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Irish rocker BONO is feeling the effects of the struggling economy thanks to his multi-million dollar investment in smart telephone maker Palm Inc .. - stock shares have plummeted a staggering 35 per cent since January (1 0).
In December 2008, bosses at the U2 frontman’s Elevation Partners compan y announced they would make the investment to save the debt-riddled firm, the maker of Treo and Centro smart phones, as it prepared to introduce n ew products.
Elevation Partners, a California-based private-equity business, which c ounts Bono as a managing partner, pumped nearly $500 million (=C2=A3312.5 million) into the company.
However, stock shares plummeted 19 per cent on Thursday (25Feb10), amid reports Palm is losing ground against gadget-making rivals Apple and Res earch In Motion (RIM). Shares have now dropped a total of 35 per cent sin ce January (10), reports the New York Post.
Ironically, analysts suggest Bono’s appearance in commercials for Palm’ s rival, RIM’s BlackBerry, last summer (09) could have worked against his own investment.
The firm’s executives initially predicted up to $1.8 billion in sales f or the year ending in May (10). However, analysts now predict results wil l be "well below" that, with sales figures for the December-to-February p eriod expected between $100 million (=C2=A363 million) to $310 million (=C2 =A3193.8 million).
But Chief Executive Jon Rubinstein is playing down the loss. He says: " Driving broad consumer adoption of Palm products is taking longer than we anticipated."

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Friends, colleagues and fans of beloved British actress MAGGIE JONES gath ered to celebrate her life and work at a public memorial service in Manch ester, England on Friday (26Feb10).
Jones, best-known for playing Blanche Hunt on the long-running TV soap Coronation Street, passed away on 2 December (09) after failing to recove r from an operation in October (09). She was 75.
Filming was temporarily suspended to allow Jones’ former cast members, including actress Anne Kirkbride, to attend the service at the city’s Sal ford Cathedral.
The memorial also featured an emotional address from actor William Roac he, who played her son-in-law on the hit U.K. drama.

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TWILIGHT actress NIKKI REED is a huge fan of her co-star KELLAN LUTZ’s ne ar-naked role as the latest body of CALVIN KLEIN - and commends him on ha ving the "balls" to strip off on camera.
Lutz, who plays vampire Emmet Cullen in the hit movie franchise, is the latest Hollywood hunk stripped bare for the fashion house’s underwear ca mpaign.
And Reed, who plays his on-screen sister Rosalie, is proud of her pal’s sexy shots.
She tells E! Online, "I think he looks fantastic. I’m actually really p roud of him.
"It takes a lot of balls, no pun intended, to stand and pose like that.
I wouldn’t have the guts to stand there naked like that." Lutz recently revealed he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Mark Wah lberg - whose famed Calvin Klein underwear campaign in the ’90s led to a huge film career.

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U.S. TV actress CATHERINE BELL is celebrating after learning she’s pregna nt for a second time.
The Army Wives star, 41, and her screenwriter husband Adam Beason are e xpecting a baby boy, who will be a little brother to their six-year-old d aughter Gemma.
Bell tells People.com, "I’m so excited to be having a baby boy. She has been asking for a sibling for a long time. I’ll be sure to remind her of that when it’s time to change his diapers." Bell married Beason in 1994 after meeting on the set of the 1992 comedy Death Becomes Her.

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SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT’s family is surprised the AMERICAN PIE star has becom e known for his expletive-laden language - because his older brother used to have to "bribe" him as a child to swear.
The actor has built up a reputation for his frequent use of the ‘F’ wor d and regularly portrays foul-mouthed characters in movies.
But Scott insists he never used to be so rude - and rarely swore until he was cast as Steve Stifler in comedy American Pie.
He tells WENN, "I said to my brother, ‘I think I’m one of the best acto rs that says the ‘F’ word. That’s all I’ve got! "The funny thing is my brother said, ‘I had to bribe you to swear.’ I w as the youngest of seven and my brother Dave would always try to get me t o swear; he was the naughty one. I never did swear, only when I played sp orts but then when I did American Pie it was the first time ever swore." And the star admits he was so ashamed of his bad language in the 1999 f ilm, he felt obliged to warn his mother Patricia beforehand.
He says, "I had to call my mum and tell her, ‘I just want you to know I ‘m swearing in this movie and there are some weird things going on.’ She was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if you should do it Sean. I think it’s kind o f a bad idea, you know?’" But Scott defied her advice and signed up for the movie - and now his m other is proud of his role.
He adds, "She still goes around and tells people she’s Stifler’s mum!"

