Selena Gomez, Nat Wolff Fall Into 'Racy Behavior' In 'Behaving Badly'

'It's this wild, dark comedy involving mafia and strippers and dead people,' Wolff tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by James Lacsina

Nat Wolff
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709665/selena-gomez-nat-wolff-behaving-badly.jhtml

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Seed giant Monsanto's fiscal 3Q profit slips 3 pct

Monsanto's fiscal third quarter earnings slipped 3 percent, as hits to the agricultural product maker's cotton and soybean segments weighed on results.

The St. Louis company also said Wednesday that it tried to plant a seed for future growth by eating some drought-related expenses in the recently completed quarter.

Monsanto said the 2012 drought that parched stretches of the United States forced it to use South American greenhouses more to produce corn seeds. That contributed to a 7 percent increase in cost of goods sold in this year's quarter. Monsanto decided to eat the higher expenses tied to seed production instead of passing them along through price hikes.

CEO Hugh Grant told analysts during a Wednesday morning call the company saw that as "an investment in our customer base," one they hope helps customer sentiment and profitability next year.

The move was more than just a public relations stunt, according to Morningstar analyst Jeff Stafford. He said Monsanto has turned off some farmers in the past by introducing new seeds at very high prices.

"They are acutely aware of driving prices year over year and what that means in their relationship with farmers," he said.

Overall, Monsanto earned $909 million, or $1.68 per share, in the quarter ended May 31, down from $937 million, or $1.74 per share, a year ago.

Earnings totaled $1.66 per share, not counting a tax matter resolution.

Revenue inched up less than 1 percent to $4.25 billion. In contrast, Monsanto's revenue had soared 17 percent in last year's quarter when the mild spring that preceded the drought allowed farmers to sow crops earlier.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.61 per share on $4.41 billion in revenue for this year's quarter, according to FactSet.

Several analysts cited a lower tax rate as the main factor behind the better-than-expected earnings.

Monsanto Co. makes seeds for crops like corn, soybean, cotton and wheat and crop protection chemicals like the herbicide Roundup. The agricultural giant produces genetically engineered seeds used by farmers for their pest resistance and ability to produce bigger crops.

Many U.S. farmers credited genetic modifications in corn with saving last year's crop from all but total devastation as half of the nation endured the worst drought in 60 years. But these crops also have drawn criticism from organic food advocates who say they are harmful to people and the environment. Last month, protesters organized "March Against Monsanto" rallies in several countries over genetically modified food.

Monsanto has maintained that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.

Corn, which is used for food, fuel, animal feed and soda syrup, is by far Monsanto's largest unit, and revenue from that segment climbed 3 percent to $1.56 billion in the quarter.

But revenue from its soybean and cotton segments both fell. The company saw fewer acres of cotton planted.

Stafford said Brazilian farmers helped pressure the soybean segment because they stopped paying royalties on a brand of seeds.

Revenue from the company's agricultural productivity segment, which includes herbicides, climbed 9 percent to $1.19 billion.

Monsanto, which has touted its corn seed and international growth prospects, said late last month that it expects earnings growth of more than 20 percent in fiscal 2013 from its on-going businesses. It forecast annual adjusted earnings, which exclude some one-time items, of $4.50 to $4.55 per share and reaffirmed that prediction on Wednesday.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $4.58 per share.

Shares of Monsanto fell 56 cents to close at $100.84 Wednesday. Its shares had peaked for the past year at $109.33 in mid-May. Monsanto shares are up 7 percent so far in 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/seed-giant-monsantos-fiscal-3q-profit-slips-3-184619223.html

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Icelandic Fin Whale Hunt Resumes, Stirs Debate

Icelandic whalers angered environmentalists around the world this month by resuming their hunt for the endangered fin whale ? the second largest marine mammal after the blue whale. But the hunt may not threaten the population as terribly as some fear.

Two of the 184 fin whales permitted by this summer's quota have hit port so far last week, according to the Icelandic Directorate of Fisheries. For many whale conservationists, that's two too many for a species that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed as endangered in 2010. The Natural Resources Defense Council has drafted a public petition urging the U.S. government to impose economic sanctions on Iceland in response to the hunt, and groups around the world have taken similar action. An online petition addressed to the Dutch government has gathered more than 1 million signatures this month.

But Gisli Vikingsson, head whale researcher with Iceland's Marine Research Institute, argues the endangered species listing is misleading, and that this summer's hunt will not seriously threaten the mammal's vitality. Whereas the Southern Hemisphere fin whale population ? which once constituted 80 percent of the world's population ? suffered greatly from 20th-century commercial whaling and has failed to rebound, the North Atlantic population has grown in recent decades. [Images of Whales: Giants of the Deep]

"There are several fin whale populations in the world, although it is all called one species," Vikingsson told LiveScience. "The sole reason for the poor status of this species is the Southern Hemisphere."

Vikingsson estimates the central North Atlantic population could be as high as 25,000 individuals, based on a survey conducted in 2007. Given this population size, Vikingsson does not believe this summer's quota of up to 184 individuals will threaten the North Atlantic stock.

"We have firm grounds to believe that there is an abundance, even using a precautionary approach," Vikingsson said.

Iceland has defied the wishes of whale conservationists since 1986, when the government refused to abide by the International Whaling Commission's global moratorium on whaling. They did instate a ban on commercial whaling from 1989 through 2006, but continued hunting for research purposes.

"Icelanders, we live from the resources of the sea," said Asta Einarsdottir, senior legal expert with the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries. "So [whaling] is really part of our culture and tradition and our well-being."

The majority of the fin whales caught are destined for Japan, where the market has strengthened since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. In fact, fin whale hunting was cancelled in 2011 and 2012, primarily due to the economic downturn in Japan after Fukushima, The Guardian reports.

"This is done with much precaution, so we would never take the last whale," Einarsdottir told LiveScience. "It is of utmost importance to us."

Even so, many others consider whale hunting a gruesome industry. "Much of the whale meat within Iceland is eaten by curious tourists rather than locals. Tourists mistakenly believe that whale meat is just another 'traditional' Icelandic dish but instead, are helping to keep this cruel industry alive," according to a statement this month by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC).

The U.S. government also opposes commercial whaling. "We urge Iceland to honor the ban on commercial whaling and the international trade of whale meat," said Ryan Wulff, U.S. commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, according to the communications officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Iceland has developed a vibrant whale watching industry and is becoming quite an ecotourism destination, so it would be unfortunate if the decision to resume fin whaling had a detrimental effect on that momentum."

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/icelandic-fin-whale-hunt-resumes-stirs-debate-170241964.html

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