Want to go on a clothing-optional crocheting cruise? There may be one out there.

Theme cruise ships have bikers, nudity and a whole lot more
If you have a passion, chances are you'll find a cruise tailored to it. Specialty or theme cruises cater to a wide variety of lifestyles, hobbies and interests: Yoga, fitness, cooking, Christian music, mystery, scrapbooking, baseball, golf and solar eclipse cruises abound.

And if you can't locate a theme cruise organized around your pastime, you can find someone who will put one together for you.

The theme could be anything from poker to Pilates to personal finance. As long as it's legal and other people share your interest, a travel agent can book a block of staterooms aboard a scheduled cruise and work with the cruise line to plan an itinerary suited to your group.

Except for special activities, such as workshops and lectures available only to theme-cruise participants, your group will be a part of a regular cruise, sailing and blending in with other passengers.

On a motorcycle cruise, you can explore exotic destinations without the hassle of shipping your bike or renting someone else's. Even if yours isn't a Harley, you can wheel your Suzuki, Ducati, Yamaha or whatever your ride (just no trikes!) aboard any of the cruises offered by Entertainment and Travel Alternatives (ETA), now in its seventh year of motorcycle cruises.

Starting in April, you can drive your bike right to the pier at Port Liberty in Bayonne, N.J., and sail away to the Caribbean with ETA on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. There are varying itineraries that give the group priority disembarkation, private cocktail parties, and escorted and insured motorcycle excursions at various ports.

Sometimes special-interest groups will charter a ship, as is the case with an upcoming music cruise offered by Cayamo. The program, called "A Journey through Song," stars the Indigo Girls, Lyle Lovett, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin, Brandi Carlile and a lineup of other artists who provide entertainment on this seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary aboard Norwegian Dawn.

Confidence at Japanese companies fell to its lowest level in more than two years

Japanese Business Confidence Drops
Confidence at Japanese companies fell to its lowest level in more than two years, a closely-watched Bank of Japan survey showed Friday, amid rising anxiety about a possible slowdown in the U.S. economy and recent market turmoil.

The quarterly "tankan" survey's sentiment index for large manufacturers fell from 23 in September to 19, below the 21 mark predicted by analysts and the lowest score since September 2005. A similar index for large non-manufacturers in the survey, which polls more than 10,000 companies nationwide, fell to 16 from 20.

The indices measure the percentage of companies reporting positive business conditions minus those who are negative. A decline in the numbers means a growing portion of companies are pessimistic.

Analysts said the results, along with recent sluggish growth figures, suggest the central bank will hold off from raising interest rates as it gauges the U.S. economy , a key export market , and fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis that has rattled global markets.

"The possibility of a rate hike in the near future, which was slim to begin with, have declined further given the results of this report," Lehman Brothers economist Hiroshi Shiraishi said in a note published Friday. Japan's benchmark interest rate was raised to 0.5 percent in February.

Japanese Economy Minister Hiroko Ota said the tankan's results did not change her view that Japan's economy is on an upward trend, but said the government would keep an eye on risks, including high oil prices and possible weaker demand from American consumers.

"I don't think the basic trend has changed," Ota told a press conference.

In some positive news, the quarterly survey showed that major companies plan to boost capital investment by 10.5 percent in fiscal 2007, higher than the 8.7 percent increase in September's estimate.

Still, recent economic indicators have been mixed, and the yen's recent rise against the dollar could erode exporters' profits. Last week, the government said the economy grew at an annual pace of just 1.5 percent, worse than a preliminary estimate of 2.6 percent, due to a a downward revision in capital expenditure figures.

The tankan's results spurred traders to sell the yen, driving the dollar to 112.46 yen in early afternoon trade from 112.21 yen overnight in New York. The stock market's reaction was muted, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipping just 0.14 percent to close at 15,514.51, although it has dropped 3.3 percent over the last three days.

Samsung India, which claims to be number two in India, is planning to get into Blackberry’s shoesSamsung India, which claims to be number two in Ind.

Samsung ready to take on Blackberry.

Samsung India, which claims to be number two in India, is planning to get into Blackberry’s shoes. The company is expected to officially announce the launch of two handsets, one a touchscreen and another slider phone, in the business phone segment.

Samsung is also aiming to double its share in the Indian mobile phone market to 15 per cent in 2008, with expectations of selling around 10 million handsets. Samsung presently commands a market share of about 7 per cent.

According to Yuvraj Mehta, Samsung spokesperson in India, “We wanted to reach out to the imaging and business phone market in India and going for niche segments like enterprise users was the way ahead.”

