The St. Clair River is not eroding, a binational panel announced yesterday, dismissing a popular theory the river is sucking extra water from Lake Huron, and is partly responsible for the near-record low water levels in Georgian Bay.

Video images taken of the bottom of the river connecting lakes Huron and Erie show a blanket of boulders and large rocks “which flows would not be able to move,” said Ted Yuzyk, co-chair of the International Joint Commission study group investigating the reasons for the drop in water levels in the upper Great Lakes.

“We feel the (river) bed is fairly stable,” Yuzyk announced at a press conference yesterday. “It doesn’t look like the bed is actively being lowered.”

The new “critical piece of information” negates the theory that the St. Clair River is creating a larger and larger drain on Lake Huron, which has dropped about a metre in water level since 1997.

The theory was presented by the Georgian Bay Association, which, faced with drying wetlands and abandoned docks, commissioned engineering firm W. F. Baird to study the hydrology of the St. Clair River, which has been historically mined for gravel and dredged a number of times to make way for cargo ships.

That dredging has caused Lake Huron to drop by 45 centimetres. But it’s been traditionally believed that since the last dredging in 1962, the river had remained stable.

The Baird report, released in 2005, showed differently – that parts of the river had deepened significantly, allowing as much as 845 million gallons of extra water to flow down it daily. Then, last summer, the Georgian Bay Association declared the erosion was getting worse and that three times that much water was leaking out daily.

But, both reports were based on the assumption that the river bottom was composed of erodible sandy material and not large rocks.

“This does bring some new information to us,” said Bill Bialkowski, vice-president of the Georgian Bay Association, who did the calculations for the group’s latest report.

But he added that the videos confirmed that one stretch of the river has deepened by six metres since 1971.

“The barn door is open and the horse is already gone,” he said yesterday. “All the material that could erode has eroded, but it possibly happened fairly recently.”

Yesterday’s report was the first of many by the International Joint Commission. Its final report is not due until 2009.

This past September, Lake Superior reached its lowest level since the first records were taken in 1860.

TUESDAY

The Times

has been the centre of takeover speculation over the past few months and confirmation that Brown has brought a 20% stake in Forth only presses home the question of how much longer it will remain independent. Shares in Forth Ports fell from a high of more than 22 in early 2007 to under 17 by November, while Babcock’s infrastructure funds pulled off a trio of ports deals in December after valuations of ports leveled after the impact of the credit crunch. With Forth offering a of over 2% it is likely to bid a battle with business growth on the horizon. Buy.

Home shopping retailer, , dispelled fears that it would have suffered from Royal Mail postal strikes after its second-half update yesterday. Like-for-like sales were up 14% in the 20 weeks to January 6, marking an acceleration from the 11.1% reported at October’s half year results. A drive to pull new customers, although benefiting next year’s bottom line, will constrain short-term profitability. Despite any concerns N Brown in reasonably prices at 12 times current-year earnings. Hold on.

Daily Telegraph

The , the spread-betting firm, appears to be on of the only winners off the back of the credit crunch. It announced yesterday a 63% increase in first-half profits to 48.2m pre-tax, and increased interim dividend by 50%. After a good run it would not be surprising if the shares were also hit by profit taking, nevertheless yesterday’s weakness does not seem merited. Buy.

Investors in the last publically listed UK port operators, Forth Ports, shouldn’t be surprised at the news that has built a stake in the company. As Europe’s third largest ports operator, Babcock may see Forth as a break up target but other infrastructure funds and port operators will now be eyeing up Forth. Buy.

Other stories:
Nationalisation is the only way for Rock
CVRD is tipped for Xstrata tilt
Tesco shares dive as sales feel the pinch
Blacks sounds the alarm and plans job cuts
Shareholders meet to decide Rock’s fate
Wholesale the star as Burberry looks good
City focus: Guy Hands’ greatest hits
Citigroup to write down $20bn
Debenhams confounds Christmas gloomsters

Fidelity Investments was reopening its flagship Magellan mutual fund to new investors Tuesday, hoping to capitalize on the rejuvenated performance of the iconic fund to tap into a new generation of workers.

While Fidelitys mutual fund offerings posted strong performances in 2007, big competitors such as Vanguard Group and American Funds have been much more successful in recent years in attracting cash.