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Actor KIRK CAMERON has paid tribute to his former GROWING PAINS co-star A NDREW KOENIG, who was found dead on Thursday (25Feb10).
Koenig went missing earlier this month (Feb10), prompting Cameron - who had grown close to the actor during their stint on the hit 1980s TV show - to issue an emotional plea, begging the 41 year old to get in touch.
Friends and family feared the depressed actor had taken his own life, a nd on Thursday their worst fears were confirmed when a group of Koenig’s friends found his body in a park in Vancouver, Canada.
Cameron has reached out to Koenig’s grieving relatives as he mourns the loss of his beloved friend.
He tells People.com, "It is with great sorrow to hear about the final o utcome of the search for my old friend Andrew. I hope everyone will be se nsitive to the Koenigs and give the family some private time to reflect a nd to grieve the loss of their beloved son. At a time like this, we all a re reminded of the briefness of life and the importance of being ready fo r our eternal destination. My prayers will continue to be with Andrew’s f amily." Fellow Growing Pains co-star Tracey Gold has also expressed her sympath ies to Koenig’s family.
She tells UsMagazine.com, "Today is a sad day. My heart is broken for A ndrew’s family. I have such great memories of Andrew and our time togethe r on Growing Pains."

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Hollywood star MATT DAMON has thrown his support behind a campaign to clo se down SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida after the tragic death of a killer w hale trainer at the theme park on Wednesday (24Feb10).
Dawn Brancheau, 40, was killed by orca Tilikum during a show with the m ammal at the city’s SeaWorld aquarium.
Animal rights campaigners at the People for the Ethical Treatment of An imals (PETA) have teamed up with U.S. showbiz veteran Bob Barker to write to SeaWorld owners The Blackstone Group and appeal for the closure of th e complex.
In his letter to Blackstone boss Hamilton James, Barker wrote, "The dea th of (the) trainer at SeaWorld did not have to happen, and I must appeal to you to take strong action now so that it never happens again. I urge you to make (a) humane move now and to start moving the captive orcas and other marine mammals to transitional coastal and wildlife sanctuaries.
"This is not the first time that a trainer has been seized, thrown agai nst the walls of the tank, and held down to drown. I cannot imagine what the sight of such a hideous event would do to a child in the audience…T he only thing that people learn from visiting a SeaWorld theme park is ho w miserable life is for animals held there." Damon has now voiced his shock at the trainer’s "horrible" death, insis ting all marine mammal parks like SeaWorld should be "shut down" altogeth er.
He tells U.S. news show Entertainment Tonight, "I think they should jus t shut them all down. I’ve never been a fan of places like that." (MT/WNV

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RIHANNA is calling on her fans to help choose a name for her new perfume.
The Umbrella hitmaker is set to follow in the footsteps of other celebr ity perfumers including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer L opez by launching her first fragrance later this year (10).
But after initially naming the scent Route 22 , she’s decided to recons ider the title, according to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
Rihanna has now asked her loyal devotees to contribute their own sugges tions via the RihannaDaily fan website, to help find a suitable name for the new fragrance.

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The director who shot RIHANNA’s RUDE BOY video was upset after fans compa red it to an M.I.A. promo - because she never intended to "rip anybody of f".
Melina Matsoukas helmed the colourful shoot, which immediately drew com parisons to Boyz by M.I.A. when it hit the internet earlier this month (F eb10).
Matsoukas admits drawing inspiration from 1980s culture and pop artist Andy Warhol, but maintains she didn’t mean to copy any one.
She tells MTV.com, "You know that the (M.I.A.) video lends from a lot o f Rasta culture and ’80s Atari vibe and that’s what we went with too. And then afterward I was like, ‘Oh, this sucks. They tore down my video.’ An d her (M.I.A.’s) video’s great too.
"It definitely wasn’t trying to rip anybody off at all - it was just ou r approach and the animation stuff, it had a similar vibe. We’ve seen tha t before with Grace Jones and Andy Warhol, so I don’t know if anybody can lay claim to anything. We’re all inspired by similar elements and it cam e together in that way." But Matsoukas hasn’t let the criticism hamper her experience, insisting she’d love to work with the Bajan beauty again: "Rihanna will try anythi ng, which is always great because you have a lot of artists who won’t do what you need them to do. She’ll go there and I definitely wanted to brin g that part of her out - that fun side… She goes with it and she really challenges you to take it a step further with the status quo." (PAW/WNWC