With a 14.5 per cent share of the global mobile market during the July-Sept quarter, Samsung has already toppled Motorola to grab the second spot, right behind Nokia, which made more than a third of the 289 million phones sold worldwide in the period, says research firm Gartner.

According an analyst, “The company had difficulty in broadening the customer base in India since it was focused on high-end handsets alone. But with the inclusion of smartphones for the enterprise users, it stands to diversify its customer base by expanding the products including a premium 5 megapixel camera phone.”

According to Mehta, Samsung business phones would be priced below Rs 20,000 and have Windows operating system.

The Indian market, growing at around 40 per cent annually with an average 5 million new mobile connections every month, is a rich market for Samsung to sink its teeth in. Nokia presently dominates 70 per cent of the market since it entered in mid 1990s, making it difficult for competitors to get into the sector.

Asus Technology too had unveiled its plans to enter the Indian market last month by announcing two of its premium business phones.

Benson Lin, general manager, Asus (Asia-Pacific), indicated that in 2008 the company would announce several premium Asus PDA (personal digital assistants) phones.

Rocketing oil prices and a flurry of new mega-investments boosted the UAE economy

UAE economy to surge 16%

Rocketing oil prices and a flurry of new mega-investments boosted the UAE economy by 16% this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed.

The IMF said at least 80.8 billion dirhams ($22 billion) will be injected into the Emirates economy every year over the next decade, including a total of 128 billion dirhams into oil and gas projects, UAE daily Emirates Business 24/7 reported on Tuesday, citing a report released this month.

However, it warned that the country’s rapid growth has been “expensive”, particularly with inflation rising to record levels. Inflation in the UAE hit 9.3% in 2006.

“The UAE has enjoyed rapid economic growth, impressive by any global standard. Its challenge now is to address the housing constraint that is pushing up inflation while sustaining growth and ensuring macroeconomic and financial stability," the report said.

“Record high oil prices have generated increasing current account and fiscal surpluses and facilitated the build up of official foreign assets. But fiscal policy has remained prudent as evidenced in the decline in expenditures to the GDP (gross domestic product) and the non-oil fiscal deficit to the GDP.”

Projections by the UAE Ministry of Economy and Commerce reveal that the country’s GDP will jump by 16.5% in 2007, partly due to a surge in non-oil sectors such as industry, tourism, trade and construction.

By the end of 2007, GDP is expected to hit a record 698 billion dirhams, with the non-oil sector performing even better than the hydrocarbon sector, growing by about 21% to 455 billion dirhams.

Gross Capital Formation, which covers private and public investment, will rocket by 19% to 144 billion dirhams from 121 billion dirhams, the ministry said.

Etihad Airways was celebrating last month after securing the world's best first class services

Etihad secures best first class award

Etihad Airways was celebrating last month after securing the world's best first class services provider accolade from a trade publication.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier won the prize at Business Traveller USA's best in business travel awards.

Business Traveller readers were asked to answer a survey on what they consider the leading airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and car rental firms. The results were used to decide the winners for these awards.

Etihad passengers receive a limousine chauffer service to and from Abu Dhabi and JFK airports. The airline also provides "first class service and comfort" during flights, according to Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' executive vice president.

"This award from our customers in the US illustrates the impact Etihad is having in the fiercely competitive North American market and across the world," Baumgartner added.

Last year, Etihad also picked up two accolades at the World Travel Awards. It was named the Middle East's leading airline and first class provider.

"We are delighted to be building upon our success at the World Travel Awards and it caps a tremendous year for Etihad Airways," Baumgartner said. "However we will not be resting on our laurels and our customers can look forward to new in-flight innovations and services in 2008."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday the opening of the NYSE Euronext (NYX:nyse euronext com

Paulson says opening of NYSE office in Beijing to spur investment.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday the opening of the NYSE Euronext offices in Beijing should spur foreign investment in the country.

At the opening ceremony in China's capital, Paulson said the exchange's offices there symbolize "China's opening of its capital markets."
The opening ceremony comes a day before the third Cabinet-level meetings of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, or SED.
At the last SED in May, China agreed to let foreign exchanges open local offices. Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.
own Beijing office a week ago, and Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. got approval to follow suit last month.
Paulson has said he plans to push the Chinese government this week to pick up the pace of financial reforms, including adopting a more flexible currency policy and lifting foreign ownership caps on financial services companies.
Over the weekend, China's foreign exchange regulator fulfilled another commitment from the May SED by tripling the amount that qualified foreign institutional investors can invest in local securities to US$30 billion.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange also said in the statement it plans to expand a separate program allowing domestic institutional investors to invest overseas.