Stephen Hester, the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), admitted to a parliamentary hearing today that even his parents believed that he was overpaid, although he insisted that, at the moment, his package was worthless.

Mr Hester was answering questions from the Treasury Select Committee of MPs who are investigating pay and bonuses at the state-controlled banks, such as RBS and Northern Rock, as well as Lloyds Banking Group, in which the taxpayer holds a 43 per cent stake.

His bonus is linked to the RBS share price and he has agreed to take no cash in the first year, but it could be worth almost £10 million over three years.

He said: “If you ask my mother and father about my pay, they’d say it was too high, as well, so some people close to me have that view of bankers.”Mr Hester replaced Sir Fred Goodwin and has run the bank since it was bailed it out by the Government in October 2008.

He said that, at the time, he asked to be paid the “going rate” for what had been described to him as a private sector job rather than one in the public sector.

But he added that his share reward scheme “is worth very close to nothing because the share price has not risen”.

As for bonuses for other top staff, he said that he could not comment before telling staff whether they would get a bonus and how large it might be, which will happen at the end of next month.

However, he said that institutional shareholders “have raised concerns about our ability to keep and motivate the good people. They’ve raised plenty of concerns about that.”

At the same time, shareholders wanted bonuses to be no larger than necessary to retain people, he emphasised.

The Treasury, which owns 84 per cent of RBS after successive bailouts, has a power to veto the size of the bonus pool at the bank, but Mr Hester reiterated his earlier assertion that no board directors had threatened to resign as a result of this, and he said that he wanted to pay “the minimum possible while keeping staff engaged”.

He also played down fears that bankers would move out of the City and overseas because of the Government’s new bonus tax, of 50 per cent for staff earning more than £25,000.

He said: “I don’t believe the UK financial services industry will disappear overnight.”

He also said that the bank’s recovery plans to cut drastically its debts and assets were progressing well.

“We are well ahead of where I thought we would be,” he said.

“We did not slip on as many banana skins as I thought we might … That gives me encouragement to believe we can hit all the ambitious targets we put out for the recovery of RBS.”

That, in turn, should allow the taxpayer to sell down some of its 84 per cent stake over the next few years, he said.

“I would be hopeful that there will be a number of opportunities for share sales to be made at a profit over the next three to four years,” he said.

The AIG bailout isn’t going away, much as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner might like it to.

The $180 billion fiasco was back in the news Thursday, after Bloomberg reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York prodded the troubled insurer at the end of 2008 to withhold some gory details of its bailout deal from the public.

The instructions came at a time when Geithner, who is now the Treasury secretary, led the New York Fed. Along with Fed chief Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Geithner was one of the key architects of the federal response to the economic meltdown of 2008.

The New York Fed says the final decision on disclosures always rested with AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), which since September 2008 has been propped up by multiple infusions of taxpayer funds. But the claim rings hollow, given all the bailout-information jockeying of the past year.

Around the time the New York Fed was striking details from an AIG securities filing, former Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) chief Ken Lewis was deciding not to let investors in on what a disaster the bank’s purchase of brokerage firm Merrill Lynch was shaping up to be.

Lewis claimed Paulson and Bernanke pressured him not to disclose growing losses at Merrill to shareholders — a claim the policymakers rejected and that many observers pooh-poohed.

Just a few months later, the Washington Post revealed that regulators at the Federal Housing Finance Authority had pressured executives at troubled mortgage financing company Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) not to disclose the cost of carrying out its expanded federal housing-market support duties.

In that case, Freddie Mac made the disclosure, though only after negotiating with regulators over its wording.

The common theme seems to be that government officials “don’t want to do anything to spook the public or investors,” said Peter Cohan, a management consultant in Marlborough, Mass. “Of course, then you end up with a lot of other fallout later, as we can see now.”

Emails disclosed Thursday showed that the New York Fed instructed AIG to withhold from a securities filing information on the counterparties that received taxpayer money in AIG’s bailout, including the fact that the counterparties got 100% of their investment back.

That information remained secret for months, until Congress pressured the Federal Reserve to give it up in March, over the Fed’s insistence that doing so would damage market confidence.

A week after Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn was lambasted by senators for the failure to disclose the recipients, AIG published the list, which was topped by France’s Societe Generale and Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500).

“The whole line that there would be a panic if they disclosed the counterparties, that was total BS,” Cohan said. “It was just a backdoor bailout of the banks on the other side of those trades.”

Nine months later, the issue remains a headache for the never-popular Geithner. Bernanke, who played no role in the emails released Thursday but has yet to be confirmed for a new term by the full Senate, could face a tougher grilling later this month as bailout rage builds in Congress.

