Costly Players of IPL..Season 2

1.Kevin Pietersen
He was picked by the Bangalore Royal Challengers for a record amount of $1550000. He has totally scored only 80 runs and three wickets in five matches.

2.Graeme Smith
The Rajasthan Royals player from South Africa who fetched a whopping $ 475000. He has not made an impact in the matches he played so far.

3.MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings skipper. He scored only 57 runs from three matches. He was the surprise pick of the last season. He fetched a massive $1500000.

4.Andrew Flintoff
He also got the same amount that KP fetched. His total contribution for the team is just 62 runs and two wickets from three matches.

5.Brendon McCullum
The Kolkata Knight Riders skipper. His total runs is 25 from the two matches. He got $700000.

6.Jacques Kallis
Total runs scored: 101, Total wicket: One Total matches: Four matches, Price tag: $900000 .

7.Jacob Oram
Total score eight runs and one wicket from one match. His price tag is $675000 .

8.Gautam Gambhir
The Delhi Daredevils opening batsman. Gambhir is yet to prove his character as he made only 31 runs from three matches. His price tag is $725000.

9.Zaheer Khan
The Indian pacer who was bought by the Mumbai Indians for a whopping $ 45000. He picked up no wickets from the three matches he appeared for.

10.VVS Laxman
One of the most experienced Test players of the IPL. He led the Deccan Chargers team last season but it ended up first from bottom in the rankings list. This Hyderabad cricketer failed to prove his skills not only last season but this time too. His franchise got him for a whopping $ 375000.

11.Albie Morkel
The South African all-rounder who has scored only 18 runs from two matches. He picked only two wickets from these matches. His price tag Is $ 650000 .

12.Robin Uthappa
He managed to score only 38 runs from five matches so far. He was very poor behind the wickets too. His price tag was $ 450000

"Worlds-most-expensive-Cities"

1.Moscow, Russia

2.Tokyo, Japan

3.Sydney, Australia

4.Zurich, Switzerland

5.Geneva, Switzerland

6.London, U.K.

7.Paris, France

8.Osaka, Japan

9.Milan, Italy

10.Hong Kong, China

11.Seoul, South Korea

12.Copenhagen, Denmark

13.Tel Aviv, Israel

14.Singapore, Singapore

15.Oslo, Norway

~~World's 9 richest CEOs~~

1. Warren Buffett

Net worth: $52 billion

Designation: Chairman and chief executive, Berkshire Hathaway

Profile: Buffett tops this list. While he's chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, he leaves the running of the holding company's subsidiaries to their own executives. Those subsidiaries include big insurers like Geico and General Re, as well as an mix of other companies like Benjamin Moore Paints, See's Candies and Fruit Of The Loom.

2. Lakshmi Mittal

Net worth: $32 billion

Designation: Chairman and chief executive, ArcelorMittal

Profile: This Indian steel titan is head of ArcelorMittal, the world's leading steelmaker by output. Mittal is the fifth-richest person in the world, according to Forbes' annual billionaires list, released last March.

3. Sheldon Adelson

Net worth: $28 billion

Designation: Chairman and chief executive, Las Vegas Sands

Profile: Adelson made his fortune in trade shows, the best known of which was the annual computer industry confab 'Comdex'. In 1995, he sold his trade show business to Softbank of Japan for around $860 million. He purchased the landmark Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in 1989 and later imploded it to make way for the construction of the luxurious Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. He is also investing billions in casino projects in Macau.

4. Bernard Arnault

Net worth: $26 billion

Designation: Chairman and chief executive of the LVMH Group

Profile: LVMH is a veritable empire of luxury brands: Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon, Moet Hennessy, Dior, Tag Heuer, Givenchy and more.

5. Lawrence Ellison

Net worth: $26 billion

Designation: Chief executive of Oracle

Under Ellison's leadership, Oracle has been on an aggressive buying spree of late.