Last year through November, for example, Vanguard took in $70.6 billion in new money, compared to just $2 billion for Fidelity.

It has been six years since Fidelity ceded its crown to Vanguard as the worlds largest manager of stock and bond funds.

One reason why: Until Monday, half of Fidelitys largest, most popular funds were closed to new investors. Fund companies stop the flow of new money into funds when their size becomes too unwieldy for the manager to invest all that cash.

Closing a fund can help its performance, but at the cost of shutting out new customers.

Magellan, which has been closed to new investors since 1997, now has about $45 billion in assets, less than half the amount of money it held at its peak. About 85 percent of its assets are held in 401(k) accounts and similar retirement savings plans.

With the first wave of baby boomers reaching retirement age, many of the funds investors are beginning to tap their retirement savings and redeem their shares. That has frustrated Magellans manager, Harry Lange, by forcing him to sell shares to pay for those redemptions.

“I sold a lot of stocks I would have preferred not to,” Lange said Monday. “It was getting into the meat and bones” of the fund.

Reopening Magellan also is a declaration of confidence in Langes performance, after Magellan returned 18.8 percent to investors last year versus just a 5.5 percent gain for the broader stock market, as measured by the Standard Poors 500 index.

The performance is part of an overall improved record at Fidelity, following a push to beef up its stock research staff.

The gains come at an important time for Fidelity, which was rocked by management changes last year as it responded to growing competition and uncertainty surrounding the future of the family-controlled company and its chief executive, 77-year-old Edward Johnson 3rd.

Fidelity manages hundreds of funds, with varying investment philosophies, that it sells directly to consumers and through financial advisers.

But Magellan captured the popular imagination in the 1980s, when it was managed by Peter Lynch.

Lynchs folksy investment advice and spectacular results - he averaged returns of almost 30 percent a year during his 13-year tenure - turned him and the fund into a star.

However, Lynchs record was not the best career performance turned in by a Magellan manager; that honor belongs to his boss, Johnson, who averaged returns of 30.5 percent when he ran the fund in the 1960s.

Fidelitys equities chief, Walter Donovan, said Monday there were no plans to reopen the $80.9 billion Contrafund, or another large product, Low-Priced Stock fund, with $35.2 billion, though Fidelity will continue to review both portfolios.

Analysts who follow Fidelity say Magellan is uniquely positioned to take new money compared with the other two, however. For one thing, Langes aggressive investing style has kept just 1 percent of its total assets in cash, forcing him to sell shares more often to pay for redemptions.

Films: Downloads cost 3 a movie Email newsletter Enjoy our blogs

- «broganblog.dailymail.co.uk»
- «bazblog.dailymail.co.uk»
- «katienicholl.mailonsunday.co.uk»
- «hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk»
- «www.thisismoney.co.uk»
- «fashionblog.dailymail.co.uk»

Apple is to unveil a film download service today.

The company is belived to have signed up Fox, Disney, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM to supply it with movies.

Each film is expected to cost between 3 to 5 and will be viewable for 24 hours after being downloaded.

Apple is also due to launch iPod-ready versions of films bought as DVDs, allowing viewers to transfer them to an iPod or iPhone rather than downloading them.

The move will pit the firm against Microsoft, whose Xbox 360 console can be used to download films.

Sony is preparing a similar service for the PlayStation 3 that is expected to be launched this year.

Experts say competition will be tough for Steve Job’s company, who founded Apple while a student in the 1970s.

Mic Wright of Gadget magazine Stuff said: “Apple has shown in its dealings with the music industry that it can make a huge difference in a market very quickly.

“However, I think it will need to have a real killer product, rather like the iPod.”

It is believed Mr Jobs will also unveil an updated version of the Apple TV product, which lets consumers play both music and videos on their television.

Sales of the firt version have been disappointing, with the chief executive recently describing it as the company’s “hobby”.

Figures show that Londoners are the biggest viewers of downloaded and on-demand TV in Britain.

Twenty-six per cent watch on-demamd content daily and a further 29 per cent watch it weekly, according to a study by broadband firm Tiscali, which offers a TV service in the capital.

Apple is also expected to unveil an ultrathin laptop and a memory upgrade to its iPhone that will allow users to download extra software to the handset.