However they fare politically, officials may find it tough to live down the images formed by their apparent efforts to thwart bailout disclosure, Cohan said.

According to the computers internet blog in this month, Apple is preparing something sublime. The company leased space in the heart of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for a few days in late January. Probably, 26 numbers will be announced a product. YBCA has used Apple in September, when Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs) was first brought before the public after the treatment period and demonstrated the new iPod.

system diary technology news blog, computers internet blog, computer hardware reviews

Speculations and rumors of imminent withdrawal tablet computer Apple continues all year, and it seems the period of speculation will end soon. Analyst at investment firm Piper Jaffray Gene Munster (Gene Munster) called the event imminent: “We believe 75% of holding the event in January and 50% that it’s scheduled for presentation to Apple Tablet. If this is true, deliveries will start in March . Until now, product characteristics remain the subject of speculation, but most observers expect something like a large iPhone with additional functionality. The company has updated the line of computers, iPhone and iPod, which can act as an additional evidence in favor of the announcement of a completely new device.

According to other sources, will be presented in two models: 7 “and 10″. And in January, will be 7 “version of the tablet. The question of cost also remains open. Analysts lay in market forecasts and financial performance, the average cost Apple $ 600, assessment and reach $ 2000. The computer will be running the new version of iPhone OS. According to Munster, the PC will compete with the netbooks, but this category and does not apply.

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) has never been a favorite company among Linux fans, and that feeling was not improved by the Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) ExpertZone training scandal that erupted last September. A whole new crop of reasons to hurl insults at the chain came up in recent weeks, however, following news of one blogger’s experience.

“My four month-old netbook’s touchpad and power adapter all stopped working,” began the anonymous reader on the Consumerist blog. “I took the machine into Best Buy for service under the Geek Squad’s Black Tie Protection Plan on Saturday, and demonstrated its problems.”

Ready for the kicker?

“The manager of the Geek Squad informed me that installing Ubuntu Linux on my machine voided my warranty, and that I could only have it serviced if the original Windows installation was restored,” the reader wrote. “Furthermore, he insisted that the touchpad and power adapter had been broken because I installed Linux.”
‘Why Do People Still Buy From Best Buy?’

Heard enough? Wait, there’s more!

Upon reinstalling Windows so as to return the device, the user was later told by the store’s Geek Squad manager that Linux had “permanently voided” his warranty, as well as causing the computer’s hardware problems.

The Geek Squad staff then physically ejected the user from the store.

Is it even possible to wrap one’s head around a story like this? Bloggers tended to think not.

“After all these stories — why do people still buy computers from Best Buy and deal with the Geek Squad?” asked Dirtylicious in the Consumerist comments, for example. “Yes, we can all say that Best Buy should be abiding by their own rules … but we all know they don’t … they continue not to, and probably never will. Thus it begs the question, why buy ‘high end’ electronics from them given their continuing shoddy customer service issues?”
‘I Might Have Just Clocked the Guy’

Similarly: “Real IT people don’t work at Geek Squad,” agreed all4jcvette. “We don’t want that stain on our resumes, or our name associated with wanna-be IT people.”

And again: “I feel for you man, linux does not cause hardware problems. but maybe best buy does,” sympathized atomoverride. “If it was me I might have just clocked the guy.”

Similar sentiments could be heard from one end of the blogosphere to the other — including the lively crowd on Digg, who chimed in with more than 1,700 Diggs and 300 comments of their own — so Linux Girl knew the topic deserved a closer look.
‘It Makes Me Sick’

“Oh boy, that is a nasty case,” Slashdot blogger Jeremy Visser told LinuxInsider. “It makes me sick just thinking about it.”

The Best Buy manager’s claim that the store could refuse service for any reason “is a completely bogus claim, because he is bound by warranty laws,” Visser asserted. “Best Buy could have a warranty that says, ‘We don’t honor any warranties whatsoever’ and they would still be obliged to perform a warranty service if the customer is eligible, because the law takes precedence.”

It is for cases just like this one, in fact, that warranty laws exist, Visser pointed out — “to stop companies from screwing over customers like this. Imagine if we didn’t have any warranty laws at all — *every* visit back to the store with a malfunctioning item would be met with the same response.”

In any case, “I think the customer will have an easy victory in court, were he to pursue it further,” Visser predicted.
‘A Clear Violation’ of the Law

“I’m no lawyer, but this seems like a clear violation of the Magnuson-Moss Act, which states that you may not deny warranty protection for the use of a compatible product,” agreed Slashdot blogger drinkypoo.