6. Mukesh Ambani

Net worth: $20.1 billion

Designation: Chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries

Profile: Ambani fulfills the duties of CEO at his company, even though he doesn't carry the title. He is the son of the late Dhirubhai Ambani, the legendary founder of Reliance Industries. A few years after Dhirubhai's death in 2002, his sons split the family fortune, with Mukesh retaining Reliance Industries and Reliance Petroleum.

7. Anil Ambani

Net worth: $18.2 billion

Designation: Chairman of Reliance ADA

Profile: Like his brother Mukesh, Anil doesn't call himself chief executive, even though he shares the duties of a CEO with two other executives at Reliance ADA. A few years after the death of their father Dhirubhai Ambani, Anil took over the family's telecom, finance and power businesses.

8. Michael Dell

Net worth: $17.2 billion

Designation: Chairman and chief executive, Dell

Profile: Dell stepped down as CEO in 2004 to make way for his chief lieutenant, then-Dell president and chief operating officer Kevin Rollins. But the company struggled under Rollins, missing Wall Street earnings estimates and eventually losing its perch atop the PC market to Hewlett-Packard. Dell retook the reins in January of last year.

9. Azim Premji

Net worth: $17.1 billion

Designation: Chairman, Wipro

Profile: Like the Ambani brothers, Premji doesn't hold the title of CEO, but effectively acts like one. His company, Wipro, is one of India's largest IT companies.

Fast PDF viewing right in your Browser

When I get sent a PDF, sometimes I just want to view it -- I don't always need to download and save it right then. So starting today, you'll see a new "View" link next to PDF attachments you get in Gmail.licking "View" quickly opens the PDF inside your browser, complete with the graphics and formatting you expect to see in a PDF. You may have seen this feature before, in Google Docs. It's the way that we did uploading and viewing of PDFs online. Here's a screen shot:

Yahoo co-founder, chief Yang to step down

Jerry Yang, who helped kick start the internet revolution as co-founder of web portal Yahoo, is stepping down as the company's chief executive.

The announcement by the ailing internet giant came after months of falling revenue, fierce proxy battles and a series of botched negotiations that scuttled what now seems to have been an exceedingly generous buyout offer from Microsoft.

Yahoo said that the search for a successor had already started and that Yang will leave after his replacement is found.

'Jerry and the board have had an ongoing dialogue about succession timing, and we all agree that now is the right time to make the transition to a new CEO who can take the company to the next level,' Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement.

Yang took over at the company's helm last year as Yahoo fell behind web-search powerhouse Google in attracting users and advertisers to its properties. He soon faced fierce criticism for rejecting a $47.5-billion takeover by Microsoft, in a deal that would have valued Yahoo at almost three times what it is worth today.

Microsoft's offer was worth $33 per share, while Yahoo traded at just $10.63 per share at the close of Monday trading.

'Having set Yahoo on a new, more open path, the time is right for me to transition the CEO role and our global talent to a new leader,' Yang said.

'I will continue to focus on global strategy and to do everything I can to help Yahoo realise its full potential and enhance its leading culture of technology and product excellence and innovation,' he said.

~I am Driving Call me later!!!!

Our cellphone is our new best friend. Admit it, we never fail to answer a call; even when we're driving, we can get hit, we know. We have to remember to turn the phone off which we never do or ignore a ringing phone which is tougher for us.

There's a technological marvel at hand for this problem thanks to Aegis Mobility, a Canadian software company. They have made a software named as 'DriveAssistT' that detects whether a cellphone is moving at 'car speeds'.When that happens, the software will alert the cellular network, telling it to hold calls and text messages until the drive is over! Awesome, but the software doesn't completely block incoming calls. Callers will hear a message saying the person they're calling appears to be driving. They can hit a button to leave an emergency voice mail.

