BlacKosity Magazine

NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson is still dishing out assists, even if he’s not in command of the Los Angeles Lakers’ “Showtime” offense.

Johnson, whose Magic Brand has a presence in more than 80 U.S. cities, is trying to get more jobs in urban areas where he says African-Americans need work most.

In a conversation with theGrio, Johnson called the African-American unemployment rate “devastating.”

“We have to now have a plan of action to put African-Americans back to work,” Johnson said. “You can have a general plan which we need because [President Barack Obama] has to turn this whole recession and the economy around. But then you can have an initiative where it’s just geared towards black males and females…”

The 12-time All-Star said targeted partnerships between prominent organizations such as the National Urban League and NAACP and the federal government could be a start.

Johnson’s most recent partnership with food giant Sodexo has helped provide both jobs and food services for many African-Americans across the country.

Beyonce has caught the fever and she wants you to do the same. The international superstar is releasing her first new fragrance called “Heat” which unfortunately will not be on stands before Christmas. The perfume arrives in stores for purchase in February 2010. Although the fragrance won’t be available until the next year fans are already responding:

I’m so happy with it,” Beyoncé said, “I’ve been working on it for a while now. I was on tour for a year, and I have meet-and-greets with fans. I’ve never in my life gotten so many compliments. Coty has their own testing, but that was my testing! The fans loved it. They were like, ‘I love that, I’m getting that, why isn’t it out right now? I need it!” said Knowles with a laugh.

Dollar, Dollar Bill Ya’ll! I am a perfume junky, will be checking up on this!

Citigroup Inc. said Monday it is repaying $20 billion in bailout money it received from the Treasury Department, freeing the banking giant from the close scrutiny and pay restrictions that came with the rescue program. The government will also sell its stake in the company.

The New York-based bank was among the hardest hit by the credit crisis and rising loan defaults and got one of the largest bailouts of any banks during the financial crisis. The government gave it $45 billion in loans and agreed to protect losses on nearly $300 billion in risky investments. Wells Fargo & Co. remains the last national bank that has yet to pay back its bailout money.

Citi is selling $20.5 billion in stock and debt to repay the government. It only has to pay back $20 billion because the remaining $25 billion was converted into a 34 percent ownership stake in the bank earlier this year. The government plans to sell that entire stake — which has risen in value by more than 20 percent — during the next year. The loss-sharing agreement will also end as part of the plan.

The Treasury Department is in line to earn about $13 billion in profit on its support for Citigroup depending on how much it makes selling the stock, said a Treasury official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of President Barack Obama’s meeting with bank officials.

After repaying the funds, Citi will no longer be subject to pay restrictions and other conditions of the bailout program. However, the repayment comes at a heavy cost. Raising the new capital will significantly dilute current shareholders’ stake in the company.

Citi’s shares fell 25 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $3.70 in morning trading Monday.

By approving the repayment, the government is essentially saying Citi is on strong enough financial footing to stand on its own. It’s a far cry from concerns at the beginning of the year when some analysts were saying Citi could fail completely and be taken over by the government.

While the government believes in the strength of Citi, the bank is still facing losses and trying to streamline operations to maintain profitability that has been tenuous throughout the year, even as other big banks recovered.

The repayment by Citi comes as top executives from some of the nation’s biggest banks meet Monday with Obama. The president is asking the executives to back his efforts to tighten financial regulations, designed to rein in the risky behavior that led to the credit crisis. Obama could face difficulty though, after describing bankers as “fat cats” in a “60 Minutes” interview broadcast Sunday.

Citigroup received the bailout as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The program was launched late last year to help ailing banks manage through the peak of the credit crisis.

Nearly 700 banks of all sizes participated in the program. Most of the largest banks, like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., quickly paid back the money they received because it carried restrictions such as caps on executive pay and dividends.

Many banks have bristled at strict government oversight.

Citi’s announcement comes just days after Bank of America Corp. completed the repayment of $45 billion it received as part of TARP.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is now the last large national bank that hasn’t paid back the government. It received $25 billion. Like Citi, Wells Fargo was one of the initial eight banks to participate in TARP.

TARP recipients have so far paid back $116 billion. That’s out of a total of $453 billion that the government extended to banks, insurers, automakers and other companies under the program.

While the TARP repayment reduces the tight scrutiny of regulators, it also now leaves the bank more exposed to potential losses. The end of the loss-sharing agreement on about $300 billion of risky investments could hinder Citigroup’s continuing efforts to maintain profitability.

The Treasury official said Citigroup never had to tap the loss-sharing agreement, and the government has taken no losses on the Citi investment.

Citigroup has been among the hardest hit banks by the credit crisis and continues to see consumer loan defaults pile up. Loan losses cost the bank $8 billion during the third quarter.

It is widely expected consumers will continue to miss payments at rapid rates in 2010 because the job market remains weak and wages are not going up. Loan defaults are likely to remain high industrywide.

Citigroup reported a $101 million profit during the third quarter before accounting for $288 million in preferred stock dividends and the debt exchange offer that gave the government its stake in the bank. Including those costs, Citi lost $3.24 billion during the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Paying back TARP money will cut dividend costs by about $1.7 billion annually, the bank said. Citi will take an $8 billion pretax loss to pay back the bailout money.