LOS ANGELES—Nicole Richie and Christina Aguilera popped out a baby bella and beau (respectively) at Britney Spears ‘ former base Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday.

And even though there is no guarantee that the little babes will become buddies, at least they can bond over the fact that they both have yummy mommies who don?t mind the pregnancy pounds.

Video: Pop Tarts Talk

“At first I guess it was weird for Nicole to be gaining weight so fast after having been so small,” a pal of the “Simple Life” star told Pop Tarts. “But she has finally learned to appreciate the importance of being healthy and she just glows. Being pregnant has done wonders for her figure.”

So will Richie run rampant to pop those pregnancy pounds like so many Hollywood hotties seem to do these days?

“I don?t think she?s thought about [that] too much,” said our source. “Nicole just wants to focus on being a mom. Perhaps she feels a little fat compared to how she was a year ago, but all her friends and family think she looks beautiful. I think Nicole quite likes those extra curves.” (And for the record, Pop Tarts totally approves of Richie?s baby-bearing body!)

Lionel Richie’s little granddaughter was named Harlow Winter Kate Madden and weighed in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces.

And in the very same ward, Max Liron Bratman was delivered by Aguilera. Judging by Christina’s recent Marie Claire cover, where she bared her baby belly, the pop princess is proud of those pregnancy pounds, too.

Kevin Connolly?s No-Porn Policy; Minnillo Leaves Lachey for Keibler

When it comes to Sin City, not a night goes by that doesn’t give Pop Tarts something to snitch about.

“Entourage” star Kevin Connolly popped by swanky spot JET at The Mirage to sneak a peek at Strip Las Vegas? two-year anniversary party. (And also to check in with his pal, porn princess Jesse Jane, who hosted the bash). You may recall Jesse appeared (as herself) in an episode of his hit HBO series.

With the AVN Adult Movie Awards taking place over the weekend, the hotspot was filled with adult entertainers ? but the media-savvy star made it his duty NOT to be snapped with any ladies in lingerie or less.

“Everytime somebody tried to take a picture of Kevin with one of the porn stars, he bolted,” an insider told us. “The last thing he wanted was for rumors to start that he was canoodling with these women. And as far as we know, he was successful with his no-porn-picture policy.”

Meanwhile, former MTV host Vanessa Minnillo and her hottie boyfriend Nick Lachey were busted down the road at party palace PURE getting down and dirty with pal Dave Navarro (who was celebrating his five AVN nominations for his directorial debut in the X-rated “Broken”).

However, according to insiders, Ness left Nick alone to sip Grey Goose just after midnight when Stacy Keibler turned up.

“Vanessa and Stacy looked like long-lost sisters as they giggled and danced together all night,” said our spy. “And with those two busting their moves, every guy was in his element.”

But obviously Lachey recovered from his bella boogying with another, because the comely couple was caught getting cozy the following night at the luxe LAX at The Luxor.

Over at Opera in Hollywood, however, prying Pop Tarts popped Lindsay Lohan?s ex Wilmer Valderrama holding a reunion with the pals he partied with while hosting a New Year’s Eve party at Palladium in Acapulco, Mexico.

We sighted no bell-bottoms on the “That ’70s Show” sensation, but he did show a little “Night Fever” by insisting on a table right by the DJ and busting a few moves when Soulja Boy hit the speakers.

Tom?s ‘Secret’ Lunch With Schwarzenegger

Two of Tinseltown?s mightiest men (aka Tom Cruise and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ) were caught chomping and chowing down lunch at Caf? Roma?s in Beverly Hills on Saturday.

But even though the pals were sitting in one of L.A.?s most touristy areas, it suddenly became a no-pic zone.

Eyewitnesses told Tarts that some pumped-up passersby apparently tried to take a happy snap of the pair, but were prohibited by Mr. Cruise at the pasta-lovin? property.

“Both Tom and Arnold are regulars at the restaurant and the staff does look out for them,” a nearby retailer said. “A few people wanted to take Tom?s picture, but he turned them down. A lot of sad faces came away from the scene.”

Makes us wonder what they were whispering about?

Spotted or Snapped a Star? Got a Good Scoop? E-mail poptartstips@gmail.com.