~List of the world richest persons~

#1 Warren Buffett

Age: 77

Fortune: self made

Source: Berkshire Hathaway

Net Worth: $62.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Omaha, Nebraska , United States, North America

Industry: Investments

Marital Status: widowed, remarried, 3 children

Education: University of Nebraska Lincoln, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Columbia University, Master of Science
America's most beloved investor is now the world's richest man. Soared past friend and bridge partner Bill Gates as shares of Berkshire Hathaway climbed 25% since the middle of last July. Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia. Took over textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965. Today holding company invested in insurance (Geico, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim's), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), food (Dairy Queen, See's Candies). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo. Insurance operations flourished in 2007. "That party is over. It's a certainty that insurance-industry profit margins, including ours, will fall significantly in 2008." The Oracle of Omaha issued a challenge to members of The Forbes 400 in October; said he would donate $1 million to charity if the collective group of richest Americans would admit they pay less taxes, as a percentage of income, than their secretaries. Had long promised to give away his fortune posthumously. Irrevocably earmarked the majority of his Berkshire shares to charity in 2006, mostly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gift was valued at $31 billion on day of announcement; donation will far exceed that sum so long as Berkshire shares continue to rise.

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#2 Carlos Slim Helu & family


Age: 68

Fortune: self made

Source: telecom

Net Worth: $60.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Mexico

Residence: Mexico City , Mexico, Latin America

Industry: Communications

Marital Status: widowed, 6 children

Education: NA

Second-richest man in the world this year; even richer than Microsoft's Bill Gates, at least for now, thanks to strong Mexican equities market and the performance of his wireless telephone company, America Movil. The son of a Lebanese immigrant, Slim made his first fortune in 1990 when he bought fixed line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in a privatization. In December, America Movil struck a deal with Yahoo to provide mobile Web services to 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A widower and father of six, Slim is a baseball fan and art collector. He keeps his art collection in Mexico City's Museo Soumaya, which he named after his late wife. In recent years, he has donated close to $7 billion worth of cash and stock to fund education and health projects, and to the revitalization of Mexico City's downtown historical district.

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#3 William Gates III


Age: 52

Fortune: self made

Source: Microsoft

Net Worth: $58.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Medina, Washington , United States, North America

Industry: Software

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: Harvard University, Drop Out

Harvard dropout and Microsoft visionary no longer the world's richest man. Blame Yahoo: Microsoft shares have fallen 15% since the company boldly attempted to merge with the search engine giant to better fight Google for Internet dominance. Gates is preparing to give up day-to-day involvement in the company he cofounded 33 years ago to spend more time focused on his philanthropic endeavors. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has $38.7 billion in assets, donates to causes aimed at bringing financial tools to the poor, speeding up the development of vaccines (for AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis), bettering America's lagging high schools. Sells 20 million Microsoft shares every quarter, proceeds going to private investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of net worth now outside of Microsoft. Company spent $6 billion to land Web ad firm Aquantive last May. Would-be rival to Apple's iPod, the Zune, not yet a hit. Believes Microsoft's far-flung bets, including 10-year affair with Internet-based television, may soon pay off; says next 10 years will be the "most interesting" in software history.

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#4 Lakshmi Mittal

Age: 57

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: steel

Net Worth: $45.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: London , United Kingdom, Europe & Russia

Industry: Manufacturing

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: St Xavier's College Calcutta, Bachelor of Arts / Science

Heads world's largest steelmaker, $105 billion (sales) ArcelorMittal, which accounts for 10% of all crude steel production. Just delivered 580 tons to be used in construction of the World Trade Center memorial in New York. With 44% stake, is the company's largest shareholder. Longtime resident of London is Europe's richest resident.

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#5 Mukesh Ambani


Age: 50

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: petrochemicals

Net Worth: $43.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: Mumbai , India, Asia & Australia

Industry: Manufacturing

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: University of Bombay, Bachelor of Chemical Engineering
Stanford University, Master of Business Administration
Asia's richest resident heads petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market cap. His fortune is up $22.9 billion since last year, making him the world's second biggest gainer in terms of dollars. The biggest gainer was his estranged brother Anil, who ranks 6th in the world just behind his older brother. The sons inherited their fortune from their late father, renowned industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani. But they couldn't get along and in 2005 their mother brokered a peace settlement breaking up the family's assets. Mukesh is using some of his money to build a 27-story home.