Citi is issuing $20.5 billion in capital and debt to help repay its obligations, including the $17 billion of common stock. Investors will have the option to buy an extra $2.55 billion in stock to cover any over-allotments.

The bank also said it will award $1.7 billion in stock equivalents to employees instead of cash they would have ordinarily received as part of their compensation. Under the TARP restrictions cash payments for executives were restricted. Citi had said in recent months it was revising the mix of cash and stock in its compensation packages to meet the requirements. Those restrictions would be lifted after repaying TARP money.

The government is selling the first $5 billion of common stock it holds in the bank at the same time the bank sells the $17 billion in stock. The remainder of the government’s stake will be sold “in an orderly fashion” over the next six to 12 months, Citi said in a statement.

The government stands to earn about $5.7 billion in profit by selling its portion of Citi shares, based on Friday’s closing price of $3.95.

Citi had 22.86 billion shares outstanding as of Sept. 30. Based on Friday’s closing price, Citi would need to sell about 4.3 billion shares to raise $17 billion. That would dilute current shareholders stake in the company by about 19 percent.

********** Source BY STEPHEN BERNARD & P Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger in Washington contributed to this report.

50 Cent and vitaminwater announced the availability of the “50’s Sound Lab” iPhone app — through Romplr, the popular interactive music platform, fans of vitaminwater and 50 Cent can now create and share their own remixes of “Baby by Me”, baby.

“50’s Sound Lab” app is available for free from the app store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://appsto.re/50soundlab. Users can record and share their personal mixes via Facebook, email, or, if you don’t have an iPhone, on the online interactive music companion site: http://www.50soundlab.com.

The person that creates the best remix will be personally chosen by Fif to come chill with him. “Musical talent unfolds in many ways and I’d like to see what can be done with my track when you’ve got nothing but a bottle of vitaminwater, my ’50’s sound lab’ app and an iPhone,” said 50.

When Marcus Jordan took the floor Wednesday night for the University of Central Florida’s basketball team wearing Air Jordans, school sponsor adidas made it clear to the university that its deal with the school – a five-year contract set to expire next June – is now done.

“The University of Central Florida has chosen not to deliver on their contractual commitment to adidas,” the company said in a statement given to CNBC. “As a result, we have chosen not to continue our relationship with them moving forward.”

Last month, UCF officials said that an adidas official had agreed to allow Michael Jordan’s younger son Marcus to wear the Nike shoes named after his father even though the school had a deal with competitor adidas. But adidas officials, which were working on an extension on a deal with the athletic department, said that they never granted that exemption.

Shoe and apparel contracts with schools normally guarantee that all student-athletes will wear what is made by the contracted shoe and apparel company unless the athlete, for some reason, can’t wear that specific shoe because of medical reasons and a custom shoe can’t be made.

It is not clear how much the school could lose because of the breach of contract. It also is not apparent whether another brand, perhaps Nike or its Jordan brand, will step in to replace the deal, which covered all of the school’s sports.

UCF officials say they have not received any official statement from adidas on the status of the school’s contract.

After more than 14 hours of discussion, the heirs of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.. reached a settlement late last Monday that will keep the family from a public jury trial.

Martin Luther King III, Bernice King and Dexter King had aired their grievances in open court for more than a year. The siblings began negotiations Monday morning as the threat loomed of a civil trial that was expected to reveal personal and financial details about King Inc.

Dexter King’s brother and sister sued him in July 2008, accusing him of acting improperly as head of the their father’s estate, which the three of them control as a private corporation. In the lawsuit, they claimed he shut them out of decisions involving King Inc. and refused to hold a shareholders meeting since 2004. The three have been largely estranged for months as Martin Luther King III and Bernice King said their brother continued to make decisions on behalf of King Inc. without their input or knowledge.

Monday’s agreement signals the end of a legal feud among the siblings and could clear the way for private relations to thaw.

According to the settlement agreement, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural D. Glanville has declared the siblings “deadlocked” as shareholders and will appoint a temporary custodian who will run King Inc. and work with them to determine the future of the corporation. The temporary custodian is also meant to add credibility to the troubled estate and allow the siblings a chance to focus on healing their personal relationships.

All three siblings said they looked forward to mending the rifts of recent months and that significant progress had been made with Monday’s resolution.

“It was a tiring day, but I would say a very triumphant day,” Dexter King said after the hearing. “This allows us to begin the healing process. I’m looking forward to the future. The most important thing is that we can advance the legacy of our parents.”

Dexter King, who is recovering from a car accident that left his leg badly injured, walked on crutches during the day and left the courthouse in a wheelchair without his siblings. Still, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King called the settlement a positive one.

“We have always loved one another,” said the elder King brother. “After all, we are all we have.”

Bernice King said reconciliation with Dexter King would be a process.

“Love compels you to take a higher road,” she said. “We love our brother and the legacy of our parents. At the end of the day, we’re still a family.”

Both parties must submit three names of proposed custodians within 14 days of the settlement. Under the terms of the agreement, the candidates “must be qualified to manage a business but must also be sensitive to the nature of the legacy to be managed.”

The court must interview at least one choice from both sides, and will name the custodian within 30 days of receiving the proposed list of candidates. Once approved, the custodian will report regularly to the court on King Inc.’s progress.