“I can see them refusing to work on it with Linux on it; although that is a bit pathetic, you can’t expect them to support Linux,” drinkypoo told LinuxInsider.

“You CAN, however, expect them to know that nothing Linux will do can damage your power supply or your trackpad,” he added.
‘Completely Out of Line’

Once he realized there was a problem, the user “should have immediately restored the computer’s configuration to factory default,” Montreal consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack asserted. “I do this even on Windows installs when I know the hardware will need replacing, especially since the factory repair center will probably do that anyway. ”

Having said that, however, “the manager was completely out of line for refusing to help,” Mack told LinuxInsider.

“You would think by now that people would know better than to buy computer equipment at Best Buy,” he added. “At best, Geek Squad should *only* be used for home entertainment systems.”
‘Deserved with a Capital D’

Indeed, the user’s first mistake was “having anything to do with Geek Squad,” agreed Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes by “Tom” on the site.

Slashdot blogger hairyfeet went even further.

“The moron deserved with a capital D to lose his warranty” because “if he is smart enough to install Linux, he should be smart enough to avoid Worst Buy,” hairyfeet told LinuxInsider.
‘A Recipe for Disaster’

“As someone who has been doing PC repair since the days of Win3.x, I can tell you horror stories about that place,” hairyfeet asserted. “Guys bringing in PCs and finding out their expensive graphics card had been stolen and a cheapo one put in its place; missing RAM sticks (one even ripped the stick out so hard they broke the clips off the mobo); hardware put in wrong, etc. It is about the worst possible place to buy a PC, which is WHY we call it Worst Buy!”

There are plenty of sites — like System76 — “that actually sell and support Linux laptops,” hairyfeet went on. “Buying a Worst Buy ‘Windows special’ and then putting Linux on it is a recipe for disaster.”

The user “should file a $5k claim in small claims court, but ultimately it was his own stupidity,” hairyfeet concluded. “Sorry, but this guy got what he deserved.”
‘Install a Second Hard Disk Just for Linux’

Ultimately, buyers of cheap netbooks get what they pay for, Hudson told LinuxInsider: “You can pay less and complain all the time, or pay more and only complain once.”

Then there’s “the reality of Linux,” she added.

“If you’re going to install Linux, you’re in the same position as someone who buys any other product and modifies it in an unusual way,” she explained. “The safest way to add Linux to a laptop and not have warranty problems if something goes wrong is to install a second hard disk just for Linux — and for that, you’re looking at a 16- or 17-inch laptop, not a netbook.

“Otherwise, just get a big USB stick, install Linux on it, and use the netbook’s storage for your files, at least until the device’s warranty period is over,” she advised.
‘Take Time to Write Letters’

Of course, for true Linux advocates, “it is better to tell the retailer/OEM that you will not buy their product without GNU /Linux on it,” blogger Robert Pogson told LinuxInsider. “Take the time to write the letters. They will count eventually, because there are tens of millions of people who prefer GNU/Linux.

“2009 was the last year anyone should have been forced to buy that other OS,” Pogson added. “There are lots of choices — seek them out. If there is no choice locally, write local letters and indicate the mail-order source you chose instead.”

The stunning change in Google’s policy toward doing business in China–which was always a complicated dance–came after Google discovered that it and other businesses were the victims of “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack” aimed at gathering information about human rights activists. It is not clear whether the Chinese government was behind the attacks, which Google said in a blog post were also directed against other U.S. companies.

Adobe Systems later confirmed its involvement in the attacks with a statement:

Adobe became aware on January 2, 2010, of a computer security incident involving a sophisticated, coordinated attack against corporate network systems managed by Adobe and other companies. We are currently in contact with other companies and are investigating the incident. At this time, we have no evidence to indicate that any sensitive information–including customer, financial, employee or any other sensitive data–has been compromised.

Google released a lengthy blog post Tuesday afternoon authored by David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer, discussing the decision to review its policy toward China:

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the Web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks, we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn and potentially our offices in China.

Google entered China in 2006 with the launch of Google.cn. It knew at the time that it would be forced to censor search results in accordance with the policies of the Chinese government. But it figured that it could live up to its famous “don’t be evil” pledge without passing up the business opportunity in the fast-growing Chinese market by simply notifying Web searchers that their results had been censored due to local laws.