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#6 Anil Ambani


Age: 48

Fortune: inherited

Source: diversified

Net Worth: $42.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: Mumbai , India, Asia & Australia

Industry: Diversified

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: University of Bombay, Bachelor of Arts / Science
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, Master of Business Administration
The year's biggest gainer, Anil Ambani, is up $23.8 billion in the past year, and is closing gap with estranged brother, Mukesh, who ranks one spot ahead of him in the world at number five. The sons inherited their fortune from their late father, renowned industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani. But they couldn't get along and in 2005 their mother brokered a peace settlement breaking up the family's assets. A marathon runner, his biggest asset is his 65% stake in telecom venture Reliance Communications. He recently raised $3 billion from the highly anticipated initial offering of his Reliance Power, the biggest in India's history. Despite the hype, the stock tumbled 17% immediately after its February listing. In a bid to appease investors, company's board recently approved the issue of bonus shares. Still feuding with brother Mukesh: battling him in court over a gas-supply agreement.

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#7 Ingvar Kamprad & family
Age: 81

Fortune: self made

Source: Ikea

Net Worth: $31.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Sweden

Residence: Lausanne , Switzerland, Europe & Russia

Industry: Retailing

Marital Status: married, 4 children

Education: NA

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Now his company Ikea, which sells hip designs for the cost conscious, is one of the most beloved retailers in the world, with an almost cultlike following. Ikea now has stores in 40 countries, from Sunrise, Florida, to Guangzhou in China. As egalitarian as his brand, Kamprad avoids wearing suits, flies economy class and frequents cheap restaurants. Has been quoted as saying that his luxuries are the occasional nice cravat and Swedish fish roe. Says his home is furnished mostly with his own Ikea products. Last May was awarded the Global Economy Prize by the University of Kiel for his contributions to society.

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#8 KP Singh


Age: 76

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: real estate

Net Worth: $30.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: Delhi , India, Asia & Australia

Industry: Real Estate

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: NA

Singh is now the world's richest real estate baron after listing his real estate development company DLF in 2007. The offering helped triple his fortune to $30 billion this year, up from $10 billion. A former army officer, known as K.P., he joined his father-in-law's Delhi Land & Finance in 1961. Singh later built DLF City in Gurgaon, his showpiece township on the outskirts of Delhi, by acquiring land from farmers. Over time, he transformed it into one of India's biggest real estate developers. Group plans to raise another $1.5 billion by listing a subsidiary in Singapore. A keen golfer, he now leaves son Rajiv, daughter Pia to run operations.

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#9 Oleg Deripaska
Age: 40

Fortune: self made

Source: Russian Aluminum

Net Worth: $28.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Russia

Residence: Moscow , Russia, Europe & Russia

Industry: Diversified

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: NA

Former metals trader survived the gangster wars in the post-Soviet aluminum industry. His holding company, Basic Element, now owns Russian Aluminum (UC Rusal), automobile manufacturer GAZ, aircraft manufacturer Aviacor and insurance company Ingosstrakh. In 2006 Rusal, SUAL and Glencore International, of Switzerland, merged their aluminum assets into the United Company Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer. Married to a relative of Yeltsin, Deripaska has been busy expanding UC Rusal's activities in Russia and abroad, moving it into aluminum production in Nigeria and China. To integrate vertically, has signed agreements to produce coal in Kazakhstan and invest in a nuclear power plant in eastern Russia. Attempting to get a stake in Norilsk Nickel, which co-owner (and fellow billionaire) Vladimir Potanin is fighting.

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#10 Karl Albrecht
Age: 88

Fortune: self made

Source: Aldi

Net Worth: $27.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Germany

Residence: Mulheim an der Ruhr , Germany, Europe & Russia

Industry: Retailing

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: NA

Germany's richest man. After World War II Karl and his younger brother, Theo, developed their mother's corner grocery store into discount supermarket giant Aldi, which now has more than 8,000 stores and $67 billion in sales. They eventually split ownership and management of the chain into North and South regions. Now retired, Karl used to manage more profitable southern half of Aldi's business in Germany. Fiercely private: Little known about him other than that he apparently raises orchids and plays golf.