed group of Chinese and German bankers and media watched as Zhang, sporting an oxblood-coloured tie embossed with gold dragons, struck a brass gong three times to mark the start of Kinghero’s listing. … Continue Reading

Disgraced former HP CEO Mark Hurd settles with harassment accuser

Ousted Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd has settled allegations of sexual harassment lodged against him by a female contract worker for HP, a person with intimate knowledge of the case told The Associated Press late Saturday.

The harassment accusations set off a chain of events that led to the discovery of allegedly falsified expense reports about Hurd’s meetings with the woman and culminated in Hurd’s stunning resignation this week that left a hole in the world’s largest technology company.

The person familiar with the case told the AP that hurd agreed to pay the woman, but this person wouldn’t reveal the size of the payment. The settlement was between Hurd and his accuser and did not involve a payment from HP, this person said. … Continue Reading

Townhall News What recession? US outdoor gear makers ‘buoyant’ – Town Hall

Despite an economy hammered by recession, sales have doubled every year for a tiny New Hampshire company that makes tents of all things. But these aren’t just any tents. They are for outdoor enthusiasts _ not families forced out by foreclosures _ and they are definitely not cheap tents.

Nashua-based NEMO Equipment Inc. makes innovative mountaineering tents that stand up on their own without poles, using inflatable air bladders instead for support against the stiffest winds.

The innovative startup with only 13 employees is but one success story in the outdoor gear market that has shown remarkable resilience against economic headwinds. … Continue Reading

In Beijing, Soaring Rents Lead to Crowded Apartments

It’s business as usual at Central Perk. On the plush, brightly colored couches, fashionable 20-somethings lounge around on their lunch breaks, sipping lattes and chatting with friends. Behind the counter, Gunther cleans the gaudy, oversize mugs and puts them away.

It’s a scene comfortably familiar to any fan of the long-running ’90s TV show Friends. But this is not mid-’90s Manhattan; this is Beijing, mid-2010. And the couches are peopled not by hip New Yorkers but by upwardly mobile Chinese young professionals who come in search of the easygoing Friends lifestyle that is increasingly hard to find in Beijing’s stressed housing market.
(See pictures of China on the wild side.)
… Continue Reading

Saudi and RIM in last-ditch talks

OTTAWA/RIYADH — Canada said it is talking to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to resolve a fight over BlackBerry security that could jeopardize the growth of Research in Motion Ltd, the country’s most important tech exporter.

Saudi Arabia said it would ban the BlackBerry Messenger function on Friday if it and RIM do not reach an agreement, though a source with direct knowledge of talks between RIM and the government said they had made progress.

RIM is facing increased pressure to open its smartphones to government scrutiny. Lebanon and India, in addition to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have raised national security concerns over encrypted BlackBerry user data and are demanding access to it. … Continue Reading

Intel’s antitrust tangles, and FTC settlement – YAHOO!

The Federal Trade Commission and Intel Corp. say they have settled an antitrust case against the chip-maker. Intel is the world’s No. 1 maker of microprocessors, the “brains” of personal computers. The FTC has accused Intel of anticompetitive violations in the markets for central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) used in personal computers and servers.

The following is a look at Intel’s previous antitrust tangles: 1991: Intel’s smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., files an antitrust lawsuit against Intel amid years of legal disputes between the companies. 1993: The FTC drops a probe into alleged anticompetitive behavior by Intel. … Continue Reading