However, in practice, there has been a tricky balance between Google’s desire to spread information around the world and the Chinese government’s desire to limit the amount of information available on sensitive topics, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. The Chinese government is believed to issue very vague guidelines as to what type of content is permitted and what is prohibited. The end result is that many Internet companies in China censor far more than the government might actually deem offensive.
“We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn and potentially our offices in China.”
–David Drummond, Google chief legal officer

Google did not say which human rights activists were targeted by the attack, nor would it comment on whether it believed the Chinese government was behind the attacks. The attackers were unable to obtain the contents of Gmail messages written by two human rights activists in China, but they were able to access account information and the subject lines of an unspecified number of e-mails.

In addition, Google said it determined that someone was able to gain access to the accounts of several Gmail users who were human rights activists, which the company said was due to phishing schemes rather than a security breach at Google.

An industry source familiar with Google’s investigation described the incidents over the past several months as “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” as far as Google’s presence in China is concerned. Google is expected to meet with Chinese government officials over the next several weeks to discuss whether it will be permitted to offer an uncensored Chinese search engine.

A cash machine in other parts of the world, Google has struggled to replicate that success in China. The Baidu search engine is as dominant in China as Google is in the rest of the world, and Google trails it in China by a significant margin. According to ComScore, Baidu led the Chinese search market, with 63 percent of searches, in September 2009.

Representatives of Microsoft and Yahoo did not immediately respond to inquiries as to whether their policies regarding search in China would change as the result of Google’s decision, though a Microsoft representative said the company had “no indication that any of our mail properties has been compromised.” A U.S. representative for Baidu also did not return a call seeking comment on Google’s intention to offer an uncensored search engine in China.

Here are some of the juicy bits that have been spilled:

On ‘Beverly Hills, 90210′

- I had an insta-crush on Brian Austin Green. Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and I became friends … I cheated on [my first boyfriend] by hooking up with my costar Brian. Brian was the only guy on the show my age. We had something going (or not going) over the years we worked together. We were always fighting, making up, having fun, and hating each other. We were just young.

Where Are They Now?
What are Spelling’s ‘90210′ pals up to these days? We’ve got the scoop on Jason Priestly, Shannen Doherty and the rest of the gang.
· ‘90210′ Cast Then & Now

- The center of this high school clique was Shannen and Jennie. Shannen had everything, but she could be arrogant and carefree. Jennie was outspoken when she thought Shannen was out of line. Sometimes they got along, but there were explosions. Once, they got into a fistfight … For the most part, the cast and crew functioned as a close family. And in the course of the ten years the show was on the air, everyone in the cast pretty much slept with everyone else. We all would laugh about it years later.

On Meeting Future Husband Dean McDermott

- I’d been instantly attracted to men before, but this was different. It was love at first sight. I fell so hard … I thought that was adorable. Then I noticed he had a wedding ring. When someone asked, he pulled out photos of his children. And — oh, yeah — I had a husband too. It was fun to flirt, but I knew nothing would happen … But: Dean and I went to a bar after dinner. And we spent the night at the Cartier Place. The following day when I woke up next to Dean, I had no regrets. Something was really wrong with my marriage. Not only because I slept with this guy—though that certainly wasn’t a positive sign—but because I didn’t regret it.

On Breaking the News About Dean to Husband Charlie Shanian

- I told him that I’d never been in love with him. I loved him and he’d been a friend to me, but I married him because he was a great guy, a guy who took care of me. Charlie didn’t want to hear it. He kept saying, “Where’s all this coming from? We have a perfect relationship.” Then he turned to me. “Did you cheat on me?” I said yes. He said, “It was with Dean, wasn’t it?” I said yes. He said, “I should have known.”

On Plastic Surgery

- If knew the styles were going to be the way they are now, I wouldn’t have gotten my boobs done in the ’90s. The clothes now wear so much better when you’re smaller. In the ’90s it was all about big boobs in halter tops.

“I adore Paula. Whatever happens, I will be working with her in some capacity. Because I miss her.” Simon Cowell hints he could be teaming up with fellow former American Idol judge when he takes his “The X Factor” talent show Stateside.

Simon officially announced yesterday that he signed an “X Factor” contract, which will launch in the U.S. next year. “Idol’s” resident mean guy will judge the new series as well as executive produce it. With that kind of control, there’s no doubt he will be able to bring on board the people of his choosing – which could include Paula.

Paula quit “Idol” in August amid a contract dispute. She tweeted, “I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1 become an international phenomenon.”

The offers poured in for Paula after she announced her departure from “Idol,” including spots on Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, but she hasn’t committed to a long term gig.

Yesterday it was reported that Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly have scheduled a wedding for next November in Long Island. But if you don’t watch Friday Night Lights (and assuming by that show’s ratings, you don’t), here’s all the info and pictures of the beautiful actress you need!