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Movie bosses have reportedly scrapped plans for a follow-up to 2008 actio n movie WANTED after ANGELINA JOLIE pulled out of the project.
The Hollywood beauty starred as a deadly assassin in the first film, al ongside Scottish actor James McAvoy, who recently revealed producers have been working on plans for a sequel.
Jolie wasn’t expected to return for a second film as her character appe ared to die at the end of the original movie, but new reports suggest the actress was wanted for the follow-up and her decision not to take part h as forced producers to scrap the project altogether.
According to New York Magazine’s Vulture movie blog, bosses at Universa l would rather cancel the sequel than recast Jolie’s character.
Jolie is said to have turned down the project to star in Alfonso Cuaron ’s new space thriller Gravity, about the lone survivor of a space mission who is desperate to return to Earth to see her daughter.

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Superproducer BRIAN ENO is using an experimental technique to record the next COLDPLAY album - he’s refusing to let all four rockers in the studio at the same time.
Eno famously booted frontman Chris Martin out of the studio while helpi ng the band compose their hugely successful 2008 offering Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.
He’s conducting a similar experiment for the Yellow hitmakers’ follow-u p - and he hopes that by changing the way the rockers work they’ll come u p with a new sound.
Eno explains, "I think that if you have a group of four people, that’s lots of possible combinations. You can have any one of them on their own, and you can have lots of couples within that four. A and B, A and C, A a nd D. I think every one of those is a unique musical entity that will pro duce something unique.
"It’s not rocket science, and it’s not Svengali-ism either. It’s not so me attempt to subvert the band, but just to see what other possibilities are lurking within them that might not come out within their normal worki ng situations."

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The ROLLING STONES’ reissue of classic album EXILE ON MAIN ST. will give fans more for their money - four previously unheard tracks will appear on the record after SIR MICK JAGGER discovered them while searching the ban d’s archives.
The legendary rockers are re-releasing their hit 1972 album, which was voted their fans’ favourite ever release in 2008.
After bosses at Universal Music Group asked frontman Jagger and bandmat e Keith Richards to listen back over their original recordings, they came across several songs they had forgotten about for three decades.
Jagger tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I went back in the archives and d ug out a load of things. I added some percussion and some vocals. Keith p ut guitar on one or two." Richards adds, "I really wanted to leave them pretty much as they were.
I didn’t want to interfere with the Bible, you know. They still had that great basement sound." The unheard songs are titled Plundered My Soul, Dancing In The Light, F ollowing The River, and Pass The Win, according to Britain’s Daily Mail. They will appear on the renewed Exile On Main St., along with six other b onus tracks. It is set for release on 18 May (10).

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JOHN MAYER has told fans he’s ready for a fresh start after the recent co ntroversy over his Playboy interview, insisting "it’s a clean me now, peo ple." The singer has been mired in scandal since the publication of the racy chat with the adult magazine, in which he used the ‘N’ word when talking about his African-American fanbase and revealed lurid details about his s ex life with ex-girlfriend Jessica Simpson.
He apologised for his offensive comments, and proved how much the contr oversy had affected him when he broke down in tears onstage in Tennessee just days after the interview came to light.
At a concert in New York City on Thursday night (25Feb10), Mayer once a gain responded to the recent scandal - thanking the audience at Madison S quare Garden for supporting him through the testing time, according to MT V.com.
He told the crowd, "I hate to come off like an a**hole ever, and thank you guys for believing that I am not an a**hole. Never, ever in my entire life did I ever think that it would be a good idea to be an a**hole. But you know what? There’s plenty of a**holes who think the same thing, so I have to thank you. It’s a clean me now, people, clean me."

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AVRIL LAVIGNE has sparked rumours of a reconciliation with husband DERYCK WHIBLEY after they were photographed leaving a party in London together just four months after the singer filed for divorce.
Lavigne split from the Sum 41 rocker late last year (09) after three ye ars of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences".
She has since been linked to a string of new men including The Hills st ar Brody Jenner and actor Wilmer Valderrama.
But Lavigne is now rumoured to have revived her relationship with Whibl ey after the former couple was snapped sharing a car together following t he Alice in Wonderland premiere in London on Thursday night (25Feb10).
The Sk8er Boi hitmaker, who contributed a song to the film’s soundtrack , appeared on the red carpet solo, but later left the afterparty with Whi bley.

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U.S. President BARACK OBAMA honoured folk legend BOB DYLAN and actor/dire ctor CLINT EASTWOOD in a star-studded ceremony at the White House on Thur sday (25Feb10).
Celebrities including Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker gathered in Washington, D.C. to watch the American leader present the National Med al of Arts awards - although the day’s most famous winners, Dylan and Eas twood, were not present to collect their prizes.
A statement from the White House hailed Dylan as "an icon of youthful r ebellion and poetic sensitivity" and praised Eastwood’s films as "essays in individuality, hard truths and the essence of what it means to be Amer ican." Obama noted the pair’s absence and told the crowd, "Obviously, their ca reers have marked the landscape of American culture for decades. They (th e winners of these awards) bring us joy, they bring us understanding and insight, they bring us comfort in the good times and perhaps especially i n difficult times in our own lives and the life of our nation." The president also presented an award to famed movie music composer Joh n Williams, as well as singer/actor Rita Moreno, soprano Jessye Norman an d artist Frank Stella.

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PAUL ANKA paid tribute to MICHAEL JACKSON at a concert in Chile on Monday (22Feb10) - by performing their song THIS IS IT.
The Lonely Boy hitmaker contacted his lawyers last year (09) after lear ning the track was to be marketed as the King of Pop’s first posthumous r elease - because it was actually a song he and Jackson wrote in 1983, cal led I Never Heard.
The matter was resolved after Anka struck a deal to receive 50 per cent of the profits - and he proved there is no ill will by singing This Is I t live at a gig in Vina del Mar and dedicating it to Jackson.
Sitting at his piano, an emotional Anka told the crowd, "Many years ago a young man came to my home. He was 21 years old and he said he wanted t o write songs with me. We spent many weeks together in my studio writing, preparing for the album, but unfortunately we never got to do the projec t.
"Recently this man died very tragically. They went to his home and they found this song in his drawer and they thought it was a new song and the y got very excited and released it as part of a film.
"But they found out very quickly it was not a new song but one that I w rote with him many years ago. We didn’t have any legal problems because i n respect of him, I wanted things to be smooth, so I gave them permission to go ahead with the song that we wrote together. His name was Michael J ackson and this is it." Anka then began the ballad for the audience, who cheered as images of J ackson flashed on a video screen and his vocals were played aloud. (PAW/W

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Pop superstar PRINCE has settled a lawsuit over a cancelled concert in Ir eland.
The musician was hit with a $2.3 million (=C2=A31.5 million) suit after he reportedly pulled out of a show at Dublin’s Croke Park in June 2008 j ust 10 days before the event.
Bosses at promotions company MCD were seeking compensation for financia l loss and damage to commercial reputation from Prince, full name Prince Rogers Nelson, as well as his agents at the California-based William Morr is Endeavour Entertainment.
The case went before a judge at Dublin’s Commercial Court on Tuesday (2 3Feb10), and the star’s representatives agreed to settle the case out of court on Friday (16Feb10).
Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
The judge overseeing the case, Justice Peter Kelly, asked the star’s at torney, Paul Sreenan, if the settlement had been "confirmed" and if so, d id the word confirmed "in Prince speak mean the same as it means in Engli sh?" - referring to an email sent by the singer’s assistant which confirm ed the Dublin show would go ahead.
MCD promoter Denis Desmond said he was "delighted" with the result, acc ording to the Irish Times.

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BATMAN’s comic book debut has sold for a staggering $1 million (=C2=A3625 ,000) after it went under the hammer in Dallas, Texas.
The rare 1939 edition of Detective Comic, which sees the first appearan ce of the Caped Crusader, was purchased by a private collector on Thursda y (25Feb10).
The sale comes just days after a unknown bidder snapped up the first ev er comic to feature Superman for the same price.
The sale in Texas marks the first time a comic book has ever broken the $1 million mark at auction.
Shirrel Rhoades, former publisher and executive vice president of Marve l Comics, expects there will be even more big bids for classic comics in the future.
He says, "We’re probably seeing a little bit of a feeding frenzy." (MJ/ WN/LR) ————————————————————————-

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