Minka Kelly plays a lead character in Friday Night Lights and has starred in the show since its inception. She has been in a handful of movies, mostly thriller and horror flicks, and Minka will be a lead character in The Roommate with Leighton Meester and Cam Gigandet. Last year she had a pilot shot for CW titled Body Politic, but it wasn’t picked up.

Starpulse.com’s entire Minka Kelly Gallery!
Minka Kelly
Minka Kelly

Reality TV star Tila Tequila was so distraught after the death of her fiancee Casey Johnson last week her therapist put her on “suicide watch”. Tequila has been vilified in the media for opening up about her feelings for her tragic lover via social networking website Twitter.com, but now she reveals she was not in her right mind.

The model/singer admits she really struggled with her partner’s death in the days following the tragedy.

She tells People magazine, “It really hit me when I found all the cards she had written me. My therapist put me on suicide watch.

“I’ve been getting help but I’m fine now. I know Casey wants me to be alive and she hates seeing me like this. She always hated it when she would see me cry.”

Tequila, real name Tila Nguyen, and socialite Johnson had been engaged for a month and were planning to start a family together.

The reality TV reveals she and Johnson were fighting the heiress’ family for custody of her adopted daughter, Ava.

She adds, “I was going to adopt Ava and we decided she would call her Mommy and me Mommy T. We were going to have a big family. She wanted seven children, but she said she wanted me to be the pregnant one. We were so excited about starting a new life together.”

I’m not going to hide the fact that I’m a lifelong Western Province fan and will prefer the judicious use of logic and reasoning to clearly show that the 18th edition of the Super 14 in 2010 is a banker for South Africa’s Stormers. A one-horse race, if I’ve ever seen one.

First, it must be said that the classy Cape based franchise has had a torrid time in the largest rugby union club championship in the southern hemisphere, the Super rugby contest which includes teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

In fact, the last two years have left Newlands’ famously fanatical fans heartbroken and bitterly disappointed at the performance of South Africa’s most successful Currie Cup team.

To find anything to crow about, Province fans have to page back, deep into history to the hey-days of the blue and white hoops whipping there arch derby rivals, the Bulls. And that was a very long time ago!

But, the vibe in Cape Town is electric. This year things WILL be different and this is why:
1. Schedule:

The Stormers have a great schedule in 2010, with an unbelievable list of early home games for critical matches in which they can find their feet.

2. The Team:

Almost more important than who is in, is who is NOT in. Luke Watson has left for Bath and Schalk Burger takes over as skipper. Brian Habana and Jacque Fourie bolster a backline that will probably see the return to fitness of Springboks full-back Conrad Jantjies after a broken-leg sidelining during 2009.

3. Cape Town vibe:

The famous Newlands faithful are in buoyant mood. The Basil d’Oliviera Trophy cricket series against England was electric; a football derby at Green Point stadium between local rivals Santos and Ajax Cape Town was great; and with FIFA 2010 World Cup fever buzzing, it’s game on!

4. Classic Grand Finale:

The Super 14 kicks off in February and lasts for almost four months until the end of May. If the early schedule is in the Stormers’ favour then it’s ominous that the latter part, in Week 14, is again a classic Western Province Grand Finale promising a Durban whipping of our much-hated Sharks opponents and then a home thrashings of arch enemies, the Bulls. What a dream season!

5. Pre-softened opponents:

While the Stormers have a great run through a smooth rising curve of opponents, their opponents are invariably facing the Stormers after a big hit – Waratahs v Reds before Waratahs face the Stormers, then the Brumbies play the Bulls and the next week they’ve got the Stormers.

The pattern miraculously continues to include tough opponents, like the Crusaders, towards the end of the tournament and at home!

Road trip from heaven:
The Stormers’ lucky season stretches into their away fixtures too. They get Perth (known as Saffer home from home) in the build-up to Eden Park and Waikato, and once again the Bulls go bull-dozing ahead of the Stormers against the Blues and Chiefs the week before.

7. Derby mop-up:

The Stormers mop up after big derby games in 2010. For example, the Sharks play the Bulls in a titanic Loftus Versfeld derby battle the week before the Stormers stroll into Durban to pick of the remains of the Sharks. Easy pickings!

Another reason why Allister Coetzee’s boys will take the Super 14 Trophy this year is the form of a rising star, the 2.07m Springbok Andries Bekker.

But most important of all, as Province fans will tell you, it’s because we’re fed up and it’s time. Hell, way past time!